The virtual reality: a sustainable technology

The development of virtual reality (VR) technologies offers high expectations for growth in the coming years. The massive increase in the use of virtual environments will lead to a high consumption of resources, making it necessary to ensure their sustainability. Taking this scenario into account, this paper focuses on analyzing and comparing the sustainability of the two variants of VR, immersive virtual reality (IVR) and non-immersive virtual reality (NIVR). To achieve this goal, the different areas of sustainable development that are influenced by these technologies have been identified (economy, society and environment). From the results obtained, it can be stated that VR technology is advantageous for all three areas of sustainable development analyzed from three main points of view: (i) as an emerging technology that allows energy costs to be reduced and encourage economic activity with low environmental impact; and (ii) as a teaching resource in higher education, such as engineering, because it allows the design of dynamic and interactive learning environments, which facilitate the understanding of certain concepts. In the case of economic and social areas, especially those related to education, it is the areas of sustainable development in which these differences are most noticeable. In this research, an experience is carried out with engineering students where it is shown that students perceive the RVI as more interactive than the RVNI, but that this perception does not lead to an increase in the academic performance of the students. On the contrary, in the professors' opinion, the impression caused by the IVR on the students could lead them to divert their attention to certain recreational or interactive aspects of the activity that do not have an impact on their learning.

Automated summary

The development of virtual reality technologies has positive impacts on sustainable development in the economy, society, and environment. However, immersive virtual reality may not necessarily improve academic performance in education.