VIRTUAL REALITY
What is virtual reality?
Virtual Reality or Augmented Reality is a simulation of a specific environment that is perceived as real by the user. The game is all about playing with human senses, vision and hearing in particular. An increased focus now is towards haptic sensitivity. Virtual reality provides an experience of interactive and immersive environment and depends widely on the use of Smartphone devices. Creating an Augmented or Virtual Reality environment was a significant initiative towards three dimensional (3D) technologies nevertheless a lot of progress is yet to be made.
Screens emerged as an essential component of our lives over the past decade. The introduction of smartphones revolutionized not only our communication but also our workplaces, travelling, financial dealing along with personal living patterns.
With the invasion of smartphones in our lives, Virtual reality stepped in. The first episode of Virtual Reality was hit in the form of Pokemon Go, but at that time nobody was able to sense that gravity with which it was going to hit the future of humanity. Pokemon Go was a hit experience of augmented reality carried out in 2016.
The required accessories like specialized gloves, headphones and goggles are operated via connecting to computer hardware while the software part controls the operation. The VR equipment has strict design requirements that must be attractive as well as interactive and user friendly. The devices have a complicated geometry which has to interact with the geometry of other primary devices which requires the client and the technical team to unanimously set the optimal fiducials thus ensuring high performance standards.
Pros and Cons
Virtual Reality had been a fiction a few years back but the technology has been useful in our daily lives. The advantages attributed to Virtual Reality technology are that:
- Magnificent Visualizations:
Virtual reality head set displays high quality pictures and visualizations that are attractive to the user. A three dimensional visualization renders study of pictures, patterns, trends and interactions easy.
- Innovative and enjoyable:
Irrespective of the age, graphics and visualizations are always more interesting than reading the traditional font which triggers boredom and is exhausting.
The user encounters amazing experiences that are often not feasible to create in the real world or cannot be lived in. Use of it has raised user motivation level and performance.
It has also destroyed the language barrier thus easing human interaction and understanding.
- Remote Access:
These devices can be operated at a small controlled area and can be used remotely thus reducing area accost and other hidden expenses. It is cost efficient and time saving
- No Risk
Poses little or no risks and presents simplified solutions to a number of complex problems and scenarios.
.The VR is notorious for a number of reasons too. These include:
- Loss in Human Interaction:
On one hand virtual reality is a blessing for the earthlings yet it caused a great set back to interactions being done. Since our conventional education system was based on one on one interaction, the virtual classroom is somehow an entirely different setup. It is an interaction between the user and the software only. This has affected classroom learning and communication.
- It is more of an addiction to the virtual word:
There is an elevated risk of addiction to the virtual world. The virtual reality entertainment mediums like games and movies pose a serious threat. It has already been encountered in cases of networking games that have promoted depression, violence and drug abuse.
- Reduced Flexibility
Users often complain of lesser flexibility as in case of one on one interaction. In the case of a conventional classroom, there are face to face communications, question answer sessions. But for a virtual classroom it is only the user and the software, whose functionality is limited as per its design and cannot be modified.
- Big Budget:
At present it is quite expensive. Advanced technology demands a full pocket. Millions and Billions of dollars are required for widespread of this modern trend. The modern systems that incorporate it would definitely be accessed by the rich ones at least in the initial years. This affordability will definitely create an inequality in various segments of the society.
The augmented and virtual reality environment is evolving continuously, but along with benefits is a darker side too. However, in a nutshell the perks have exceeded the setbacks in overall terms.
There is a general perception that Augmented or virtual reality has its applications only in the entertainment industry. But there are other aspects that have not been given due consideration. VR has its use in the medical and psychological field. These simulations have helped overcome fears and phobias as people can drive in an uncomfortable situation and can practice self-control and can learn to compose themselves without any potential danger.
The VR has been adopted as a technique of war simulation and general training by military forces. It trains soldiers to combat tough war and weather conditions without any risk of injury or causality. Virtual boot camps, battlefield medical simulations, vehicles and ammunition lessons all are being practiced.
As of 2020 the pandemic of COVID-19 has made people stuck at home worldwide. The days or quarantine has made the customizable prospect of VR more evident while working from home (WFH). The online learning and work has lifted up virtual soft wares users by many folds e.g. the number of Zoom users increased from 100M to 300 M. This has pushed such applications to refine their practices and norms i.e. tailored as per user needs evolving on a daily basis.
The use of technologies has never been that much demanding as they were in case of lockdown days. With VR advancements, there are a bunch of opportunities that are ripe for the introduction of new applications that may replace conventional work and educational systems. The primary aim of VR is to deceive human senses making the virtual environment seem more realistic than the actual real world. Not only the visual and auditory, in the present days focus is towards creating artificial odours and controlling human gestures and responses via equipment like Holomachine. Moreover, it is assumed that investment in the VR fields will increase 21 folds in the next three to four years.