VIRTUAL REALITY
BACKGROUND:
The term Virtual Reality is a very unique way of bringing life to a world which doesn't even exist. There are many ways by which people have been trying to bring in the consent of the audience and to grab their interest. The history of virtual reality is marvelous in terms of what it was and what it is now. When before 1960s virtual reality existed, it was popular with the term "Pygmalion's Spectacles". Then there was "View-Master" a device in which there was a circular disc having small pictures in it and to view these pictures a person has to use a viewer where he places the disc inside of the designated place and then view in the direction of light. Then from the year 2000 onwards there were many platforms
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Virtual Reality got famous from the gaming industry and from sci-fi movies. In science fiction films there were numerous scenes about person wearing goggles and then looking into a different world or a portal. Things which are presented in movies do fascinate the viewers and so the real Virtual Reality concept came to life. This thing was also seen from the gaming industry as one of the biggest Graphics Processing Chip Company NVidia built its first stereoscopic goggles called NVidia 3D vision. The sole purpose of those glasses was to wear them while playing a game and it will make you feel like you are the character and you are inside the game. Some of the games which made this technology popular are Battlefield, Batman, HAWX and …show more content…
The VR 2 glasses were even better than before, the true effects of them was seen in the game Crysis 2, Batman Arkham City and Battlefield 3. Though they were expensive, still people were excited about this new technology called "Virtual Reality 3D ready". Using them would make a gamer feel as if he is in the environment where the game is being played. People can actually look around and they'll feel like they are inside.
Taking this technology and putting it one step ahead, companies started to make the VR gears from 2014. The cost of these gears were like spikes as they were too expensive and there were some glitches in them too. But coming towards the year 2016, now finally this technology is getting popular and gaining the interest of people. Especially since the cellphone companies have opt them as a tool to increase their sales. The most popular VR are Oculus, HTC Vive, Samsung gear VR and Google cardboard. The prices of these start from $15 and goes as high as $750.
In the past the field of view was not that much and a user could not look more than 170 to 210 degree. But now the companies have focused on making the VR gears to be for a whole 360 degree experience. Star Wars game is also one of the best example in this regard as it makes you feel like you are the soldier who is in the game and you are in that battlefield.
VIRTUAL REALITY
In the book Brave New World, the author, Aldous Huxley infers that Virtual reality will play a big role in the far future. The assistant predestinator asks Henry if he’s going to the feelies, and continues to say “I hear the new one at the Alhambra is first-rate. There’s a love scene on a bearskin rug; they say it’s marvelous. Every hair of the bear reproduced. The most amazing tactual effects.” (35) I feel like this is an accurate representation of how virtual reality in today’s modern society could end up being like. Already, virtual reality in pretty advanced, being able to move around in a video game with only a headset/goggles and headphones is pretty wild. Being fully immersed into another world or being a character in the “feelies” is
The patients were instructed to play for no more than two hours a day and by the end of the month patients with not only Amblyopia but Cataracts as well had improvements to their vison. She explains that “With frequent, sudden point-of-view changes and nonstop action, gamers must use an extreme amount of focus to catch every detail. This intense concentration hones the eyes and their muscles, training individuals to use their sharpened sight away from the TV as well.” She continues to explain that FPSs provide an adrenaline rush that also helps with brain plasticity. People who have 20/20 vison can also improve their vision beyond 20/20 if they play
In the videos there would be a basic plot set up, but depending on the reaction to choices the plot would change and pull the character into a different situation. To illustrate, the character a real person portrays could be given the choice to aid different subplots of a story based on which character they choose to listen to or help. This could be written in as a choice between saving two people from death. Heather Wright, an executive producer at Aardman Animations discusses the transition between the entertainment industry today and Virtual Reality: “‘Storytellers of the filmmaking variety traditionally like to lead the viewer on a journey which is predetermined for them. With VR, viewers are essentially being let loose in a story to explore it for themselves. This requires a whole new film grammar which is certainly exciting but does turn the tables on the filmmakers.’”(Dredge). Wright was part of the project between Aardman Animation and BBC Connected Studios that produced one of the first interactive Virtual Reality projects called “We Wait” in 2016. This interactive film was a perception altering video that placed the viewer as a character making the journey across sea with a Syrian family. Virtual Reality could also expand from purely entertainment and aid technological
Augmented Reality (AR) is a real time direct or indirect view of the physical real world that is enhanced or augmented with computer generated information. AR is both interactive and registered in 3D, combining real and virtual objects. AR enhances a user’s perception of the real world and the way they interact with it. The augmented Reality’s main purpose is simplifying the user’s life, by bringing virtual information to their immediate surroundings through an indirect view of the real-world environment. Although augmented reality is like Virtual reality (VR), AR is an enhanced view of the real world, where VR is a pure virtual environment.
Virtual reality can be used as an educational tool to assist not only students but teachers as well. Another major benefit of virtual reality is its use in the healthcare field. It can be used to treat several medical conditions such as anxiety disorders, mental health issues such as phobias, and it can even be used as a pain reliever (Matheison, 2017).
A common misconception is that virtual reality is just for entertainment. As we contemplate about some of the technology involved in virtual reality, entertainment is generally the first thing a lot of people think of when virtual reality springs to mind, but here we will talk about some of the other areas that virtual reality has made some substantial differences.
Video Games have been around for over thirty years now. A lot have changed in the way programs work. When they first came out Video Games weren't that powerful because the hardware couldn't support it. Now the possibilities are almost endless. Games have changed so much. From Games like Asteroids that was made in 1979. With Asteroids being only a small program with some computations going on.
So now that we have gone through the history, let’s talk about what’s been going on with virtual reality today. What’s it currently being used for. Well like in the past it is still mostly used for entertainment and training purposes. For example when it comes to entertainment we already talked about “Google cardboard”. With the Google cardboard you can kind of go on a virtual tour of different places around the world. Another example of entertainment would be Sony’s Playstation VR which we also talked about earlier.
From pixel to advanced graphics, technology today gives us a upper hand in gaming from advanced graphics to virtual reality.Technology has benifited society today by giving us a wider range of entertainment choices and easier access to them.
A major distinction of VR systems is the mode with which they interface to the user. We would describe some of the common modes used in VR systems.
Computer games have steadily become a form of mainstream entertainment ever since Pong was released back in 1958. Today, it is hard to find an electronics department in any store that doesn't carry some sort of computer game. "Big deal," you say, "Everyone knows about computer games. What does they have to do with physics?" Well, the technology for creating more powerful software is constantly advancing, and since games are a form of software, they too become more and more advanced. As games become more advanced, game developers aim to create games that offer a more realistic experience. The technology has advanced to such a stage that making the games look real is no problem, but making a truly immersive experience is something different. That's where physics comes in.
Virtual reality can be defined as a, "technology that enables users to enter computer generated worlds and interface with them three dimensionally through sight, sound, and touch" (Newquist 93). Virtual reality combines computer simulation and visualization into a single, coherent whole (Peterson 8). Researchers say it embodies an attempt to eliminate the traditional distinction between the user and the machine. Virtual reality is intended to provide a means of naturally and intelligently interacting with information (8). Virtual reality is contending to be the interface of the future, allowing ordinary users to use their senses to interact with complex data.
According to Oxford dictionaries, “Augmented Reality” is a technology that provides the user a computer produced image of the real world (“Augmented Reality”). A source states that augmented reality in programing language is the process of combining images and videos from the real world with computer generated data. The development of the new computers has made it possible to engage data with augmented reality. The practical uses of augmented reality started with military instruments such as real time video displays that were being used in airplanes and tanks to detect targets accurately. Augmented reality was also used in video games to increase the realism of the game. Thus, a lot of militaries have used that method to train their soldiers using augmented reality masks by adding equivalent real life time field and enemies (Hosch).
Virtual reality gives huge benefits in education and helps to improve student engagement. It’s one of the best ways to engage and helps the students to understand the subject through virtual reality system. Especially in the virtual reality game will bring significant impact to teenagers. The major three types of impact are social difficulty (socially impaired), physical and psychological difficulty. Even virtual reality is a great tool to learn, but it is not a universal learning method for all of the educational areas. Too much of virtual reality for students will cause social difficulties because an inescapable aspect of social life is the formation and maintenance of interpersonal relationships (Biocca and Levy 1995). Constantly using virtual reality will cause isolation from the societies because the person already made his or her own social area which only exists in the virtual world. VR will provide a communication environment in which the dangers of deception and the benefits of creativity are amplified beyond the levels that humans currently experience in their interpersonal interactions (Biocca and Levy 1995). It could lead to low self-esteem, feelings of worthlessness and insignificance, even self-destructive acts (Cartwright, 1994). VR games could mindlessly, energy sapping diversion, bring electronic isolation, a playground for immortality (Kershner 1995). Virtual Reality game brings physical and psychological difficulties when they over run and it could be called as cyber sickness. VR interventions were able to increase physical activity capacity and performance in children with CP (Cerebral palsy) or early brain injury. Cyber sickness is one of the physiological impacts durin...
If you are one of those who are still hesitant in getting into the whole Virtual Reality mania then it’s time to let go and join in the fun! As you now know virtual reality is not just a tool for enjoyment but also can be used for education and learning in ways we never could have