A growing number of Australian agribusinesses are turning to immersive technology such as virtual reality as a new way to do their business.
According to a recent report, virtual reality is being used as a practical tool to do everything from training staff to selling stock.
Once the stuff of games, virtual reality has now proved its appeal to some of the country’s biggest agriculturalists.
Boosting agriculture through virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a three-dimensional environment generated by computers or cameras, which people can explore using special headsets or mobile devices.
The world we are currently living in is a world surrounded by content. Agriculture needs to keep up with this thought process or risk getting left behind.
A major farm equipment supplier is looking at using this immersive technology for training. The company is working with a VR company specialising in producing 3D videos for the agriculture industry.
Another well -known agricultural business followed suit and is using 360-degree cameras to create immersive videos of livestock and equipment that are up for sale.
The footage allowed buyers to do a more thorough inspection from anywhere around the country.
Many producers rely on photos to attract buyers in catalogues, newspapers and online, but this traditional approach to marketing can be challenging and time-consuming.
Inspiring students through virtual reality
A potential big gain for the industry is using immersive technology to attract new blood. A bus was turned into a virtual reality experience on wheels by the Founder of the VR company.
The bus travels to different schools across the country to inspire kids into taking up agriculture as a career path.
To achieve this, students are invited to climb on-board the bus and wear the VR headsets to discover how beef is produced from paddock to plate.
When they put the headsets on, they get to go into a whole new world, but this time, they go into a farmer’s world and see what it is like.
Even the less savoury parts of the supply chain are included, with a virtual tour of an abattoir.
At Karoonda Area School in the Murray Mallee region of South Australia, the experience was met with excitement.
The immersive beef experience was funded by the red meat industry’s marketing and research body.
Even more fascinating, the VR company was able to produce a virtual lamb tour to add to the Beef Bus experience.
Technology should be utilised in order to keep the up-and-coming generation engaged.
Virtual reality is one of these technologies, which has provided a fabulous format that will be able to present this information in an entertaining and educational manner to the new generation.
