The Virtual Reality Podcast with Fexingo: VR Headsets, Metaverse, and Immersive Tech

Episode 29 explores a surprising and impactful use case for virtual reality: preparing incarcerated individuals for successful reentry into society. Lucas and Luna examine a pilot program in the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction that uses VR headsets to simulate job interviews, apartment searches, and social interactions. They discuss the research from the RAND Corporation showing t...

In this episode of The Virtual Reality Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore how VR is revolutionizing automotive design and prototyping. They dive into Ford's use of immersive technology to cut physical prototype costs by millions, how designers can tweak car interiors in virtual reality before building a single clay model, and why this shift is compressing concept-to-production timelines from years to...

In Episode 27 of The Virtual Reality Podcast with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how VR is turning online shopping from a two-dimensional scroll into a full sensory experience. They dive into the case of IKEA's VR kitchen planner, which lets customers walk through their future kitchen before buying a single cabinet. The discussion covers how early adopters like IKEA and Wayfair are using VR to re...

For years, VR avatars looked like cartoon characters or low-poly robots. But a quiet revolution is underway. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the technology behind photorealistic avatars that capture micro-expressions, eye gaze, and skin texture in real time. They break down how Meta, Epic Games, and a startup called Hyperreal are using neural networks to map a user's face from a single cam...

Lucas and Luna dive into the rise of virtual reality concerts, focusing on the recent 'MetaFest' series that drew over 500,000 unique attendees in May 2026. They explore how artists like Billie Eilish and Travis Scott have used VR stages to create immersive experiences that rival physical shows, with dynamic lighting, spatial audio, and interactive crowd elements. The hosts discuss the economics:...

This episode explores how virtual reality is transforming the architecture and real estate industries. Lucas and Luna discuss the shift from traditional 2D blueprints and physical model homes to immersive VR walkthroughs that let clients experience spaces before they're built. They focus on a specific case: the architecture firm HOK, which has integrated VR into its design review process for comme...

In this episode of The Virtual Reality Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore how VR is transforming surgical training for medical students and practicing surgeons. They dive into a specific case: the partnership between Osso VR and Yale School of Medicine, which has led to a 40 percent reduction in procedural errors for residents trained on VR modules. The hosts discuss the advantages of VR over traditi...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how virtual reality is reshaping the way museums design exhibits and preserve cultural heritage. They focus on a specific case: the British Museum's collaboration with immersive studio Dimension to create a VR tour of the Bronze Age 'Sea People' gallery, which increased visitor dwell time by 40 percent and generated new revenue for conservation. The discussi...

Lucas and Luna explore the surprising medical use of VR therapy for phantom limb pain, a condition affecting millions of amputees. They focus on the work of Dr. Max Ortiz-Catalan at the Center for Bionics and Pain Research in Sweden, who developed a VR system that lets patients 'see' and control a virtual limb to retrain their brains. The episode covers how the therapy works through mirror visual...

Episode 20 of The Virtual Reality Podcast looks at how VR training is moving beyond corporate onboarding into skilled trades like welding, electrical work, and carpentry. Lucas and Luna explore a case study from the Lincoln Electric Company, which has deployed VR welding simulators across 200 trade schools in North America. They discuss the data: students trained in VR pass their certification exa...

Lucas and Luna explore how virtual reality is being used in clinical settings for concussion diagnosis and rehabilitation. They look at a specific program at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center that uses VR to measure ocular-motor function after head trauma, and discuss the startup SyncThink which has developed a VR-based eye-tracking test used by over 100 sports teams. The hosts also comp...

Episode 18 of The Virtual Reality Podcast explores how VR is transforming industrial design, from car prototyping to furniture modeling. Lucas and Luna discuss Ford's use of VR to cut clay modeling costs by 60 percent, the rise of Gravity Sketch as a design tool, and why companies like Adidas are adopting immersive workflows. They examine the shift from 2D CAD to 3D spatial design, the challenges...

Lucas and Luna dive into the emerging MicroOLED display technology that's quietly transforming VR headsets. They explore how Sony and Samsung are racing to produce these tiny, high-resolution panels, and why the shift from LCD to MicroOLED could solve VR's biggest visual trade-offs. With specific numbers on pixel density, brightness, and power consumption, this episode explains why the next genera...

Lucas and Luna explore how VR filmmakers are pioneering new storytelling techniques in immersive cinema. They examine the case of 'The Limitless City,' a 2025 VR narrative that used branching paths and spatial audio to create an emotionally resonant experience without motion sickness. The episode breaks down the specific production choices: why the director opted for 8K per eye resolution, how the...

Lucas and Luna dive into the science and engineering behind VR motion sickness — why some people get nauseous in headsets and what developers are doing about it. They explore the role of low-persistence displays, high frame rates, and the latest breakthrough: dynamic foveated rendering combined with predictive tracking. Luna shares a personal story of trying a prototype headset that made her want...

This episode dives into the story of Horizon Worlds, a VR social platform that quietly crossed one million monthly active users without any venture capital funding. Lucas and Luna explore how the platform achieved this milestone through organic growth, a unique creator economy, and a focus on user-generated content. They discuss the challenges of scaling without outside investment, the platform's...

Episode 13 of The Virtual Reality Podcast with Fexingo shifts focus from hardware to business models. Lucas and Luna examine the case of Monocle — a small VR content studio based in Austin that has quietly generated positive cash flow for three consecutive years without venture capital. While most VR startups burn through funding chasing scale, Monocle bootstrapped by producing hyper-specific trai...

Lucas and Luna dive into the VR fitness niche, examining how apps like Supernatural and Les Mills Bodycombat are driving real engagement beyond gaming. They break down the science of 'exergaming' — why VR can sustain heart rates higher than traditional workouts — and the business model challenges of subscription-based fitness content. Plus, a look at how Meta's workout API is changing the game for...

Lucas and Luna explore why even the most realistic VR avatars still creep people out. They dive into the uncanny valley — the point where a digital face looks almost human but triggers revulsion — and how companies like Meta and Epic Games are tackling it with new facial animation systems. Lucas breaks down a 2024 study from Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab that found a 20 percent improvem...

Lucas and Luna dive into the often-underestimated role of display resolution in virtual reality headsets. They explain why pixel density matters for immersion, how the 'retina threshold' for VR differs from phones, and why current headsets like the Bigscreen Beyond and Varjo XR-4 are pushing boundaries. The hosts also discuss the trade-offs between resolution, field of view, and GPU power, and wha...

Lucas and Luna explore the surprising comeback of location-based virtual reality. With VR arcades generating over $800 million globally in 2025, the hosts break down why paying by the hour for high-end experiences is gaining traction — even as home headsets get cheaper. They examine the business model of Sandbox VR, which expanded to 50 locations worldwide without traditional advertising, and disc...

Episode 8 of The Virtual Reality Podcast with Fexingo dives into eye tracking—the technology that could finally make VR headsets intuitive and socially expressive. Lucas and Luna explore how Tobii's tiny infrared sensors are powering foveated rendering in the Quest Pro and PSVR2, slashing GPU load by 50% while delivering sharper images. They unpack the awkward history of eye tracking in VR, from t...

Episode 7 of The Virtual Reality Podcast with Fexingo dives into the surprising hardware trend that's reshaping the VR industry in 2026: headsets are getting lighter, not more powerful. Lucas and Luna explore why companies like Meta, Apple, and a new Chinese startup are prioritizing comfort and weight reduction over raw computing power. They break down the engineering trade-offs, the 'sweet spot'...

Episode 6 of The Virtual Reality Podcast explores how a VR social platform called Bigscreen quietly passed one million monthly active users without taking a dollar of venture capital. Lucas and Luna break down Bigscreen's bootstrapped origin story, its revenue model based on virtual movie rentals and avatar cosmetics, and what its slow-but-sticky growth says about the current state of the VR socia...

Lucas and Luna explore how virtual reality is reshaping corporate training, moving beyond gaming into high-stakes industries like manufacturing, healthcare, and aviation. This episode drills into a specific case: Walmart's VR training program, which reached over one million employees and reduced training time by up to 80 percent. They also discuss Boeing's use of VR for assembling complex aircraft...