Despite the fact that the term "virtual reality" appeared in the late 1960s, and the bulk of the development of this technology occurred in the last 10-15 years, many of us haven’t yet acquired the experience of "finding it".
Let's see together what VR is, how it differs from AR, what to do about it?
VR — is an abbreviation of “virtual reality”. Speaking in understandable language, this is a world created by man with the help of technical means. VR immerses a person into an alternate, virtual reality. That is, sitting in the office you have the opportunity to move to the wild beach of California, or to be in the cockpit of a Formula 1 pilot.
AR — is an abbreviation of “augmented reality”. The task of this technology is to add non-existent elements to the real world, through sensory data. AR is able to both add and remove something from the real world. You've probably heard about the game "Pokemon GO" - the most popular example of using this technology. Or remember the presentations from Apple in recent years - people gather around the table and play with a smartphone. The technology that is used in these games allows you to interact with real reality and virtual.
Deal with the terms. But how to get from the ordinary world to the virtual?
This will help your special glasses, helmets and controllers.
The budget option — glasses, which is inserted into the smartphone. These glasses are presented by almost every major manufacturer of smartphones.
They are not expensive, but there is almost no interactive in them. You can only look around. An example of such a device is Samsung Gear Vr, which can be bought at any hardware store.
Another level — glasses with their own screen, which don’t require connection to third-party resources (Standalone VR) and VR helmets. Imagine that the familiar NETFLIX is turning into a cinema hall - why not try to watch the series of your favorite TV show that way?
Portable VRs allow you to more actively interact with the VR world - all your movements are read by special sensors.
It is worth highlighting PC helmets, such as the HTC Vive. Already now, thanks to an advanced system of monitoring human actions, the helmet allows you to move “independently” in the game, physically moving through the real room without the help of a gamepad. This effect is achieved by using free-standing sensors. The minimum area required for installing tracking sensors is 1.5x2 meters, and the placement height is 2 meters. The maximum allowable distance between sensors is 5 meters.
You can control and interact with the other world with the help of controllers. For example, a game where you need to pick up a bow, pull a string and protect your castle is controlled by the controllers - you will feel the vibration when you pull the bow. This will allow you to dive deeper into the wonderful world of virtual reality.
Next time we will introduce you to the history of VR. Stay tuned
