Never has one industry thrive so fast as the virtual reality did in the past couple of years. So what is virtual reality? How will it affect your life in the near future? Let’s take a closer look at it today.
What is virtual reality?
We know our world from seeing what we see, and hearing what we hear. Our senses and perceptions tell us the reality we are in, or in another word, the world around us is based on the sensory information received from our eyes an ears.
Virtual reality offers you the opportunity to fully immerse yourself in a computer generated environment which takes over your vision, and hearing, in order to offer you the experience of a completely different reality than the physical environment you are currently in. It is done by a VR headset which fits around your head and covers your eyes and ears. With this mind-blowing piece of technology, you can virtually be anywhere in the world and do the things you have never dreamed about doing.
In more technical terms, a true virtual reality experience should provide:
- Three-dimensional images which are life sized from the user’s perspective
- Motion tracking ability in order to reflect user’s movement in the VR
What is the difference between virtual reality and augmented reality?
Instead of completely taking over your vision and hearing, some devices allow you to have computer generated graphics and data displayed in combination with the elements we see from real world environments. Take Google Glass and Microsoft HoloLens for example, these devices fall in the category of augmented reality.
Who are the major players?
We will take you through the five biggest players currently in the VR industry and explain their main differences and capabilities. These five devices range from a simple piece of cardboard to an expensive device which has built in speaker, gyroscope and requires a powerful gaming PC or console.
- Google Cardboard offers you the easiest and cheapest way to test VR experience. It consists of folded cardboard with lenses to enhance your field of view. You only need to insert your smartphone in the case to start your experience.
- Samsung Gear VR arguably is the best smartphone based VR device on the market currently. On top of the Google Cardboard VR, it provides you with more comfort as well as sensors to enhance your experience.
- Oculus Rift is the first and most well known VR device on the list. It contains internal gyroscope to accurately track your head movement as well as a breathtaking display built-in the headset. This device is targeted to gaming industry and requires a powerful gaming PC to generate the graphics. This device provides a more immersive VR experience as well as the capability to run popular PC games.
- HTC Hive takes VR to the next level. Some argue that this is the ultimate VR experience. With dedicated sensors placed inside the VR device and in the room where the device is operating. It not only monitors your head movements but your body movements as well. You can do all kinds of activities with your body and the sensors will track your movements and digitally give you corresponding feedback in the VR environment. However, there is also a real danger of running in to a wall while being totally sedated in the VR you are in.
- Sony PlayStation VR is similar to Oculus Rift; however, it has the advantage of using the already well established Sony PlayStation platform. It also enables you to use the PlayStation 4 console to control your movement. Unlike Oculus Rift and HTC Hive, this system does not require you to own a powerful gaming PC in order to function.
How will it affect our lives?
As mentioned earlier, VR can be a real hit in the gaming industry. However, it can also be used in many other imaginative ways:
- Entertainment industry: Watching your favorite movies and TV shows right in front of your eyes without the physical limitation of the size of your display. Cinemas could soon be a day of the past.
- Design and artworks
- Simulations and education
- Social networks
- Shopping
Other than the above mentioned, its ways of usage are limitless. We experience the world through our senses, if we are able to alter our senses, we can change the world we see.
Youming Ma
Wish to know more about virtual reality?
http://www.cnet.com/special-reports/vr101/
cnet. (2016). Retrieved Oct 5, 2016, from http://www.cnet.com/special-reports/vr101/
Hi Youming, thank you for your blog about the virtual reality industry. When I think of virtual reality, the first thing that pops up in my head is the video clip of “I got U” from Duke Dumont. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHCYHldJi_g ). It is about a man who orders a virtual reality headset. He has the best vacation ever and goes to places some of us can only dream of. But actually, he is in his living room the entire time. It makes me wonder if these kind of trips will ever be replaced by a virtual world. What if we would be able to go on a holiday like that every day? Even if it were just for half an hour. And what would be the consequences? Of course, there are positive consequences. For instance, watching movies right in front of your eyes. Investors and analysts say virtual reality has enormous potential beyond entertainment. It can allow students to visit historical places or practice surgery; prospective tenants can walk through apartments without visiting them; and people can meet face-to-face in virtual rooms (Nicas & Seetharaman, 2016).
But on the other hand, the virtual reality headset can potentially cause psychological effects. The experience can cause nausea, eyestrain and headaches. Richard Marks, a Sony lead virtual-reality engineer states: “Just like any medium, [virtual reality] can have good effects and negative effects. I think people can get just as immersed in a book” (Nicas & Seetharaman, 2016).
I have never experienced a virtual reality world, but your blog has really made me curious about this. I think that virtual reality will change every industry in the world and I wonder how long it will take before virtual reality will be an ordinary phenomenon that everybody uses. And will the virtual reality world ever replace the real world?
References
Nicas, J., Seetharaman, D. (2016), What Does Virtual Reality Do to Your Body and Mind? http://www.wsj.com/articles/what-does-virtual-reality-do-to-your-body-and-mind-1451858778
Dear Danielle, thank you very much for your thoughtful comment. I think they were very helpful and interesting to read. I fully agree with you on the potentials of VR beyond entertainment related fields. I think the potential of this technology is endless, we will possibly discover as we advance further in R&D. I did not look at the potential physical harm and psychological effects previously. I think it makes sense to assume such harms are plausible and should be closely monitored and studied.
I think another very interesting aspect is the battle between VR and AR. Who would end up as the final winner? or Will they ultimately combine and emerge as one? For VR, I have more faith on Sony PlaystationVR for its affordability and availability. On AR, I have my bet on Microsoft HoloLens at the moment.
Good luck studying for the exams 😀 all the best