Did you know that about 60 years ago, "Sensorama" the first virtual reality (VR) machine was invented by Morton Heilig?  And 50 years ago, the first VR and augmented reality HMD (head-mounted display) was created by Ivan Sutherland. [Source: Timeline of Virtual Reality]. Today, virtual reality technology is becoming reality. How do I know? For one, virtual reality is now a subject you can major in at universities. Plus, colleges and start-ups around the world are hosting events such as Virtual Reality Festival and Demo Days where people can showcase their VR videos and win monetary prizes.

Even closer to home, the Cisco Internet of Things (IoT) marketing group has created the first Cisco virtual reality demos to help showcase what IoT technology can do to help factories, transportation, and utilities digitally transform their business. The VR demos are exciting and show you some of the possibilities and opportunities of how IoT can help to accelerate business further by exchanging data that has not been available before and bringing users information securely.

For example, in manufacturing, customers can work with machine tool providers, such as Mazak, to increase manufacturing line availability and improve machine utilization by bringing intelligence in the form of fog applications running on the network infrastructure to achieve real-time detection of anomalies and operator alerts. By processing the data locally rather than in a data center or cloud, Mazak provides manufacturers with secure, real-time processing right next to their critical data sources.

IoT Virtual Reality Demo Introduction

In transportation, Linz AG Telekom in Austria had an innovative vision for city transit. They wanted to further digitize transit operations and rethink core processes as the city upgraded its tram system. By using Cisco IoT as a part of its infrastructure, Linz was able to engage and personalize the experience of its riders including self-diagnosing ticketing machines, dynamic displays to improve transparency, and analytics to drive improvement.

Many of these use cases are demonstrated in the online IoT VR demos which can be viewed with your smart device.  Some of my favorite parts include flying through space in the introduction (hold on if you have motion sickness!) and I really like the computer-generated factory floor with all the robots whirring around.

Cool robots on the factory floor

Don't get too scared during the lightning storm in the utilities demo and be sure to look for the airplane flying around in the transportation demo.

Look for the plane in the transportation demo

The new VR technology coupled with Cisco IoT technology will help customers, prospects, partners and even our employees better understand how IoT can affect their everyday lives. It's amazing!

Watch out for the lightning in the utility demo

If you are at Cisco Live, be sure to stop by the IoT Zone in the World of Solutions. We have an experience bar where you can try the demos using Oculus Rift glasses for a robust and interactive experience.  And, we are giving away a free pair of cardboard VR 360 glasses to all who stop by, which will enhance your online experience. Best of all, be sure to enter our raffle to win a free pair of Oculus Rift glasses and a Dell Alienware X51 R3 computer so you can have your own personal VR equipment (must be present to win).

To find out more about the Cisco IoT VR demos, visit the Cisco IoT 360 VR web site and view our demos on YouTube (for the best experience, view with cardboard VR 360 glasses). Be sure to download our product and solution sheets to find out how IoT technology can help digitally transform your factories, transportation, and utility business today!