As a kid, I always wanted to be a pilot. The chilling experience of flying a mean machine thousands of feet above the ground is enigmatic. Thinking about it still gives me an adrenaline rush. Though I still fantasize about racing in an F1 race, paragliding from a mountain peak, running into a forest. All this which was a dream before, I have the privilege of experiencing these things today. No, you are getting me wrong! I haven’t turned into a millionaire overnight. Though, it is now possible to experience things and places one can only imagine in his dreams. Thanks to Virtual Reality.
What is Virtual Reality?
Virtual Reality is an advanced computer simulated environment which contains sensory devices such as headphones, haptic devices, wide angle visual display and many other gadgets. This creates sensory experiences including most of your fives senses. This may include touch, hearing, sight and smell. It makes a virtual environment to such an accuracy that the person experiencing it believes it to be real.
The feeling of being a part of a virtual world is known as immersion. This means that you are so indulged in the virtual environment that you can also interact with its components in meaningful ways. This whole combination of immersion and interaction is called telepresence.
For an effective Virtual Reality experience, it is necessary that all of its components are rightly placed so that you become unaware of your real surrounding and your total focus is inside the virtual environment.
The visual display and the sound effects are two basic and vital components for immersion. Thus, VR uses ultra HD displays and speakers that give you a crisp and clear sound for an outstanding experience. Oculus Rift is a popular head-mounted display for VR technology. While its release is still unconfirmed, it has gained outstanding popularity from the Kickstarter event. Other popular headsets like the Sony Playstation VR, HTC Vive Pre, Samsung Gear VR etc are already available in the market and selling heavily for their visual quality.
So what are the Pros and Cons of the Virtual Reality Technology?
The Pros:
- It can be used in the military for simulated combat training and war scenarios.
- It can be used for virtual driving lessons.
- It can give a realistic feel of being inside the game while playing it on PS4 and other gaming consoles.
The Cons:
- First of all, the whole system setup is quite costly. For an outstanding Virtual Reality experience, you will need high definition displays, high-end speakers with monitors, projection screens, haptic devices for touch and sensation etc. Buying these will surely burn a big hole in your pocket.
- The next big concerns the technical aspects. The simulation can be affected by computer latency and disturbance. This will affect you from getting fully immersed in the virtual environment.
- Long time and regular exposure to VR experiences can cause motion sickness and balancing issues. This can be a major concern for your health.
- Even after setting up the whole thing you will need trained and experienced people to demonstrate the VR concept to others. This will again be a big expenditure.
After looking the above facts, I would conclude that:
“With great innovation and technology comes great responsibility too.”
Also read: Best cameras for YouTube videos
