Limitations of VR

The XR technologies have positively impacted most sectors, however, as an emerging technology, it has limitations. The users need to be aware of these limitations, especially if they are considering investing in immersive technologies.

Affordability and accessibility

High-end VR technologies have recently become affordable for organizations and research labs. Unfortunately, it’s still not very accessible for mass consumption. The cost of consumer headsets ranges from $199 to $1200. However, VR equipment is only widely available in developed countries and is less available in developing countries. There have been instances where international collaborations couldn’t take shape because the XR technology wasn’t available in the developing regions.

Side effects of VR

The immersive technologies are constantly evolving to offer more immersive and realistic experiences. However, they are still unsuitable for use cases requiring prolonged VR usage, because they can cause motion sickness and dizziness. New VR users are more at risk of experiencing these side effects. It’s recommended that the user take a break after every 30-minute VR session. Using VR for longer durations can also cause users to lose spatial awareness of their physical environment.

One of the critical features that can greatly affect the VR experience is frame rate. The higher the frame rate the hardware offers, the more seamless the VR experience. Motion sickness can be greatly reduced by employing a headset offering a higher frame rate. Most of the latest XR hardware now supports frame rates equal to or greater than 72 frames per second (fps). The Meta Quest 2 supports 90 and 120 fps.

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