Virtual Reality, the technology of the future
Virtual Reality or in short for VR is the term used to describe a computer-generated three-dimensional environment that you may discover/interact with and engage with. Special glasses, known as virtual reality (VR) glasses/headsets, are placed over your eyes and submerge you completely in a virtual environment, a realistic environment simulated experience.
Virtual reality (VR) signifies a surprising change in the way humans experience the digital realm. Computing has always been a one-sided involvement: People pass information back and forth through screens and keyboards. VR assures us to broaden our involvement by placing us in the process physically.
Virtual reality usually has these characteristics:
· Believable: You are made to feel that you’re present in a virtual world from what you hear and see.
· Interactive: When you move around, the virtual reality (VR) world moves with you as well. You could be placed in a 3D movie or be transported to Mars, but it’s in no sense interactive.
· Immersive: You’re able to interact with different objects in a VR world which is both believable and interactive.
· Computer-generated: Virtual Reality worlds are typically created with powerful machines, with realistic 3D computer graphics capable of generating believable, interactive virtual environments that change in real-time as we move about.
History of Virtual Reality (VR)
People might think that the virtual reality began when the famous Oculus Rift was revealed at the E3 videogame trade show in 2012, but the idea has been lurking in the background for almost a century. The idea of submersing ourselves in 3D environments dates all the way back to the stereoscopes that fascinated people’s thoughts in the 19th century.
How does it work?
Now that we know what virtual reality is, we are going to see how it works. Virtual reality is processed from the combination of both hardware and software. The hardware components are used for viewing purposes, at the same time the software assists to create the environment. A popular example of this is games, wherein a headgear connected with HDMI cables helps to transfer data/images from the box. This allows
you to then play games like table tennis or bowling with your friends.
Now as the technology has progressed, we’re capable of attaching our smartphones to mounts in VR headsets that allow us to use the screen of our phones to project images through the headset allowing us a believable VR experience.
How does it provide a 360-degree view, when a human visual field is 120?
Here’s a question that’s often asked that if a human is only capable of a120-degree view then how does a VR provides a 360-degree view, well the answer to that is quite simple. A VR headset or glasses use a technology called head-tracking, which changes its field of vision with respect to the person as he/she turns their head. The technology may be far from perfect since there’s often latency if you move your head too fast however, it does offer an immersive experience. Since the technology has progressed, there’s also a new feature added to VR headsets called “Eye-tracking”, which uses infrared rays to track eye movement to provide a more realistic experience to users.
There are also these few things that are crucial to the functioning of VR:
· Frame rate: For VR applications the minimum frames required are 60 fps while anything below that causes disorientation, headaches, and nausea in the user.
· Sound effects: Another essential technical feature of VR is the manner that designers use sound outcomes to deliver a feel of a three-dimensional area to the user. Today, present-day VR comes with a feature called the “spatial audio” to create a simulated audio background that fits the visuals created by virtual reality.
Applications of virtual reality technology today?
As more and more research and time are being sunk into the development, so are the applications of VR ever increasing. As many people say in the field of technology “what was yesterday’s magic is now today’s reality”, here are a few areas that VR is slowly revolutionizing.
The gaming industry, in particular, is betting on VR to transform their industry, once the prices of VR headsets crash, VR will be implemented in the gaming community on a larger scale. Education is another critical sector that VR has affected. VR will also be implicated to consumer businesses to showcase products.
Where virtual reality is headed
Where virtual reality is headed is a question that has multiple answers. However, the simple but least satisfying answer would be that it’s for everything. Beyond video games and entertainment, VR showcases promising applications for both telecommuting and office work, education as well as the designing industry. Thanks to “embodied presence” — you are able to occupy an avatar in virtual space. Social virtual is more immersive than any digitally mediated communication we’ve ever experienced and is more affecting as well.
As innovative as VR technology is today, it’s guaranteed to advance by leaps and bounds in the future. Further advancements in making FOV more lifelike and making better 3D audio to match, this alone makes the future of VR more exciting.
We’re close to making ground breaking improvements to VR by introducing HaptX Gloves, which provide realistic touch sensations from interacting with something in the VR world.
