How many VR headsets does your company need?

How many VR headsets you need depends on how you use them: at trade shows, it’s usually one to five, in sales two to three. For visitor tours and longer group training sessions, each person should have their own headset, and there should always be a spare.

So if you want to use virtual reality devices in your company, you should choose the number carefully. As you’ve probably guessed, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question.

If you work with wired VR headsets, you probably already know exactly how many devices you will need, since these headsets are usually permanently installed. So in the following, we focus on mobile devices such as the Meta Quest 3, the Apple Vision Pro, the Samsung Galaxy XR, or the Pico 4 Enterprise. Since general statements aren’t possible, here are a few examples from our past projects:

Trade shows

At trade shows, our clients usually have between one and five VR headsets in use. If one employee has to look after both the visitors and the VR headsets, we recommend using no more than two devices at a time, because otherwise it becomes hard to manage everything. If one colleague is responsible only for the VR headsets, up to five mobile VR headsets can be used at the same time with a little experience. There should always be at least one spare VR headset ready.

Sales

Salespeople who take VR headsets to customer meetings usually bring two or three devices. The headsets are used in an office or conference room and handed to customers so they can try out products virtually or experience remote locations (such as production sites). These meetings often take place in small groups. Participants who aren’t using a headset can watch on a monitor what is being shown in the headsets. Often only one headset is actually in use and gets passed around. The second headset is a spare. In our experience, after a few meetings with just one headset, a salesperson can easily offer three VR headsets at the same time.

Visitor tours

Some of our clients use their VR headsets to show visitors more than they can see in reality. The headsets can show other sites, for example, or areas that are off-limits. Some use their trade show set for this, while others have a separate set of headsets just for visitor groups. Here, we recommend having one device on hand for each person in an average visitor group. Since this is a standardized process in an environment that stays the same, one person can easily handle ten VR headsets.

Training

We distinguish between individual and group instruction:

• Individual instruction: Each employee gets their own training slots. In theory, one headset is enough here, ideally with a spare. If VR instruction is a fixed part of the training and instruction program, we would recommend at least three devices to be on the safe side.
• Group instruction comes in two forms:
  • With a short VR segment: The classic case here is a first aid course. Some courses add a VR simulation as a final highlight. This part is optional and can be completed by individual participants. Since it only takes a few minutes, one headset is enough (plus one spare).
  • With extensive content: If the seminar participants are supposed to use an extensive (and therefore longer) simulation, there should be one device for each participant. In addition, the trainer should have their own “personal” headset that only they use. Here, too, it is advisable to keep spare devices on hand.