Virtual reality: everything you need to know

Virtual reality: everything you need to know

Nowadays, progress has reached truly unprecedented heights, and the new generation is able to use such opportunities, which even 10-15 years ago people only dreamed of. What was the mystery and magic today, it was technical progress. One of such moments is virtual reality. Today we will talk about what VR is and how it is used in various fields.

Definition of virtual reality

Virtual reality is a virtual world created with the help of hardware and software, transmitted to a person through touch, hearing, as well as vision and, in some cases, smell. It is the Union of all these effects on human feelings in total is called the interactive world

VR is able to simulate with high accuracy the effects of the surrounding virtual reality on humans, but in order to create a truly believable computer synthesis of reactions and properties within the interactive world, all synthesis processes are calculated, analyzed and displayed as real-time behavior.

The use of virtual reality is multifaceted: in 99 percent of cases, animate and inanimate objects created with the help of such technology are characterized by exactly the properties, behavior and movement that their real prototypes have. At the same time, the user is able to influence all animate and inanimate objects according to the real laws of physics (if the gameplay does not provide for other laws of physics, which happens very rarely).

Principle of work

Виртуальная реальность: все, что вам нужно знать

Many people wonder how the technology works. Here are three main components that are used in almost any interaction with a virtual environment:

  1. Head. Virtual environment carefully, with the help of a specialized headset, monitors the position of the head. Thus, the headset moves the picture according to which side and when the user turns his head – to the side, down or up. This system is officially called six degrees of freedom.
  2. Movements. In more expensive modifications of technical support, the user’s movements are also tracked, and the virtual picture will move according to them. This is not about games in which the user is simply in place and interacting with the environment, but about those where he moves in virtual space.
  3. Eyes. Another fundamental in reality sensor analyzes the direction in which the eyes look. Thanks to this, the game allows the user to dive into the interactive reality more deeply.

The effect of full presence

Already on the term of full presence it is clear what exactly we are talking about: the world is a virtual reality. This means that the user will feel exactly where the game is and can interact with it. The user turns his head-the character also turns his head, the person walks in his room – the player moves in an interactive reality. There are still disputes — is it possible to fully immerse in virtual reality?

The Leap – отслеживание пальцев и кистей

Виртуальная реальность: все, что вам нужно знать

The effect of full presence is achieved by the Leap device. This device, which uses a sophisticated tracking system for each movement, is still part of the very expensive and Top helmets. However, the algorithm is quite simple, and it is present in a slightly modified form in another device, namely in the HTC Vive helmet.

Both the controller and the helmet in HTC Viva are equipped with a variety of photodiodes – small devices that convert light energy into electrical energy.

Important point! In General, a person faces photodiodes and their work every day. As an example, is a photodiode that is responsible for the lighting of the smartphone. The photodiode determines how much light falls on it, and, based on this data, adjusts the brightness level

The same principle of full presence is used in the helmet. Complete with a standard VR helmet are two stations, which through time intervals let a couple of rays – a horizontal and vertical rays. They penetrate the room and get to the photodiodes on the helmet and controller device. After that, the photodiodes begin their work, and in a few seconds there is an exchange of information data, during which the sensors transmit the position of the controllers and the helmet.

This is the algorithm for creating a full presence.

What are the different types of VR

Officially now there are three types of virtual reality:

  1. Simulation and computer simulation.
  2. Imaginary activity.
  3. Cyberspace and hardware.

VR helmets

Виртуальная реальность: все, что вам нужно знать

The start of interactive reality can be considered the creation of three helmets:

  1. HTC Vive
  2. Oculus Rift
  3. Samsung Gear VR

The main difference between these three gadgets is only in the manufacturing companies. Otherwise, they are similar. All three helmets are portable and provide full immersion in the gameplay.

Pros and cons of virtual reality

Pros:

  1. The opportunity to fully plunge into the interactive dimension.
  2. Getting new emotions.
  3. Prevention of stress.
  4. The creation of electronic informational and educational resources.
  5. Holding conferences.
  6. Creation of cultural heritage sites.
  7. The ability to visualize various objects and physical phenomena.
  8. The opportunity for everyone to move to a new level of entertainment.

Cons:

The disadvantages include the following points:

  1. Dependence.
  2. Another obvious disadvantage: virtual reality and its psychological impact on a person – it is not always positive, because there is a risk of too much dive into the virtual world, which sometimes entails problems in social and other spheres of life.
  3. High cost of devices.

THE USE OF VIRTUAL REALITY

Виртуальная реальность: все, что вам нужно знать

VR can be used in such areas as:

  1. Learning. Today, interactive reality allows you to simulate the training environment in those areas and for those activities for which pre-training is necessary and important. As an example, it can be an operation, equipment management and other areas.
  2. Science. VR makes it possible to significantly accelerate the research of both the atomic and molecular worlds. In the world of computer reality, man is able to manipulate even atoms as if it were a constructor.
  3. Medicine. As it was noted, with the help of VR it is possible to train and train medical specialists: to carry out operations, to study equipment, to improve professional skills.
  4. Architecture and design. What could be better than to show the customer the layout of a new house or any other building object with the help of such reality? It allows you to create these objects in virtual space, in full size, for demonstration, whereas previously used manual layouts and imagination. This applies not only to construction projects, but also equipment.
  5. Entertainment. VR is insanely popular in the gaming environment. Moreover, both games and cultural events and tourism are in demand.

VR-is it harmful or not?

Виртуальная реальность: все, что вам нужно знать

So far, it can be noted that no global studies have been carried out in this area, but the first conclusions can already be drawn. Since VR is just being developed (and it really is), many people may have unpleasant feelings when using this technology for a long time. In particular, the person will feel dizziness and nausea.

So far, there is no evidence that VR has a negative effect on vision. The negative effect is undoubtedly there, but it is not so great to sound the alarm. Therefore, it is still unknown, virtual reality, what it is – harm or benefit.

VR-what does the future hold?

Today, virtual reality is not fully completed, so there may be unpleasant sensations. In the future, there will be a lot of devices, copies and analogues that will not adversely affect the human body and psyche.

Also, VR devices will be able to solve problems with the consumption of information data, and sessions will become the same standard and ordinary as the usual games on the computer or consoles these days.

Conclusion

Virtual reality is still a bottomless pit for research and improvement of algorithms. Today, technology is moving very quickly, so we can say with confidence that in the near future the market value of the kit will be affordable to a person with average income.