Gone are the days when architects and designers squint at lines on paper wondering, "What will it look like in real life?"
With its own section in the Media Union, virtual reality is being incorporated into the curriculums of the School of Art and Design, the Medical School and the School of Engineering.
School of Art and Design Dean Alan Samuels said he is excited about the opportunities virtual reality can bring to his department and other schools at the University.
"We're always looking for ways to bring people together to make intellectual inquiry through visual means," Samuels said.
Samuels said virtual reality, which creates situations and allows users to experience life-like sensations, is "another mechanism for enhancing our ability to make ideas visible."
"One could imagine the technology could help artists create a painting, but can go further to place that work into a context," Samuels said.
Samuels said virtual reality will enable medical students to "fly" through the human body and experiment with new ideas without needing a patient.
Samuels said he sees great potential for the technology to be expanded beyond the scope of the academic curriculum. He predicted the equipment may be used to cure societal problems.
"If we could enable a young woman to feel what it would be like to be pregnant, this technology could be extremely beneficial to society," Samuels said. "By virtue of having said that, along with the excitement, there are cautions. This could be used to take children into any world you want.
"I'm a little concerned about what the cereal companies and the Disneys could do with it."
While some students said they are skeptical about incorporating virtual reality into the School of Art and Design's curriculum, others said they welcome its arrival.
"I'm interested in the direction it is going to take," said Nick Selinsky, Art and Design junior. "It seems like the Art school is getting really technical and I'm just curious how far it will go."
"I'd be for it," said Adam Faja, Art and Design senior. "I think it offers another direction. Computers are a tool just like any other medium. It is how the artist uses it that dictates the product."
Samuels said he hopes the technology will not take the place of reality, but hopes it will be used instead to expand it.
"It is just another way of enhancing art and design," Samuels said. "This is appropriate for artists and designers because it enhances our imaginability. I see us as pioneers who will be pushing the state of art. We have done this through time."