The COVID-19 pandemic has been a difficult time for everyone – but especially for our vulnerable seniors on the frontline.
With nationwide lockdowns and strict social distancing rules continuing to plague our society daily, seniors are suffering now more than ever with loneliness and isolation.
Additionally, declining health issues that decrease mobility and prevent patients from living their best lives, a solution that helps reconnect seniors with the outside world is desperately needed.
Fortunately, Rendever, a virtual reality platform built to help seniors overcome social isolation through shared experiences, brings the ocean to seniors in senior living communities using VR.
Surfin’ USA (& Beyond)
With professional surfer Tyler Fox’s help, seniors using the Rendever platform can transport into fully immersive simulations where they can learn things like how to wax a surfboard on the beach or how to catch big waves on the sun-kissed ocean.
The 360-degree footage is shot from Fox’s first-person point of view, allowing users to see the world through the pro-surfer’s eyes and enjoy all the wonders of the ocean without ever having to get up from their armchairs.
According to Rendever, residents at Santa Cruz’s Continuum Care Hospice were one of 250+ communities that have used the technology. Amongst these patients is Karla, a special resident currently battling a cancer diagnosis, who says that VR “takes you out of your head and puts you in a good place.”
A New World For The Elderly
While immersive virtual reality experiences may have first found fame in the video gaming space, platforms like Rendever show us all just how much of an impact VR tech can have on real-world issues, too.
More than simply entertaining its users, Rendever provides much-needed relief to the major problems faced by those suffering most during this difficult time and offers solutions to issues that have existed years before the pandemic hit.
Though COVID-19 has taken a lot of joy away from the world over the last 12 months, the way it accelerated the production and adoption of innovative platforms like Rendever has been majorly beneficial.
Like a snowball rolling down a hill, we do not doubt that innovations like these will continue to spread over the coming years, and virtual reality tech will play a huge role in reshaping our society for the better.
