You wouldn’t know about virtual reality only if you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past couple of years. Now, the technology is becoming ubiquitous and there’s a dire need for international industry standards. Thus, the most popular and widely known VR tech behemoth, namely Google, HTC VIVE, Facebook’s Oculus, Samsung, Acer, and Sony have come together to create a non-profit organization called Global Virtual Reality Association (or GVRA).
These international headset manufacturers, as they refer to themselves, in the official statement have formed this advocacy group to promote the growth of virtual reality industry, develop and share best industry practices and further maximize the technology’s potential for all consumers to experience. The team “believes in VR’s immense global potential and the opportunities ahead.”
The formation of this association comes at a much important time. There was an immediate need for unification of standards for responsible development, adoption and deployment of VR technology for consumers. And the primary aim of this group is to keep an eye on the same while also making headway to solve challenges that have been plaguing the advancement of the tech.
The ‘mission’ statement of the GVRA website reads:
The goal of the association is to promote the worldwide growth and development of the VR industry. To that end, the organization will foster dialogue between public and private stakeholders in VR around the world and make education and training material available to the public. Working groups will be organized around important topics for the industry, enabling us to produce relevant research and guidance.
Thus, the founding companies will work together to unlock and maximize VR’s potential and ensure the gains of a break-through development are shared as broadly around the world as possible. This will help mould the VR experience for users as well as provide industry developers to develop their products for a more ubiquitous platform. We’ll now have to wait for the GVRA to bear fruit.
