U4 VR Investigation
What is VR?
VR (Virtual Reality) is the name of a type of wearable headsets with screens inbuilt to give you full control of what your looking at and to trick your brain into thinking you are in another place. This is done by using specially made lenses and normally two screens in a headset to simulate depth and make the world look 3D and will normally try to block out all outside light to make it so all you can see is the headsets display. VR is different from other technologies such as AR (Augmented Reality) which projects 3D Digital objects into to real space. However AR and VR have been mixed in some use cases such as using cameras on a VR headset to display the real world and mixed it in with the VR world.
VR is commonly paired with 3D motion tracking and's motion controllers similar to the Nintendo Wii to allow for full body movement and hand interaction with the VR world. VR can also be used with things like motion simulators and novel Input devices depending on the use case very well. These can be things like bird simulator.
What uses does VR have
VR has three main areas it can be used and is being experimented with.
Entertainment e.g games, VR video, VR attractions
Simulation e.g Practice and simulation for things like the police, fire service, Army, Doctors etc. and simulations for entertainment and pro purposes like Driving simulation.
Health Care E.G mental health treatment, treating PTSD, calming patients etc.
Entertainment
Entertainment is the most commonly known use of VR. This is mainly Video games although this is still a new industry segment and so not fully matured so there's lots of experimentation and people trying to force old genres into this new medium with mixed results.
Some of the most Popular VR Games are
3D video is another main use of VR for entertainment this is still highly experimental such as VR seats at sports games and other live events for example. There is a lot of possibilities of 3D VR videos but due to the limited number of users of VR devices and due to how new it is we do not know yet where this will go.
Finally VR attractions these have a very wide range of applications from wearing a VR headset on a roller coaster for a novel experience turn a ride on a coaster from a normal ride to flying in space or whatever the developers decide to
You also have things like VR arcades with things like VR laser tag and VR mazes etc. these are things which may be extremely popular in the future if the technology evolves.
Simulation/Training
Simulation VR is mainly for helping people train for difficult and intricate jobs that normally are hard to simulate cheaply, safely and quickly. For example Crime scene simulation where normally you would have to build fake props to simulate this instead you can 3D scan a real crime scene and turn it into a 3D environment to help Train the police Investigators in more realistic scenarios. Other examples are for doctors where you can help teach student doctors things with 3D model representation of human organs etc and have scenarios performing care on simulated patients in VR to practice things like surgery.
Here is a useful Reference of what VR is being used for in this space from BBC Click
the VR stuff starts at around 19 minutes into the video.
Also another major use of VR and somewhat not surprisingly is VR Driving and Flight simulators for both training and personal uses as well as Entertainment. This ranges from people at home using a VR headset and a simulation grade set of wheel and peddles to play online Esport driving simulators like IRacing to military Flight simulators with full cockpits and motion simulation powered by supercomputers to train fighter pilots.
Health Care
VR can be used in a few ways in Health care first one training i mentioned above in the Simulation section but secondly is mental health treatment and finally calming patiences when in hospital and when being examined etc when they cant be put to sleep.
Mental health treatment is mainly things like helping people deal with phobias and overcome traumatic events such as a fear of hight's or to deal with something bad that happened when they were younger like a near death experience etc.
A brief History of VR
WHO started developing it and why
A film maker Morton Heilig in the 1950s developed a VR booth called the Sensorama. This was kinda like a camera booth but to simulate 3D wind smell and vibrations to immerse the viewer in the experience.
There was more developments in the area during the 60s and 70s with 1 milestone being the US military in the 80s called the Super cockpit this was a military flight simulator with a 3D Head Mounted display or (HMD)
The first attempts at mass market VR were in the early 90s with early VR arcades and Sega VR and later Nintendo's Virtual Boy. However these were heavily limited by the technology of the time and were either extremely basic like the Virtual Boy or were to costly to be widely used.
here is a interesting documentary about Sega VR
Where is the technology Today?
The modern incarnation of VR started with Oculus Kick Starter back in 2010 which was a large success and before the commercial version came out they were bought by Facebook. And the main competitor is HTC with the VIVE and while they control the largest amount of the desktop VR market nether is very large and software support is limited.
This is due to 3 factors 1 is this being a new medium its both hard to sell and develop good ideas for the Medium that works well with it. The 2nd problem is the cost of the Hardware to power it. With high end VR games needing top end computers to run well on current Headsets. This being in the region of GTX 1080/RTX 2070+ while slower PC's can run VR you are limited to ether lowest possible settings or very simplistic visuals VR games. And even so you still need a midrange PC with around a RX470 or GTX 1050ti performance.
The final reason for VR's Poor adoption at this current time is the Cost of the Headsets the selves with Rift being the cheapest full package at £400 it means a lot of thoughts who would be interested in VR simply cant afford it yet.
There is also mobile VR such as Oculus GO or VR using a smart phone in a HMD these are good for 3D video and none interactive experiences but due to limited power of the hardware and poor controls aren't suited to many VR games and the games on them are normally more basic.
What future developments are on the horizon?
In the coming years there is expected to be a increase in VR adoption as the Hardware improves and falls in price with newer headsets by the major players like Oculus. Also its expected newer headsets will tactical some of the current limitations with VR such as Poor Resolution needing to be wired to a PC for High end VR and improvements to control inputs.
One other development coming soon is fairly powerful All in one HMD’s like the upcoming Oculus Quest that are a lot more capable and can do a lot more than current All in one models like the Oculus Go which will allow for far better portable none tethered VR experiences. During Oculus’s event last year they demoed a early version of the Quest for a large multiplayer VR laser tag in a large space allowing for more freedom. This is just 1 of the possibilities this new technology can have in the coming years.
Oculus quest showcase
Why is it beneficial to the MOD (Ministry of Defence)
With the military being one of the first users of VR it is no surprise they are trying to find more ways to use the technology. VR is very well suited for simulation and a lot of the problems the general consumer versions have can be overcome for the uses for people like the MOD with things like backpack PCs etc.
The main uses the MOD use VR for is training and therapy for soldiers suffering with things like PTSD.
What do they use VR to train for and why do they use VR over other methods?
VR is used for a wide amount of training such as.
Skydiving simulation.
Flight simulation
Close combat simulation
Land Vehicle training
The main reasons VR is used are its very cost effective compared to other means. Its very safe again when compared to other means and is also highly versatile meaning it can be adapted to new things quickly unless traditional training grounds. VR is by no means a replacement for other methods of training but help supplement there training.
The other main use VR has for the military is that its a effective tool to have PTSD sufferers recover from traumatic events and to overcome fears and phobias in a safe environment think of it like how you help people get other heights by slowly getting them acclimatised to it so the fear goes away.
Scoure for history milestones https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/history-of-virtual-reality/
Source for Military applications of VR https://jasoren.com/vr-military-training-the-next-step-of-combat-evolution/
