We all have mostly heard the words Virtual reality and reality. The definition of virtual is close or near to reality and reality in a sense is what humans can perceive and experience. SO the term virtual reality suggests near-reality. Just theoretically, it can suggest that it is any sort of simulation of reality but in real and generally, it suggests a specific type of simulation of reality.
Information about the world is provided by our senses and perceptual processes. We learned about the five senses in school: taste, touch, smell, sight, and hearing. They are, however, only our most obvious sense organs. Humans, on the other hand, have a lot more senses, including a sense of balance. Because of these many sensory inputs, as well as some specific sensory processing by our brains, we have a rich flow of information from the world to our ideas.
Our senses provide us with all the information we need about our environment. To put it another way, our whole view of reality is made up of a mix of sensory input and our brain’s data-processing machinery. It seems to reason that if you can deceive your senses into obtaining incorrect data, your perception of reality will shift. You’d be given a version of reality that isn’t real but looks to be from your point of view. This is the essence of virtual reality. In this blog, we will discuss the historical evolution of the technology, its advantages, disadvantages and we will end with prospects.
History
The virtual reality headset that we are experiencing has its roots somehow in the 1800s. Modern Photography in the form of the first stereoscope that employed twin mirrors to create a single image was first used in the year 1838. This opened up the room for a range of experiments and most importantly view-master came out of this in the year 1939.
Jaron Lanier, the founder of VPL Research, created the term “virtual reality” in the mid-1980s when he began inventing the required equipment, such as goggles and gloves, to experience what he named “virtual reality.”
Long before that, technologists were working on virtual worlds. The Sensorama, which took place in 1956, was a turning point. Morton Heilig has a long background in the Hollywood film industry.
The Sensorama experience simulated riding a motorcycle in a real metropolitan environment. Multisensory stimulation allowed you to see the road, hear the engine, feel the vibration, and smell the exhaust in the constructed “world.”
Heilig patented the Telesphere Mask, which is a head-mounted display device, in 1960. Many inventors would use his work as a starting point.
The Ultimate Disney was another development in the area in 1965 and it was a head-mounted gadget he claimed that it will be a portal into a virtual world
There were some breakthroughs in the next two decades too with haptic devices and various tools but one of the most important ones was Virtual Interface Environment Workstation (VIEW) system. It was developed at the NASA Ames Research centre and it opened the floodgates for more discoveries.
In the field, the 1970s and 1980s were exciting times. Projects working on haptic devices and other tools that would allow you to move about in virtual space ran alongside optical developments.
The six decades of pioneering innovators who paved the way for low-cost, high-quality devices that are now widely available owe a debt of appreciation to today’s virtual reality gear.
Advantages of VR
It’s ‘’Real’
When playing games or seeing landscapes, virtual reality, on the other hand, gives many superior graphics that give the viewer the feeling of being on another planet. For instance, The users playing games using Virtual reality get an impression of real-world objects and events and it all together creates a different ecosystem that was never imagined before. Not only gaming, but the movies utilising Virtual reality also make their viewers feel and experience on a different level.
Adventure in a safe environment
The capacity to learn and practise by simulating potentially dangerous real-world operations like surgery, fighting, and flight, among many other fantastic benefits, would be the most practical utility of VR technology.
Information detail and depth
Virtual reality can be of great help in the tourism sector as it can give tourists a preemptive feel of what the spot may look like. Tourists can view the most famous spots in virtual reality and then can make their decisions based upon that.
Not just an idea, it’s practical
Virtual reality is useful in our day-to-day activities, such as shopping. Let’s imagine you’re seeking house interior design inspiration. However, merely looking at the designs does not help you choose a fantastic fit, leaving you in a difficult situation. Such uncertainty may be easily overcome by combining the designs and interiors of your house using virtual reality to make an educated decision.
Disadvantages Of VR
Unyielding
Many people feel that however, the technology can evolve there remains one most limiting aspect is that it can not be altered from the pre-programmed stuff and utilising it for educational purposes can remove the much-needed human interface that is essential.
Addictive
Someone may get fascinated with something if they are absorbed in it for a long period. This is especially true when it comes to something as extraordinary as virtual reality. Many people like games that allow them to engage in violence and other illegal activities, but if this becomes an obsession, they are so much more likely to use violence in real life.
Costly
Though the technology is evolving and in fact, has evolved to a great extent but still, virtual reality related technologies are very costly and will not be able to cater to a wide range of customers and this can be the thing that will hold the technology adoption back.
Ethical dimensions
Since this is a growing vertical and already there have been many instances raised of children getting addicted to the virtual world and preferring it over the real world and the violent nature of the virtual world getting translated into the real world and this raises many fundamental questions on the aspects of morality and ethics too.
Future Prospects
The creation of a virtual environment that is presented to our senses in such a way that we feel physically present in it is known as virtual reality. It accomplishes this goal using a range of technologies, and it’s a technically difficult endeavour that must account for human vision and intellect. It may be used for both amusement and seriousness. Technology is becoming increasingly affordable and accessible. Because of virtual reality’s potential, we should expect to see many more novel applications in the future, as well as a fundamental shift in how we interact and work.
Most studies indicate the potential of technology that will be observed soon, most probably in the coming decade, given improvements in technologies such as cellphones and Internet technologies, as well as gadgets and technologies becoming more affordable and less pricey.
People in today’s market are searching for cost-effective solutions that go beyond leisure, tourism, and marketing. Clipping, which allows solid objects to seem as though they may be passed through, must also be addressed with virtual interfaces. Or to lessen the negative effects of virtual reality on people, such as motion sickness, dizziness induced by a mismatch between our body’s movement and what we see in the virtual environment.
