Thu, 28 Mar, 2024

Virtual Reality

By Saras Karanjit

Photo Courtesy: http://www.digitaltrends.com/

The world is getting digitized every day and technology is developing more rapidly than anyone ever imagined. With new advanced technologies and concepts being produced every day, Virtual Reality (VR) is one that has grabbed the attention of many and has stood out ahead of its competition. Virtual Reality as the name goes is a concept to replace your reality with an identical computer generated environment. These environments essentially replicate realistic situations. It could include games or any environment you walk around or even a video that's playing all around you when you look around. The whole idea of this is to trick your brain into thinking that that’s your new reality.

The concept of virtual reality actually started with the Air Force as a part of their flight training program. This was a much efficient and cheaper way of teaching new pilots about flight maneuvers, ejecting and crashing, all without risking millions of dollars’ worth of actual planes.

At a personal level, you can just experience a virtual world for yourself for entertainment purposes. We get a kind of VR headset to put around your head and eyes locked on the screen. It’s like headphones which take control of our hearing but at the same time, it controls our vision as well. There are basically two types of VR headsets. One type is where we plug our smartphone into the gear and it becomes the screen for the display like the Google Cardboard or Samsung's Gear VR. The other one has a screen or a gyroscope that does everything like the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. VR headsets which use smartphones is assisted by the sensors of the phone while the other type has gyroscope which detects our head movement and takes us to the 3D world.

The field in which VR has had the most impact is in the field of gaming. Besides gaming, there are a lot of other potentials of VR which might prove to be even more productive like Virtual Travel. In this concept, one can use a VR set to feel like he is present at that any place without having to actually go there. This will be greatly aided by all the 3D photos and videos concepts coming our way. Also, it can be used for experiencing movies with a much more realistic feel at home or at the theater itself. It has been claimed that after Gaming and Live events falling in the top uses of VR, use of VR in Adult Entertainment Industry will take the third spot.

Virtual reality has been put to test on different platforms and the reactions have been priceless. People have enjoyed this new invention which is a real body for its upgrade and further potential applications. Developers have started brainstorming innovative ideas to get the VR launched for the household as well as commercial uses. With technology growing at this rate, we have no idea what to expect in the near future.