What is VR?

Saturday, 7 October 2017

In short, virtual reality (VR) is a simulated environment that gives a person the feeling of being in that environment instead of the one they’re actually in. Hold on to this thought and read through the following.

For the past 2 decades, people have been indulging themselves in the virtual world of gaming. Every year, companies like NVidia, Intel and AMD are releasing newer and better video cards, which help game developers create games with more realistic graphics. A lot of games have also developed the technology to put the user in an interactive world, be it in the driver’s seat of a car or on the battlefield in a first person shooter. Click the image below and have a look for yourself.

For some it feels very real, but does this count as virtual reality? Not quite. 

Although really impressive, these games do not alter your perception of reality, as you are simply a spectator overseeing the events happening in that world. In order to create an immersive experience necessary for virtual reality, there are other important factors apart from vision. VR experiences also include other sensory stimulation, such as sound and touch. The last ingredient of the recipe is a certain level of interactivity with the lifelike surroundings. When we are able to walk freely within that environment and even interact with things in it, our brains can truly perceive that world as real and thus resulting in a virtual reality.

So how can you experience this VR? Well, one of the most popular ways is by using this. 

My girlfriend using HTC Vive

This is an example of one of the many virtual headsets out there. It works by using a stereoscopic display to make what you see 3D, by giving depth to the image. It is connected to a whole system, which has the ability to track the user’s motion - mainly the head and eye movements. That allows for the image that you are seeing to change with your perspective. This particular headset also has touch controllers with the help of which you can interact with the virtual environment.

For more information on headsets and how to use them, check out "Head set, but no headset".