It's here. The future, that is. I got to experience virtual reality at the ACP-LS annual meeting in Boston last month.

Then I sat down with Chris Bybee, the president of Raindrop, to talk about virtual, augmented, and mixed reality. He explained the differences between them but more importantly, the impact these technologies will have on how we do marketing (and training) in the future.

Imagine saving half a million bucks every year by not shipping capital equipment to trade shows. This becomes possible when a 3D computer simulation can walk you through every step of a process. I actually did a procedure on someone's spine! (Hold my beer, please.)

Want to show someone exactly how your DNA sequencer will fit in their lab? No problem.The opportunity to save training costs is significant also, especially if you have high travel costs involved. What information is needed to get this started?

1. A defined purpose. Why are you doing this? Is it a demo at a trade show or to show customers how the equipment sits in the lab?

2. CAD files

3. A video of things that move or happen on a screen so they can be built into the simulation

And the code is portable. In other words, a few years ago, replicating on a 2nd platform (headset, phone, tablet etc.) would have cost 80% more than the original. Now for a 25% premium, you can replicate the experience on multiple devices.

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Intro Music stefsax / CC BY 2.5