Imagine this– You are a character in your favourite video game. You are now living and breathing in a world that you once, in a way, were in control of. You’re fighting the very battles you made your characters fight. You are exploring an alien world with your teammates, heavily armoured in metal. Your surroundings seem so familiar yet so distant at the same time. You can’t exactly smell this world, but you just somehow seem to know that it would feel humid and artificial.
Image Source: https://www.cnet.com/pictures/best-vr-games/
Now, turning this imagined scene into realty is what the technology of virtual reality does. Virtual reality (VR) provides the ultimate level of immersion, creating a sense of physical presence in real or imagined worlds, such as that of your favourite video game or movie. VR accomplishes this by focusing on the three pillars of immersion—visual quality, sound quality, and intuitive interactions—to stimulate our human senses with realistic feedback. The term “virtual reality” was first used in the mid-1980s when Jaron Lanier, founder of VPL Research, began to develop the gear, including goggles and gloves, needed to experience what he called “virtual reality.” However, before Lanier as well, technologists were developing simulated environments, one which is the Sensorama, developed in 1956, which simulated a real city environment, which you “rode” through on a motorcycle.
By 1965, another inventor, Ivan Sutherland, offered “the Ultimate Display,” a head-mounted device that he suggested would serve as a “window into a virtual world.” During the 1970s and 1980s, optical advances ran parallel to projects that worked on haptic devices and other instruments that would allow you to move around in virtual space.
VR technology is typically associated with gaming, but it is increasingly being used to support sales, facilitate learning, simulate travel, communicate, and more. Due to the pandemic, remote work, social interaction and virtual travel have massively increased VR use.
Virtual Reality has proved itself to be beneficial in many aspects - gaming, education, business to name a few. It has made it possible to explore different locations without really going there. People's lives are now considerably simpler and more enjoyable as a result of this. In education, VR created a new pedagogy to learn hard-to-understand scientific theories. It has improved teaching skills in teachers by providing a deep level of knowledge. There has been a lot of interest in the topic of virtual reality or virtual reality training since practical education is more engaging and fascinating than book reading for a good part of the population, especially kids. In business, the idea of "try-before-you-buy" greatly grows as more and more retail businesses include VR/AR technologies into the customer experience. VR prototyping offers a variety of methods and unique instruments for investigating concepts and testing them before expending excessive resources.
Image Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2019/07/19/the-important-difference-between-virtual-reality-augmented-reality-and-mixed-reality/
As the old-saying goes “Every rose has thorns”, VR does have disadvantages of its own. Only a few people can afford the expensive technology and equipment used in virtual reality. Training is necessary in order to learn the complex technology of VR and it is difficult for everyone to understand how to use it. Teenagers and a few adults have frequently been observed developing a virtual reality addiction and experiencing physiological side effects. Eye strain, vertigo, and nausea are among the many physical difficulties that many VR users experience. People who become dependent on virtual reality don't want to interact with the real world because the virtual world has become their actual world.
VR gives medical professionals additional opportunities to discover cutting-edge treatments. In the medical profession, virtual reality might be used to effectively cure phobias and anxiety. Where VR and AR are concerned, the entertainment and gaming industries have led the way. In a 3D virtual reality entertainment setting, players can engage with one other while playing a game. Given the widespread use of services like Google Street View today, it is easy to assume that there will be a strong demand for trip visualisation. A cool engine for a product would be a virtual pre-opportunity to be in a pleasant hotel room or among imagined amazing landscapes. Architectural and real estate design are becoming more sophisticated and high-quality in their creation of immersive experiences. VR has become popular in the sports industry for many years when you think of the consoles and virtual reality sports training in eSports.
Virtual Reality has seen a lot of progress in the past years and it still has a long way to go. The question is - Is VR the future you want? Let us know in the poll!
Is VR the future you want?
Of course, HOW COOL WOULD THAT BE?!
No, thank you, I'd like a normal life.
Umm, maybe? Maybe not? I don't know lol
References:
Discover Magazine
Marxent Labs
Frontiers
Science Direct
Forbes
just facts
Such an informative article!!!
VR kinda makes life so simple that I doubt we’ll actually live it, it was very informative. 👍
Good work 👍