29 May 2016 Last weekend Etihad Airways unveiled the full length version of its new marketing campaign featuring its brand ambassador, actress Nicole Kidman. After the massive response to Emirates' quirky Jennifer Aniston ad, it needed something epic to top its Dubai rival.
Slipping on a Samsung headset, users are transported on board the luxury surroundings of Etihad's A380 superjumbo. Looking around, they come face-to-face with the glamourous Australian Oscar winner and soon set out on an elaborate mystery that takes across the globe, all without moving a single step.
The Abu Dhabi flag carrier has enthusiastically billed it as the first time a Hollywood star has ever appeared in a fully-immersive, 360-degree virtual reality (VR) film. Previously the domain of Star Trek captains giving orders from hologram decks or futuristic office workers scanning through computer-generated filling cabinets, VR is now no longer restricted to sci-fi movies and ambitious dreamers.
Now, everyone from airline marketing bosses to oil exploration firms, military cadets, tourist boards, theme park operators and everyday shoppers are embracing VR and it is turning into a business sector which, according to a new report, is forecast to become a fast-growing billion dollar industry in the Middle East.
Travel back in time
Etihad is not the only early adaptor of VR in the region. Egyptian officials said this month they are working on a VR concept which will allow users to travel back in time and follow explorer Howard Carter in his infamous discovery of the tomb of King Tutankhamun in the Valley of Kings.
Using a massive archive of images, American company EON Reality is working with Egyptian authorities to develop the concept. With tourism revenues down nearly 66 percent in the first quarter of 2016, Egypt hopes VR can help rejuvenate its tourism fortunes after a spate of plane crashes and militant attacks.
>"The discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb in November 1922 was an unprecedented event," Dr. Fathi Saleh, an honorary director at Egypt's Center for Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage, said when announcing the project.
"The content of the discovery, which is the most valuable treasure found worldwide, contains more than 4,000 pieces. Now, with the advanced information technology tools, including virtual and augmented reality, one can simulate such [a] story of the discovery and the richness of the treasure in a very realistic way."
VR as a concept fits well with tourism and travel as it helps to give holidaymakers a teaser of the location before they buy. Dubai's Jumeirah Group, the owner of the iconic sail-shaped Burj al-Arab hotel, last year launched Jumeirah 360, which gives a tour inside the famous 'seven-star' hotel, while Oman's tourism board recently announced it is using VR to replicate some of its tourism hotspots and tempt visitors to the sultanate.
Thrill rides
Consultancy firm Deloitte this year predicted that VR would be one of the key sectors for strong growth. While the majority of the revenue is in the gaming sector and worth around $1.5 billion, Deloitte predicts this will grow three-fold in the Middle East by 2020, the majority of which will come from the Gulf region.
Tapping into demand in the gaming sector, a new theme park set to open soon in Dubai will embrace VR technology. Hub Zero is being developed by Dubai-based holding company Meraas and will be located at the City Walk project. It will include a total of 18 attractions, rides and experiential zones - built around popular gaming titles like Final Fantasy, Resident Evil and Gears of War - spread over an area of around 15,000 square metres and will feature the region's first wireless VR gaming experience when it opens before the end of the second quarter of 2016.
"In the ever-evolving entertainment industry, Hub Zero introduces a new dimension of electronic gaming that immerses visitors in a vibrant virtual environment and allows them to delve into a world of their favourite gaming characters," Jean Marc Bled, general manager of leisure and entertainment at Meraas, told Zawya.
After the gaming sector, the next obvious market to embrace VR is retail. Unveiled at the World Retail Congress in Dubai in April, technology firm HTC has developed Vive, which is described as the first fully-immersive VR retail experience and allows consumers to put on a headset and wander around a virtual store.
"Unlike other VR headsets, for the first time you have a room-based capability. It is not a standalone environment, it uses joystick and people can really move around by up to five metres by five metres," says Daniel Khayat, product manager at Taiwan-based HTC Middle East and Africa. Already available in the United States and used by partners such as Intel and HP, Vive is currently being evaluated by regulators in the Middle East and Khayat is talking to possible distributors.
"We are almost done at this stage and finalising commercial agreements and our structure to go to market. In the U.S. we are retailing it at $799 and what we will do is to get something close to this figure," he said.
When it is brought to market it is likely to be as popular as other models already available with local consumers. "We have seen the Samsung Gear VR sell extremely well in our Samsung Brand Shops. The bigger challenge has been getting enough stock as we were regularly being challenged to keep up with demand after the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S7," said Ashish Panjabi, chief operating officer at Dubai retailer Jacky's Retail.
Virtual surgeries
The medical sector may appear like a less obvious market for VR, but earlier this month Dubai-based Gulfware International Technologies unveiled the world's first unique three-dimensional virtual simulations that make it possible for medical professionals to have a more complete understanding of medical anatomy without making an incision in the skin.
The technology creates 3D visualisations of body parts from 2D images and can be used in various surgical procedures. "Now you can see what's really going on inside a patient without picking up a scalpel," Dr. Tristan van Doormaal, a neurosurgeon from St. Elisabeth Hospital of Tilburg in the Netherlands, and one of the first surgeons to use the technology, said in a statement.
VR is a very versatile medium and has been adapted by many diverse sectors, says Zaid Selman, a consultant at Deloitte. Soldiers in the UAE and Qatar army use VR simulations in training and companies in the oil and gas sector have adapted it to train employees for working in potentially hostile working environments or to help in the exploration process.
Whether it is discovering King Tutankhamun's tomb, mingling with Hollywood stars, fighting zombies or simply buying the latest consumer goods, it would seem that VR is only just beginning to realise its full potential in the region.
