VR is an abbreviation used for Virtual Reality. The term refers to a computer technology utilised to create a simulated environment. This experience is different from the traditional ones. The user finds himself inside the virtual world. Let’s take an instance where the user plays a video game.
VR would make him feel as if he is inside the game playing. It lets you interact with the 3D world by keeps you absorbed through vision, audio, smell, and even touch.
When you see a head-mounted display (HMD), you will immediately recognise it as a VR device. We are more attracted to visuals and this technology is bringing the virtual world into reality which surpasses the old user experience. Some of the main VR players in the market include Play Station and HTC Vive.
How does Virtual Reality work?
Let’s go deeper into the VR concept and understand its working. This technology works by Virtual Immersion. The concept of telepresence is applied here i.e. users feel they are inside that particular environment. This feeling of immersion is developed by targeting all your senses like vision, touch, smell, and listening power. You also get to interact with the virtual world. This immersion power is so strong that you may forget your real surroundings and get completely involved in the virtual world.
One of the main things that should work properly is the sensory output of the system. If a user is hearing 3D sounds, he/she has to be convinced that those sounds are real and coming from the surroundings. As the user progresses into the Virtual environment (VE), the shift of the sound should feel natural from place to another. For example – You’re experiencing tidal waves in a VE. You would expect the noise to be of water crashing against rocks and wind blowing heavily. Instead, if you get a gentle breeze on your face, it would crash the VR experience.
Any user can experience Virtual Reality to its full potential, only when he/she is completely immersed in the virtual environment. Anything that breaks the immersion is a limitation of VR. True Immersion is necessary so that users forget the real surroundings and start feeling that the virtual environment is their real environment. Interaction is also an important element of the VE. Unless the user can interact with the 3D world, there would be this void which will always make the user realise that this is an artificial worl
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Where do you use VR?
For the most part, we know that Virtual reality is used in the gaming industry. We play games and we interact with the VE. Another important sector is movies. We watch 3D movies and it feels as if we are the characters playing in the movie. But, there are some other sectors where this technology is extremely helpful. Let’s discuss these sectors in detail.
Sports
That’s right. Virtual reality in Sports. The Virtual environment can be helpful for players for training purposes. Various sports create a VE to repeat specific scenes and events to understand the mistakes and improve in the coming matches. Research also shows that VR can improve the cognitive abilities of players while they are injured. This is done through the virtual world. Another important factor for using VR in sports is enhancing the viewer’s experience. As a viewer, you would be much more involved if the game ap[pears in 3D and you get to see the players as if you are standing right next
Mental Health
The idea of using Virtual reality for mental health sounds bizarre. But, such a useful technology has transformed the mental health sector. It has been proven that a Ve helps treat post-traumatic stress. Specialists use Virtual reality to create a similar event as the patient’s trauma. This environment is created to let the patient come with terms of what happened and start the healing process. This is a great method for people to face their fears and try to overcome them. There is not much danger since all this is done in a safe and controlled surrounding.
Education
We are well aware of how the virtual environment can provide a better educational opportunity for students. Let’s talk about Science. Studying and understanding subjects like Physics and biology becomes better when you can experience and interact with different elements like atoms and cells. Students are taken to museums where they can experience history in a 3D world. The Virtual environment allows students to build their social skills and interact with their surroundings.
Virtual Reality Technology
Human beings are attracted to visuals. Display technology is the key difference between immersive Virtual Reality systems and traditional user interfaces. For example, CAVE automatic virtual environment constantly shows the virtual content on a room-sized screen. This activity is fun and cool for people in universities and labs. On the same side, customer and industrial wearables are the wild west.
With multiple hardware and software options emerging, the future of wearables can be seen but is still unknown. Innovative Concepts like the HTC Vive Pro Eye, Oculus Quest and Playstation VR are creating a new way, but there are other leaders like Google, Apple, Samsung and others who are working constantly with new levels of immersion and usability.
Conclusion
The major players in virtual reality are Oculus, HTC and Sony – Sony’s PlayStation VR (PSVR), Facebook’s Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive. Today, the technology is being used for various purposes including aviation and military training, medical industry and much more. The training sessions create a virtual environment where people learn to fight and adapt the dangerous situations. Virtual reality has a potential which extends far beyond gaming and industrial applications. It can help people heal from their traumas, learn new things and have an engaging experience.
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