by Todd Garrigues,  Intel’s North American channel marketing manager

It is widely known that virtual reality (VR) is being incorporated into many new applications for gaming and entertainment. But it may surprise you to know that VR is also being utilized to provide all types of new creative solutions for businesses.

Thanks to innovations in computing hardware and software, business leaders are looking to integrate VR technology into their workflows. The enormous impact that virtual reality brings to the table has already been felt in numerous industry segments including retail, architecture, health care, education, and the automotive industry.

Other industries are just scratching the surface, as they begin to see ways that this technology can add value to their businesses. An example of this is Blausen Medical, who uses VR to bring real life simulation to their library of medical animations. These simulations benefit teaching universities who are educating future doctors about complex structures of the body.

Realistic digital simulations empower businesses to not only transform their status quo, but also enable them in other important ways. In addition to driving their digital transformation efforts, they are also able to differentiate themselves in compelling and cutting edge ways in their ultra-competitive markets.

Successful VR requires the right technology

Accelerating this process begins with 8^thGen Intel Core i7 processors. This is the primary component responsible for managing many tasks in VR systems. The CPU provides the necessary positional tracking so that the simulations can determine the location of a user’s body movements.

The CPU is also responsible for controlling spatial audio. This allows audio cues to sync up with user behaviors as the user moves through a virtual environment. Finally, the CPU governs complex physics, so that objects in the simulation behave in a believable way.

While the graphical processor unit (GPU) is often perceived as the linchpin to a VR system, technology providers are finding out this is not the case. Delivering compelling VR applications involves excellent performance of the entire platform, not just the graphics card. This is where the Intel® platform plays a very important role in a VR system. Intel is dedicated to supporting the full VR ecosystem with horizontal solutions, from the processor, to the memory, to the I/O.

Technology providers now have the tools and capabilities to respond to these emerging business requirements.