What Is Virtual Reality: The Definitive Guide

Virtual reality, or VR, is a three-dimensional computer simulation of a real-life environment or a fantasy world that can be interacted with in a seemingly physical way by a person using special electronic equipment such as goggles and gloves.

Virtual reality is a computer-generated 3D environment that can be explored and interacted with by a person.

The person becomes part of this virtual world or is immersed within this environment and whilst there, is able to manipulate objects or perform a series of actions.
 

What Is Virtual Reality?

Virtual reality largely became possible in the 1990s and has developed since then to become more advanced. It is still not widely used by the general public but there are plans to develop it further.

Scientists have been studying the potential of virtual reality since at least the 1970s. In 1982, Jaron Lanier formed VPL Research, one of the first companies to develop and sell VR products.

VPL Research developed technologies that were used by major corporations in fields such as training and aviation before being acquired by Sun Microsystems in 1989.

In 1990, mass-market entertainment began through multiplayer networked virtual worlds such as The Palace, which attracted millions of users worldwide from its inception in 1991 until its closure in 1993.

The idea of virtual reality dates back to the late 1800s. Scientists used the term “virtual reality” to describe a three-dimensional space that’s created with software and presented to the user in such a way that it creates the illusion of being in that space.

It gives you the feeling of being transported into a virtual world.

   

That sensation — which can be achieved through interacting with images, sounds, and other sensations delivered by an immersive headset or other VR device— is one of the most appealing aspects of VR.

Virtual reality is also a tool for creating new worlds and new experiences, not just transporting you to existing ones.

The creators of Minecraft, for instance, have said they think virtual reality will be a great fit for their building game because VR headsets can help players feel like they’re inside the game world.

Virtual Reality Technology

VR technology is the next big thing in the world of gaming, entertainment and more. The technology creates a simulated 3D environment, which can be explored and interacted with by the user.

Virtual reality (VR) is an interactive computer-generated experience taking place within a simulated environment. 

It incorporates mainly auditory and visual feedback, but may also allow other types of sensory feedback like haptics which are the transmission of vibrations and other sensations to the user through a controller.

This immersive environment can be similar to the real world or it can be fantastical. Augmented reality systems may also be considered a form of VR that layers virtual information over a live camera feed into a headset or through a smartphone or tablet device giving the same experiences.

The future of virtual reality is being shaped by innovations in both hardware and software. Hardware companies are developing new technologies to benefit VR devices like Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR for use in areas like medicine, architecture, and even in live events.

New hardware will facilitate more realistic visuals and audio experiences to immerse users in virtual environments where they can interact with objects and others around them. Software developers are creating new games and content for the devices which will allow users to interact with friends through avatars in virtual worlds.

Other software developers are working on apps for medical uses or education purposes. 

VR will change how we experience our favorite games, movies, and more.

What is the future of virtual reality technology? This question will be answered in this article.

One of the only rules of VR is that there must be no break in the immersive experience.

The user’s physical response to their virtual environment is a key part of the VR experience, making the technology different from video games and traditional animation. 

This tactile information provided by haptics is generally known as force feedback in medical, video gaming, and military training applications; other names include kinesthetic communication/feedback and mechano-sensation.

Haptic systems can also be used to provide force feedback to the user in order to provide a sense of touch along with sight and hearing.

Virtual Reality And The Importance Of Audio

Although, the concept of virtual reality has been around for decades and it has now become a reality.

Virtual reality allows you to experience things that you would otherwise never experience. For example, when you’re playing video games online, you can find yourself in situations where you’re actually doing acrobatics or flying in the air.

When looking at audio equipment for your home it’s important to think about the quality of your audio. 

Even if you have a really great-sounding television and everything else looks good on the outside, the audio could be less than desirable for VR.

So make sure to check out any websites that provide reviews on audio equipment before making any expensive purchase of equipment with poor sound quality. Virtual reality is a fascinating branch of the technology world, with plenty of potential in all sorts of fields.

And one of the most interesting aspects about VR is its potential for audio. Truly immersive virtual reality means controlling not just what you see, but also how you hear things.

   

That’s because sound can affect your physical well-being as much as sight can, and sometimes even more so. Audio can put you in a different place than you really are and make it feel like you’re moving around even when you’re sitting still.

Finding the right virtual reality audio solutions can be crucial to creating an effective VR experience that’s worth using on a regular basis.

HMD + Smartphone Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality has been around for a while, and there are even a few headsets on the market. But none of them are perfect, as they have limited functionality and low-quality screens.

The most common criticism of the Oculus Rift, for example, is that it can give you motion sickness and that it’s too expensive. The design of the Samsung Gear VR addresses both of these issues. It’s not focused entirely on gaming; instead, it is more about experiencing content in VR.

The headset is only compatible with Samsung phones, which is limiting at this stage but could be a major selling point in the future if Samsung decides to expand their line of compatible devices to include tablets and possibly laptops. 

The Gear VR was announced in 2014 and released in 2015 for around $200.

The VR viewer includes a touchpad for navigating through menus and a back button, as well as a volume key and focus wheel, meaning you don’t need to wear additional headphones when using it. In order to use it, you need to purchase one of two types of phones: Galaxy Note 5 or Galaxy S7.

Both devices were released in 2016, although they are slightly different sizes so make sure you know which one you will be purchasing before buying the headset. One of the biggest advantages is how cheap it is. 

For those interested in more info, we have included some photos of the device below.

HMD is an acronym for head-mounted display: a type of device worn like glasses or a helmet that has screens inside lenses. Often HMD devices have built-in motion tracking and position tracking systems that respond to the movement of the wearer’s head.

Virtual Reality Newcomers And Lesser Known Manufacturers

Many new companies have been springing up over the last 5 years and some of them are making big waves in the VR market. The following list is a compilation of some of the more well-known VR newcomers as well as some lesser-known manufacturers.

VIRZOOM – This is one of the most popular VR bike gaming experiences that you can currently get. The game features 3 different game modes that allow you to race through cities, play battle games, or even work out! 

It is compatible with iOS and Android devices and it comes with a bundle that includes a controller, handlebar, and pedals.

The only drawback to this product is that it only works with 4-inch to 6-inch smartphones.

GameFace Labs – This company has created an all in one VR headset for your phone.

They are currently developing their own headset called the GameFace but they have partnered with other companies as well such as Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR to bring their technology to multiple platforms.

Cyberith – This company has developed an omnidirectional treadmill that allows you to interact with your virtual environment using your feet. They also sell a head-mounted display so you can experience high-quality graphics while playing games or watching movies.

For less popular brands and newcomers in the world of virtual reality, you can look at FOVE and Avegant Glyph. Both companies have huge potential and a lot to offer in terms of VR products.

In this article, we will discuss FOVE’s products, as well as their plans for the future. 

FOVE is one of the latest Virtual Reality producers.

They have been producing glasses since 2014 but didn’t start selling them until Spring 2016. The main feature of these virtual reality glasses is their ability to track eye movement with high precision.

In this way, they make the experience seem more natural and give users an option to interact with various games by looking at objects or characters instead of using gamepads or remotes.

According to Fove’s website, they are planning on making FOVE glasses compatible with SteamVR and OSVR platforms. Moreover, according to some rumors, FOVE will be collaborating with Microsoft to create mixed reality devices for Windows 10 users.

Examples Of Virtual Reality In Film

Virtual reality is a growing sector of the film industry, and it’s getting more common in commercials to create new experiences. Here are a few examples.

Beachfront was a 360-degree documentary where you walked on a beach as part of a family reunion. It was shot using multiple 4K cameras by Vrse.

It was directed by Chris Milk. The film was released for free for Samsung Gear VR owners.

The Google Cinematic Arts team produced Sunset Striking (2015), a short virtual reality experience using the Jump camera rig, which captures stereoscopic 360-degree video at 30fps and 120fps. 

The video was also live-streamed in virtual reality so people could watch from their computers.

Strangers with Patrick Watson (2015) was an experience that put viewers on stage alongside the band as they performed their song “Strangers” at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California. It also used an omnidirectional microphone to capture all of the audio.

The music video has racked up over five million views on YouTube since its release two years ago.

Big Sur (2015) was the first scripted narrative piece produced for virtual reality, this short film was created by VRSE, Felix & Paul Studios. 

Virtual reality is the next big thing in the film industry. It is changing everything from the way films are made to how they are viewed.

Every major Hollywood studio has a VR department. Studios like Disney, Fox, J.P. Morgan, and Paramount have all invested in VR content and created divisions specifically for it.

For instance, in 2015, Fox announced that it was creating a division called FoxNext with a $150 million investment. Companies like Google, Samsung, and Facebook have also invested in VR technology due to its growing popularity as well.

Their investments led to giants like YouTube, Hulu, and Netflix creating VR content for their platforms. VR headsets are now more affordable than ever, which has led to an increase in sales across the board.

In 2016 alone, over 3 million VR headsets were sold around the globe and that number is expected to climb this year as well. Combined with cheaper prices for entry-level devices like Google Cardboard, viewers are able to access immersive experiences with their mobile devices on the go more than ever before.

The most recent sales of VR hardware puts the total number of active devices around 42 million worldwide.VR technology has also penetrated other areas of entertainment such as gaming, sports and live events such as concerts and festivals.

Virtual Reality And Data Visualization

It seems like the world is moving toward a more digitally enhanced future. The good thing is that businesses can use VR to help gain a competitive advantage in this digital age.

Trying to build a buzz around your company’s product or services? Create a virtual reality experience that will make your clients feel like they are part of the action. 

Creating new ways to visualize data? A virtual reality environment can be implemented to enable better understanding of the data being presented.

Reaching out to clients? Show them how your products or services can improve their lives with a virtual reality experience. At some point, everyone will have experienced VR through video games that get you involved in a different world.

Now, it’s time for businesses to step up and use VR for real-world applications. As Tim Cook, Apple CEO mentions in his article “The Future of Virtual Reality Is Already Here,” “We are all capable of imagining what tomorrow will bring,” Cook wrote, “but we do not have the tools today to fully understand what those innovations will be.”

How will VR change our business strategies? Read on to learn more about the ways that VR can help communication, marketing, and sales. A few weeks back, I had the opportunity to try out a virtual reality headset prototype.

Truly immersive computing has been a dream of mine for nearly three decades. My curiosity in the field goes back to my undergraduate days (mid-80s) when I read Steven Levy’s book “Hackers”.

The book wove together stories from the early days of the personal computer and internet with Hackers, who were a group of individuals who had a passion for technology and understanding how it worked. 

They developed many of the software tools that are second nature to us today such as email, word processing, spreadsheets and bulletin boards. The first time I tried out a VR headset was at NASA Ames Research Center in 1989 and again at SRI International in 1992.

To say that I am excited about virtual reality would be an understatement! As someone who works with data every day, it’s hard not to envision what VR could do to simplify our lives by providing a way to visualize complex data sets with relative ease. 

For example, take Bloomberg TV’s recent segment on money laundering which used animations to show financial transactions of specific shell companies.

This is something you could easily do with virtual reality (VR). In fact there are already some examples out there such as this one

Virtual Reality For Aviation, Medicine, And The Military

For the majority of us, VR is a catch-all term for a new tech trend we will hear much more about in the next few years. The term encompasses many different types of VR headsets, VR apps, and VR content—from 360° videos on Facebook to fully immersive environments such as the Oculus Rift.

Truly immersive experiences have only been possible with Oculus Rift’s Crescent Bay headset, which is the best example of what the consumer version of a virtual reality headset will be like. The technology is still very young and it may be a couple more years until we see true consumer-grade VR headsets from Oculus and other companies.

In the meantime, there are already numerous applications for VR that you can use today. For example, one in five surgeons at Stanford University has used virtual reality to practice common procedures before going into surgery.

Virtual reality helps pilots train for situations that would be too dangerous or expensive to actually happen in real life. For example, pilots can learn how to handle engine failures at any angle instead of just straight down when they’re practicing in an airplane simulator.

Another area where this technology has been used is in gaming applications. For example, when people play video games they wear headsets and are able to interact with their game environment.

They are able to turn around and see what is behind them instead of just seeing what is right in front of them on their television screens. 

Virtual Reality And The Treatment Of Mental Illness

The advent of virtual reality (VR) has the potential to change the way we treat a wide range of mental health conditions, from phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to gambling addictions and even psychosis. The reasons for this are varied and profound.

VR is allowing us to create worlds that are more immersive than ever before, enabling users to be present in situations they might otherwise find too stressful to handle. It is also allowing us to understand the mechanisms of anxiety and fear at a level previously impossible.

This knowledge can be applied to the treatment of mental illness. Virtual reality has already been used in several areas with great success.

In exposure therapy, where people learn how to be in the presence of their phobia, VR is able to recreate scenarios in a controlled environment, enabling an exposure that would be impossible in real life. 

VR allows therapists to pace the therapy and ensure that their patients learn how to respond appropriately in a situation before giving them greater responsibility for their own experience.

A study by Dr Hunter Hoffman and his team at the University of Washington Department of Psychiatry found that 76% of participants who were fearful of heights were able to overcome their fear after walking over a 100-foot bridge in virtual reality. 

Mental health problems aren’t things that can be easily fixed. Sure, there are ways to treat them, but it takes time.

People have to go through therapy and other interventions in order to even start recovering from conditions like depression, anxiety, or PTSD. This is where VR comes in.

VR has the potential to be used as a tool for recovery, helping patients deal with their problems in a safe environment. Some studies have already been done in order to test this theory and they seem to show that virtual reality can indeed help people recover from mental illnesses.

The theory behind using VR for mental health intervention is that it helps patients “re-experience” past traumatic events without having any adverse reactions such as panic attacks or flashbacks.

By doing so, they can acquire more control over their reactions when dealing with real-life situations that remind them of their trauma.

VR has also been proven effective at helping people deal with fear and anxiety by making them face their fears in a controlled environment; VR also helps with pain management by distracting people from any discomfort they might feel due to their illness or injury.

Virtual reality can also help people deal with grief — for example, someone who lost a loved one can visit a virtual world where they can see the deceased again and talk with them.