Why Would Anyone Want to Program and Control IoT in Virtual Reality?
Controlling physical objects that require electricity and an Internet connection through a novel digital realm like virtual reality seems as though it may be more hassle than it’s worth. To begin with, all the available changes you could make with a virtual reality interface would have to be programmed into the interface, so what would be the point of having a virtual reality interface to control Internet of Things (IoT) devices?
The point is to harness increasing computer power and programmable interconnectivity to make a virtual reality interface that will eliminate a user’s need to know how to program. Like the graphical user interface (GUI) created at Xerox PARC and implemented on the first Macintosh computer in 1984, this is an attempt to make a virtual world where your physical objects have a manipulatable twin.
Using Unity and HTC Vive, the team of researchers created Ivy, an immersive programming tool, to help users visualize, understand and program virtual data in a digital representation of a physical space. A simple program intertwines conditional sensor data (i.e., when a sensor reaches a certain measurement) to physically activate a connected object, like a lamp or a fan.
See the full story here: http://www.engineering.com/ARVR/ArticleID/15239/Why-Would-Anyone-Want-to-Program-and-Control-IoT-in-Virtual-Reality.aspx