Virtual Reality is not only a technology developed mainly for the video games industry but has also shown really useful applications for people, such as measuring drug addiction, training against possible bear attacks and even training first aid personnel in simulated environments thanks to this technology.
However, some patents of the retail giant Walmart suggest that in the future we may be able to shop in the supermarket from home by accessing virtual reality software that simulates the aisles and shelves with the products we want in our stores.
According to documents filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Walmart intends to create a “virtual showroom” and a compliance system that combines buyers wearing VR glasses and sensor-filled gloves with a three-dimensional representation of a Walmart shop.
Microsoft announces that Xbox will not have a virtual reality for the time being.
In this way, your business customers can enter the “digital” aisles from home and pick up articles and products just like in the shop. The company would then have a system that would record the purchase and send it from its distribution center. According to Zoe Leavitt, administrative analyst at patent researcher CB Insights, Walmart wants to use this technology because he knows that his business is very big.
But why not just shop on a website? Well, it seems Wal-Mart wants Virtual Reality, a technology that is currently gaining ground to combat the costs in its retail stores in terms of staff and labor.
In addition, Walmart had already acquired the Spatialand start-up, which is dedicated to the development of virtual reality software tools, so it would come as no surprise if these patents become reality very soon.