Custom VR application development
Appfront builds custom VR applications for situations that are difficult, costly or dangerous to practise in real life. Think of an emergency procedure, a machine that does not yet exist, or a space still to be built. We design the scenario, build the application for the headsets you use, and make sure results flow back into the systems you already work with. Get in touch to discuss what is feasible.
What is a custom VR application?
A VR application places the user in an environment that is entirely rendered by software. Unlike augmented reality, which overlays information onto the real world, virtual reality creates everything the user sees. That makes it particularly well suited to practice: you decide exactly which situation arises, how often, and what goes wrong.
We don't build VR as a demo but as a working application. That means thinking through who manages the headsets, how people log in, what happens to the results, and how you adjust a scenario when the procedure changes. Those questions determine whether a VR project is still in use after the first enthusiastic month.
Appfront builds the application as custom software and integrates it with your existing environment, for example your e-learning platform, so that a VR session is simply part of a learning path rather than an isolated island.
Scenarios you manage yourself
Procedures change. That is why we build an admin environment in which steps, texts and assessment criteria can be updated without releasing a new version of the application.
Results that land somewhere
Who completed which scenario, how long it took, and where things went wrong. This data goes to your own system, so VR counts towards the training record.
Rollout on the hardware you have
We build for the headsets you use or plan to use, and arrange how devices are deployed, updated and managed by your own IT management team.
VR or AR? The distinction
Virtual and augmented reality are often mentioned in the same breath, but they solve different problems. The choice almost always comes down to one question: does the user need to keep seeing the real environment?
Virtual reality: a created world
The user is in an environment entirely rendered by software. Suited to practice, simulation and experiencing something that does not yet exist. The user stays put in a safe space and the world comes to them.
Augmented reality: information about the real world
The user sees their own environment with information layered over it: instructions for a machine, a fault diagnosis, an assembly step. For more, see industrial AR software development.
Our development process for your VR application
VR is more expensive to change than conventional software, so we invest early in clarity about the scenario before any 3D work begins.
We define which learning objective or process the VR must serve, who the users are, what hardware is or will be available, and which results need to be recorded. We also check whether VR is genuinely the best format, as sometimes video or a conventional simulation is more effective and cheaper.
We design the scenario step by step, with decision points, error situations and assessment criteria, and build an early playable prototype so you can experience the idea before the environment is fully developed.
We build in short iterations with automated tests, structured logging and monitoring. You see working versions along the way and steer the work based on what your team actually needs in practice, rather than on a specification written months earlier.
A controlled go-live with validation and a safety net, followed by ongoing management, monitoring and further development as your procedure or learning objective evolves.
What a custom VR application concretely delivers
What we build depends heavily on the goal. These are the components that come up most often.
Scenario training with assessment
A procedure worked through step by step, with mistakes that have consequences and a debrief based on criteria you define yourself.
Safety and emergency situations
Situations you could never safely rehearse in real life: an emergency, an evacuation, a system failure under time pressure. Repeated as often as needed, without risk.
Spatial and design experience
Experience a building, space or installation before it is built, so clients and users can make decisions based on how it feels rather than a floor plan.
Machine and process simulation
Practise operating and maintaining a virtual version of a machine that cannot be shut down in production, or that has not yet been delivered.
Multi-user scenarios
Scenarios in which several people work through a situation together, each with their own role, so that teamwork and communication are practised too.
Management and deployment
A management environment for devices, users, scenarios and versions, so your own team can roll out a new group or an amended procedure.
Typical use cases in practice
VR pays off where practice in real life is expensive, dangerous or practically impossible, or where something needs to be experienced before it exists.
Industry and engineering
Practise operating and maintaining installations without halting production, and familiarise new staff with an environment before they enter it.
Healthcare and training
Practise procedures and conversations in a safe environment, with scenarios that can be repeated as often as someone needs.
Safety and emergency services
Rehearse emergencies, evacuations and incidents with multiple participants, including communication and decision-making under pressure.
Construction and property
Let people experience a design before construction begins, so clients and users can make well-founded choices about layout, materials and lighting.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Technology we use
For the VR application itself we work with a game engine; the surrounding management and reporting environment we build as a regular web application. The precise choice depends on your processes, the systems to be integrated and your hosting preferences. We deliberately choose a stack that your own team can manage and further develop, without dependence on per-user licences.
Why choose Appfront for your VR application?
Appfront builds custom software for a wide range of organisations in the Netherlands. With VR, our first question is not which headset, but exactly what needs to be practised and how you will know afterwards that it works. Without an answer to that, a VR project becomes a demo that gathers dust after three months.
We treat VR as software, not a gimmick: version control, testing, a management environment and integration with your existing systems. It is precisely this invisible side that determines whether the application is still used and maintained two years from now.
On every project we write clear documentation and make sure your own team, or a future supplier, can understand and manage the system. No black box: transparent code and clear agreements on monitoring, alerting and maintenance. You own the solution and pay no per-user licence fee.
See also our broader services in custom software, industrial AR and our e-learning platform. Not sure whether VR is right for you? Get in touch — we give honest advice, even if the answer is no.
Security and privacy in your VR application
A VR training records who did what and how well. That constitutes personal data and, at times, assessments that may have employment consequences. Appfront builds in line with the OWASP ASVS and with the GDPR as a starting point: data minimisation, role-based access and an audit trail for viewing results.
VR hardware can measure more than is needed, from gaze direction to movement patterns. We record only what the learning objective requires and document this, so that your record of processing activities is accurate and staff know where they stand.
More on our security approach: information security policy and CVD policy.
- Encryption in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest
- Role-based access following least privilege
- Audit trail for viewing and changes
- Secrets in a secure vault, not in code
- Documented data flows for your record of processing activities
- Recording only what the learning objective requires
Frequently asked questions about building a VR application
Answers to the questions we are asked most often.
When the situation you want to practise would be dangerous, expensive or impossible to recreate in real life, or when spatial understanding is critical, VR makes sense. If the goal is knowledge transfer, looking up procedures or taking a test, a regular application or e-learning is almost always more effective and cheaper. We say that too when you come to us with a VR question.
With virtual reality, everything the user sees is created; they stand in a safe space and the world comes to them. With augmented reality, the user sees their real environment with information overlaid, for example instructions on a machine they are standing next to. VR is for practising and experiencing, AR is for support during work.
We build on OpenXR, the open standard supported by the leading headsets. That means you are not tied to a single manufacturer. Which devices we end up using depends on ease of management, comfort during longer sessions and whether users stand still or move around, and we decide that together.
For texts, steps, decision points and assessment criteria, we build a management environment as standard, so you can make changes yourself without a developer. Changing the 3D environment itself is a different matter: that requires modelling work. We discuss upfront which parts we make variable and which stay fixed, as that is one of the most important cost decisions in a VR project.
Through an integration with your learning platform or HR system, in practice often using xAPI or an API integration. That way a VR session counts towards the training record and nobody has to retype results. You decide exactly which data is passed on, which is also a privacy question.
That risk is real, and it is largely a design issue. Scenarios where the user stands still and looks around cause far fewer complaints than scenarios with artificial movement. We take this into account in the design and test early with real users, including people who are sensitive to it.
We deliver a management environment for devices, users, scenarios and versions. Rolling out updates to headsets goes through the device management solution that belongs to your hardware. We set up who gets access to which group and who publishes new scenarios according to your own management organisation.
There are good ready-made VR trainings for general topics, and those are a fine starting point. Custom development pays off when it concerns your own procedure, your own machine or your own building, precisely the cases where a generic training does not quite resemble reality and is therefore not taken seriously.
Ready to build your VR application?
Tell us what needs to be practised or shown, who the users are and what hardware you have. We are happy to help you think through scope, integrations and the first version. A no-obligation first conversation will give you a clear picture of the possibilities and whether custom development makes sense in your situation.