Virtualising Reality // Augmenting Reality — Part 1.
Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) have attracted a lot of potential users who are not only fascinated by the technology, but also desire to augment their senses and/or escape the real world. Many people think that there is no clear-cut difference between VR and AR; however, there is a key difference that separates the two entirely different applications of the virtual world. Virtual reality takes the user away into a ‘virtual’ environment blocking out any trace of the ‘real’ world; Augmented reality, on the other hand, augments — adds to — the real world with elements from the virtual world.
Another key difference is that we have already started commercialising products that allow people to experience virtual reality. VR Headsets such as the Oculus Rift, Google Cardboard and even Sony’s upcoming Playstation VR headset allow consumers to experience games in an engaging and immersive virtual environment. Augmented reality, meanwhile, hasn’t matured as much as virtual reality. Microsoft’s Hololens is one of the few augmented reality headsets that has been commercially announced — the development edition starts shipping on March 30th, 2016. In essence:
Augmented Reality is
[caption id=”attachment_1257" align=”aligncenter” width=”640"]
Virtual elements appearing in the real world.[/caption]
and Virtual Reality is
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Transports the user from the real world to a virtual, human-created environment.[/caption]
Why should we be excited about Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality?
I shall answer this question in two parts: one part dealing with VR (this article) and the other dealing with AR (will be updated with a link as soon as the next part is up).
Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality opens up many exciting possibilities for transmission and consumption of media and information. A consumer/user can be instantly transported to any place or setting allowing the creation of enriching experiences that not only stimulate the brain, but also provide some form of relief from the busy real world; virtual reality, for this reason, is being utilised to deliver a next generation gaming experience. Headsets such as the Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR and Google Cardboard are available for purchase and more such as the Playstation VR and HTC Vive are on their way. As of early 2016, developers and companies are pushing virtual reality as a means of augmenting consumers’ gaming experience. By transporting the users into a world built from the ground up to support a particular game, game developers can leverage their creativity to create worlds and games that not only have a compelling storyline, but also are set in breath-taking vistas of mountains and forests. Imagine walking through Mushroom Kingdom while leading Mario through treacherous puzzles, or running across the streets of Los Santos while completing a mission in Grand Theft Auto. Virtual Reality would open up new doors for gaming and would allow developers to create worlds and games that were previously limited by 2D displays.
The video below shows you the different games that are coming to the Oculus Rift; it also gives you an idea of how immersive the experience is going to be.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN6YCFlS8nU[/embed]
Apart from being a boon to games, virtual reality can also be used to deliver high-quality news content. By creating a virtual environment that mimics the setting or news being covered, consumers not only get a steady stream of information, but also a sensory experience of being involved. Imagine being transported to Russia and watching the FIFA World Cup final live, cheering with other people and supporting your favourite team; or imagine taking a stroll through the Amazon, while National Geographic describes the vegetation and wildlife present around you. In this way, virtual reality will add another dimension to transmission of information as well as turn the mundane news hours into a series of exciting and exhilarating experiences.
Nonny de la Peña gave a TED talk that focused on how virtual reality was the future of news telling — the talk is embedded below.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsLz0mRmEG0[/embed]
Surrounded by numerous benefits and fanfare, virtual reality has a lot of flaws as a technology (at the time of writing this article). Headsets that focus on immersive multimedia experiences (gaming, etc.) require a computer to have substantial graphical oomph to keep up with the high refresh rates, graphic-intensive programs and the calculations needed to have a smooth experience with body and face tracking. On the other hand, some headsets such as the Google Cardboard and the Samsung Gear VR work in tandem with your phone, thereby requiring no additional hardware to provide the user with VR content.
Virtual Reality, being relatively infant as an industry, is expensive. An Oculus Rift is priced at $599 and that doesn’t even include the computer required to run the games; meanwhile, a PlayStation VR headset is expected to cost $399, which is as much as a PlayStation 4. The state of virtual reality in early 2016 is a mirror image of the year of the advent of the personal computers or of smartphones — intially expensive and bulky; but over time, they became better and more affordable. Over the next few years, we can expect to see the same trend with virtual reality; not only will headsets get better, but also they will become a lot more affordable. In addition to that, there will be more services that provide VR content — such as your local cable television, and maybe even Netflix.
[caption id=”attachment_1287" align=”aligncenter” width=”620"]
The Oculus Rift Headset.[/caption]
[caption id=”attachment_1286" align=”aligncenter” width=”640"]
The PlayStation VR Headset.[/caption]
The main question is: Should you get a virtual reality headset in early 2016?
Answer: Yes, if you own the required hardware to have a good virtual reality experience and are interested in virtual reality. You will experience a new dimension in terms of media consumption and get a lot more utility and fun out of your expensive computer and/or gaming system; and no, if you do not have a system in place already. Even though, you’d enjoy the virtual world, the initial cost would be too high to justify it.
The future is moving towards a parallel reality, a future where the lines between the virtual world and the real world are too blurred to be seen.
This was part one of the article. Part two focused on augmented reality will be posted soon.
- Images and header image taken from: Oculus.
