Research and development is essential to growth for many businesses, allowing them to bring new products to market, or to keep up with, or even ahead of, shifting trends and developments.
There is more to this than innovation though, because research and development also feeds into wider business strategies involving marketing and managing costs.
If businesses are innovative in how they research, design and develop products and services, they can improve their long-term strategy.
Virtual Reality and Design Research
“Market research may not be enough to make a product successful when it finally launches,” observes John Mould, Commercial Manager at Antycip Simulation.
“You get a situation where you launch a product, it attracts early adopters, but then its momentum just seems to fizzle out,” continues John. “This is because of a failure to understand the end user.”
“Diligent design research can expose any weaknesses in the framework of a product and how potential users will interact with it,” John says. “Traditionally, this would involve building physical prototypes which, while helping perfect the finished product, could be expensive and time-consuming.”
Immersive, virtual reality technology can produce repeated prototypes, allowing for full interactive testing”
“VR CAVE systems make the whole process of design research both easier and more detailed,” John comments. “Where you might once have relied on user interviews, for example, you can now put people at the virtual heart of your product, to experience it for themselves.”
VR CAVEs are adaptable across sectors, from manufacturing to engineering, and aerospace to education.
“You can also use VR to prototype whole workplace fit-outs,” John says, “and gather user research before you commit costs to any physical changes.”
Cost Management and Marketing Benefits
The value in VR CAVEs for research and development is reflected both in the savings they represent when compared to physical prototyping, and in the benefits they bring to more flexibility earlier in the design process.
Virtual reality is not just another research method, but rather a state of the art strategically deployable element in business growth and development
“Virtual reality allows you to maximise the success of your design projects by continually reviewing and modifying them before manufacture and launch,” John concludes, “and it helps inform marketing strategies and campaigns. The research itself, using VR CAVE technology, can be a powerful selling point.
To discover how virtual reality can strengthen you business growth and development, please call Antycip Simulation on 01869 343033 or visit antycipsimulation.com.
