Vr content creation tools are an essential part of any vr project. VR/AR has taken off in a big way, and many companies are seeking VR content tools. If you are interested in learning more about how Vr Studio Software is a great choice for your application, or how some of the largest virtual reality companies work with vr content creation tools, visit our site. There you will find information on how to create better vr content, what it takes to create virtual reality applications, and how vr content creation tools can help make your application more immersive.
VR Content Creation Tools. Development tools for creating virtual reality experiences include 360-degree cameras, game engines, and VR authoring tools. The SDKs for these tools help you to integrate them into your apps so that you can create immersive and interactive games.
Make your virtual reality (vr) or augmented reality (ar) apps and games come to life with less time, effort and development cost. Virtual reality content creation can be a complex process, requiring experts in the field to create immersive applications. However, help is at hand! Through researching vr content creation tools and vr content creation companies, the task of creating apps and games for virtual reality platforms is made far easier.
This page provides a list of virtual reality software and other types of software which are useful for creating content for virtual reality headsets, or generally used in the context of virtual reality. The list is by no means comprehensive; the number of created programs is too big to be listed here.
AN OVERVIEW OF VR, ITS USE CASES, AND THE GROWING MARKET FOR IT
“Virtual Reality” refers to a promising technology, furthermore, the term also refers to the immersive environment it creates. Via the use of computer software and hardware, VR content enables users to experience a 3D environment.
Users temporarily suspend their contact with the real world when they use a VR headset, and the virtual environment responds to their actions.
Vortals
Pricing: Paid, with free demo available on request.
Why we love it: Another great piece of software that can be installed to your computer and used offline for creating and viewing VR and AR environments and tours. Vortals offers loads of fantastic features for easily adding interactivity, videos, images and 3D models to your scenes, plus it includes a node-based system for creating and easily keeping track of the possible navigation paths through your creation.
What you need to know: There’s a bit of a learning curve, but it’s easy to pick up and run with and there is a detailed user manual available to help you out.
CoSpaces
Pricing: Free basic accounts, with the option to upgrade to paid Pro accounts.
Why we love it: Easy to get started, and so much cross-platform support and educational scaffolding! Create and play using a computer, tablet or mobile device. View it on a standard screen, or jump into augmented or virtual reality with our VR/AR Education Kits! Students can build virtual worlds without touching code, or they can use CoBlocks or Typescript to add interactivity and develop their skills. Looking for ways to use it across the curriculum? Visit the gallery for inspiration.
What you need to know: Basic accounts have some strict limitations, including a reduced set of blocks available for coding, fewer library models, and a limit of two individual CoSpaces and one assignment per account at a time.
Situ360
Pricing: Paid (education licences available), with free trial available.
Why we love it: Create professional quality immersive tours quickly and easily. Have students capture their own 360° photos and videos with our Creation Accessories Bundle, then use them to create immersive experiences! Add overlay videos, images, text and sound, and even embed quizzes to enhance the scene, create waypoints that lead viewers to the next scene in an exploratory way rather than being in a fixed sequence, and so much more!
What you need to know: There are no class management tools specifically, but students can invite you to view their projects privately or they can share their work with a publicly accessible link.
Pano2VR
Pricing: Paid (education licences available on request), with free trial available.
Why we love it: If you’re looking for an immersive VR tour creation option that can be installed on your computer and used offline, here it is! With loads of tools for adding points of interest, overlay images and videos, text and sound, you and your students will be able to create immersive experiences easily.
What you need to know: Initially Pano2VR can look a little complex, but there are great tutorials available and with a bit of guidance your students will quickly become experts.
Metaverse
Pricing: Free, with the option to purchase additional class management features.
Why we love it: Interactive, multi-stage AR/VR experiences are constructed by adding and connecting nodes, which is intuitive and allows students to quickly create interesting projects. If you want your students to flex their coding muscles, they can create their own Javascript based additions. Metaverse is geared more towards AR experiences, but it supports VR too.
What you need to know: Creation takes place in your computer’s browser, but a mobile device with the Metaverse app is needed for testing and viewing. Also, teachers should be aware that students need to sign up for their own accounts and there are limited class management features. The ‘Collections’ add on can be purchased to assist with this.
Unity
Pricing: Free for individual students, with the option to apply for a free education license.
Why we love it: A powerful, industry-standard tool that gives students the opportunity to express their creativity and build transferable skills. Unity projects can be deployed to multiple platforms, including web-based options, iOS and Android mobile devices, desktop computers and dedicated VR headsets. Not limited to VR applications, Unity can be used to create apps and games for many different purposes.
What you need to know: The learning curve can be significant, so best suited to more experienced students and those with an interest in delving into the nitty-gritty of VR and game development.
Microsoft Paint 3D
With Microsoft Paint 3D, anyone can become a 3D designer. Draw a shape, pick a colour, and you’re good to go!
Flexibility is everything in education, and Paint 3D is no different. Want to create a simple model of a pyramid with your younger students? No problem! Need your chemistry class to build a model of a complex molecule? Done!
Once the creation is finished, click ‘Save As 3D Model’ in the ‘File’ menu. This’ll give you a .GLB file to upload to ClassVR, and your students can then hold and admire their handiwork using our ARCubes.
Or access Microsoft’s huge library of 3D resources as AR models using this simple video:
SketchUp
Let your imagination run free and create just about anything with SketchUp! Build detailed models of buildings, objects and even landscapes – then use ClassVR to delve into the detail.
From Geography to Design and Technology, ClassVR’s integration with SketchUp takes immersive learning to the next level across all subjects and education levels.
Simply click ‘File’, then ‘Save as’ in SketchUp to save a copy of your creation. To enjoy it in ClassVR, you’ll need to convert it to a .GLB file using an online converter tool – check out our helpful guide for more info!
CoSpaces
Want to rule the world? ClassVR’s exciting integration with CoSpaces means it’s possible for your students to create, explore, print (and even rule) their own personal 3D world!
Whether you’re bringing a scene from a story to life, building a virtual boardgame, or creating an interactive exhibition, anything is possible with CoSpaces. Once your world is complete, send it to the headsets and get immersed!
Just click the ‘Share’ button to see a share link and a QR code. Now, either paste that link into the CoSpaces section of the ClassVR Portal, or your students can scan the QR using the ‘Scanner’ app on their headsets.
Thinglink
Looking to create a detailed virtual tour of your school? An annotated 360 image of a historical building, or even annotate a 360 video of one of the seven wonders of the world? ClassVR’s seamless integration with Thinglink means you can do it all!
Alongside the thousands of pre-made tours and videos, you can quickly upload your own media to Thinglink to tag, label and tour, then share to your headsets with a quick ‘drag and drop’.
Again, exporting content from Thinglink to ClassVR is simple – just click ‘share’ and copy the code you’re shown. Paste that code into the Thinglink subscription in the ClassVR Portal and drop it into a playlist just like any other resource.
Check out this virtual tour of Penybont Primary School, one of our ClassVR Pioneer Schools!
360 Photography
Say cheese! Another exciting and easy-to-use feature of ClassVR is snapping and uploading a 360 image or video to your headsets in a matter of seconds!
Use either a 360 camera or a phone (using a 3rd party app like Google Street View) to capture the moment, upload it to the ClassVR Portal, and in a flash, you’re ready!
As well as taking your own snaps, our Community Portal lets you share content with teachers across the globe. It’s forever growing and is a wonderful place to share your resources, while simultaneously teaching your students about other people, places and cultures.
Unity
Unity is famous for game development, however, it helps you to build VR solutions for many other sectors too. E.g., you can create VR solutions for automotive, transportation, manufacturing, media & entertainment, engineering, construction, etc. with Unity.
You can get a valuable set of tools when you use Unity, e.g.:
- A powerful editor to create Unity 3D VR assets;
- Artist and designer tools;
- CAD tools;
- Collaboration tools.
Read more about them in “Unity 2019: performance by default, high-fidelity real-time graphics, and artist tools”. Unity works with all popular VR platforms like Oculus, Sony, etc.
Unity offers a portal to learn its products where a VR developer can access courses like “Getting started with Unity”, and many more. The Unity support & services portal will enable you to access its detailed documentation as well as get the help you need.
VR Use Cases
VR has many consumer-facing use cases, e.g.:
- It can help to create engaging games.
- With VR, media and entertainment companies can create more engaging content.
- Marketers can make their ads more interesting with the help of VR technology.
- Businesses can use VR to let their customers virtually try their product user experience.
You can also use VR in various ways to improve operational efficiency in your organization, e.g.:
- VR-based training modules can help to train employees engaged in complex jobs, e.g., healthcare VR/AI simulators can help to train doctors. I have explained this in “How to build a VR simulator for your healthcare business”.
- Enterprises can use VR to improve the prototyping process of complex products, moreover, the technology can usher in the safer design of workplace layouts in the manufacturing industry. Read “Application of virtual reality in manufacturing” to learn more about this.
- Organizations can use VR to manage meetings better since remote teams can participate more effectively using VR collaboration tools. I have explained this earlier in “Using VR chatrooms to manage your remote employees”.
Given the promise of VR, it’s no surprise that the global market for this technology is experiencing rapid growth. A MarketsandMarkets research report pegs the global market for VR at $44.7 billion by 2024.
This is significantly higher than the global VR market in 2018, which was $7.9 billion. That’s a phenomenal CAGR of 33.47%!
Conclusion
VR content creation tools make it easy to create virtual reality scenes and experiences. From 360 videos and photos to 3D models and interactive content, you can use a variety of software and tools to create VR content.
If you are reading this line then you are probably curious about VR and its various applications online. As you already know, the virtual reality industry has garnered a lot of hype in the recent months because of its potential to change the way we connect and use technology.