Virtual reality could well find its way into your business meetings. Immersions, collaborative avatars or 3D site visits, the trend may still be in its early stages in Brussels, but it's beginning to take shape.
Video conferencing has democratised teleworking. But who hasn't dreamt of putting on a headset to escape the flat pixels, frozen faces of colleagues and tropical wallpapers? With virtual reality (VR), the screen disappears in favour of an immersive space: you literally enter the meeting, in a 3D room where avatars chat, raise their hands, share a whiteboard, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Futuristic fantasy? Not really. In Belgium and Brussels, this technology is beginning to appeal to companies looking for new ways of working and communicating.
Virtual reality? Brussels is catching on
In Brussels, a number of pioneers are already using virtual reality to boost professional exchanges. One example is the Belgian centre Futurist Games, which organises immersive team-building events centred on collaboration and solving missions. This is also the case at VR Base, just a stone's throw from the city centre, where colleagues meet up in fictional worlds to solve puzzles together.
Another example is Immersion VR, which offers businesses meeting spaces in virtual reality, as well as collaborative games in 3D, to bring teams together in a whole new way. The same goes for Avalon Virtual, a Belgian events company that designs virtual reality workshops. They organise immersive training courses, 3D guided tours and product demonstrations as if you were actually there.
Avatars around the table? Let's put it this way...
With platforms like Meta's Horizon Workrooms, meetings can be held with 3D avatars around a virtual table. There's a whiteboard, voice interaction and spatial audio to enhance attention. Meta emphasises what it calls a “heightened sense of presence” compared to traditional videoconferences. ‘Workrooms meetings support up to 50 participants at the same time, including 16 in VR’, says the platform.
Although still rare among Belgian SMEs, these practices are beginning to attract interest for certain specific projects: presentations, creative brainstorming sessions or remote workshops. Although seeing your team in a cartoon version takes some getting used to, initial feedback points to better concentration and less multitasking.
What now? Between perspectives and caution
In Belgium, the use of VR in the workplace is still limited. The cost of equipment and the need for support are holding people back. However, virtual reality is gradually finding its place in a number of initiatives, although it has yet to become widespread.
So no, VR is not going to replace all Monday morning meetings. But it does add another string to the bow of companies looking to rethink how they meet and collaborate. Provided it’s used for the right reasons — not just for the wow factor, but to better communicate, bring people together or enhance training. And in that area, some Belgian players are already well equipped — headsets and all.