What is virtual reality?
Virtual Reality - VR - seems to be gradually taking over the world. More and more schools, businesses, hospitals, and arcades are transitioning to virtual reality. But what exactly is it? And what all can you do with virtual reality? Virtual Reality (VR) is an environment that is entirely simulated by computers. With a VR headset, you can look around in the computer-generated environment. Since the virtual environment is entirely computer-generated, you are no longer limited to the physical logic of the real world. In the virtual world, for example, you can explore the depths of the ocean for hours, or go back in time to relive the first moon landing. The limitations of virtual reality lie in the imagination and skills of the developer.
Sharper image resolutions
Virtual Reality is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish from actual reality. The image resolution of headsets is becoming sharper and developers are coming up with VR games and applications that are indistinguishable from reality. There are even manipulations that you can add to a VR headset to make the experience even more realistic, like a scent mask that mimics the smell of flowers while you walk through a flower field in VR, or a haptic vest that provides feedback on the areas where you are touched in the virtual world.
Curious about all the Virtual Reality glasses currently on the market? Check out our blog Which Virtual Reality Glasses are there? then!
What applications are there with virtual reality?
The most well-known application of Virtual Reality is of course gaming. But did you know that VR can be used for many more applications? For instance, there are already many businesses that use virtual reality to train their employees in special circumstances. Consider flight attendants who have to conduct a fire drill in a virtual environment while the plane is crashing, or police officers who can run through all possible scenarios of a terrorist attack in virtual reality.
Schools and universities are also making full use of the possibilities of virtual reality. A VR headset, for instance, offers the opportunity to go on a school trip to a country you would never be able to visit, all at once with the entire class. For training purposes, a VR headset can be used to give a virtual lesson, or to help students with preparing presentations or giving a speech. The VR app VirtualSpeech for instance, offers the possibility to practice speaking in front of a large group using a mobile VR headset or Oculus Go.
- See the medical applications of Virtual Reality here
- See the educational applications of Virtual Reality here
- See the business applications of Virtual Reality here
What does the future of virtual reality look like?
It is hard to say what virtual reality will look like in the future. Companies like HTC, Oculus, and Valve are facing stiff competition with each other, which is why they keep improving and updating their VR glasses. Oculus seems to be on the right track with the already released Oculus Quest. This completely wireless VR headset offers users the possibility to experience Virtual Reality WITHOUT the need for an expensive gaming PC and WITHOUT loose hanging cables. With that, the Oculus Quest is the first VR headset that is fully mobile to use, with enough power to play VR games in high quality.
Professional VR users
The size and comfort of VR glasses will also undergo a change in the coming years. Where the first commercial VR glasses were relatively heavy and uncomfortable, VR glasses are now becoming lighter and made with comfort in mind. Consider the use of lighter materials, flip-up screens, and eliminating the headphone. For example, Huawei is set to release the first IMAX-certified VR glasses in 2020: the Huawei VR Glass. A VR glasses the size of oversized sunglasses.
Professional VR users will still have to stick to the wired versions of VR glasses for the time being. This has to do with the graphic power that some VR games and apps bring with them. Experience shows that a graphics card and processor from a computer gives much better performance than a chipset processor from a standalone VR glasses. So, for the REAL professional gaming experience, Virtual Reality will still have to be wired to a graphic source. There is also a future for the professional VR user with so-called location-based virtual reality (abbreviated to LBVR). LBVR enables multiple VR users to play and interact together - at the same time - in a virtual environment. Developers in the VR arcade industry are focusing on this area and are increasingly coming up with games specifically targeted at the arcade audience.
Finally, Virtual Reality will play an increasingly larger role in medical and educational applications. While schools still use VR as a gimmick , virtual reality will continue to develop in the coming years with specific VR apps to bring students - and teachers - together in an educational environment. Who knows, in the future you may be able to stay home and just put on your VR glasses to appear at school or work...
