9. What is to come of Oculus and Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality is not a new concept by any means. VR finds itself grouped with the likes of time travel and hover cars when it comes to the stereotypical view of the future. The concept of VR has existed since the 1930’s, albeit far from what we have achieved today. Although the concept was sought after and creatively envisioned through the eyes of Hollywood in the 1980's and 90's, the technology had not evolved to the point where virtual reality could have been practical.

The Holodeck from Star Trek is one of the most sought-after form of virtual reality derived from the minds of Hollywood. When the Holodeck is not active the room looks like the picture to the right, but once active the room changes completely to anything the mind can develop.

The Oculus Rift has been the leader in virtual reality right now and has brought exuberance back to this futuristic notion. The Oculus Rift was originally designed as a controller for video games rather than a stand-alone piece of hardware. As the hype grew for the Oculus other major tech companies decided to jump on the VR bandwagon like: Sony, Microsoft, HTC, and Google. While these companies are not developing devices exactly the same as Oculus, they certainly began as a derivative of it.

Google Glass and Oculus emerged onto the scene around the same time. Google Glass was certainly more a more practical application of available technology but was not widely accepted, though the appeal for a full immersive virtual experience remained. Google, one year later, decided to release Google Cardboard, seemingly as a knock towards Oculus. Google Cardboard is literally just a piece of cardboard that holds your phone two inches in front of your face. Google named the type of device as a do-it-yourself virtual reality headset.

Samsung went on with the help of Oculus to create their version of a head-mounted display called the Samsung Gear VR. It is the first truly mobile virtual reality system because when paired with the Samsung Note 4 there is no interfacing needed with external devices whereas the Oculus requires a PC or Mac to operate.

The Samsung Gear VR was developed with the help of Oculus engineers in order to make a similar Oculus experience without having to be restricted by a PC or Mac.

I do not foresee Oculus becoming a major competitor in the world of mobile computing because the field is already dominated by super companies like Samsung, Google and Apple. A much more foreseeable outcome would be that one of these companies buys the technology from Oculus much like how Samsung worked with Oculus on the Gear VR. Companies like Samsung, Microsoft or HTC are more than capable of taking over this field in the coming years. The HTC Vive is praised for the truly immersive experience; the Oculus accomplishes the visual aspect of the virtual reality but lacks in the audio department as well as appealing to the sense touch. Appealing to all the senses is something I find to be crucial for immersion in a virtual reality.

The HTC Vive creates a truly immersive envirnoment by including sensors that track the hardware around the room, which allows one to manuever around a virtual environment without a joystick. The Vive also comes with two joystick like objects (ironically) that act as your hands in the virtual world.

That being said I do not see virtual reality becoming a technology that is used all day everyday like that of a cell phone. Augmented reality, still in early stages of development, shows promise to become a technology that is practical from day-to-day; the Microsoft Hololens is the forerunner in this field. Still, truly augmented reality is a thing of the future.

Microsoft has made some pretty astounding videos showing off the Hololens’ capabilities, and if the videos can become reality I see this becoming an everyday technology (that is if people can get around the idea of walking around with a transparent halo around your face everyday)

In the next five years Oculus could become a popular means to watch a film, play a video game, or even take a virtual tour. As the screen resolution and sound quality improve the experience will more closely resemble real life to the point that the human mind cannot differentiate. Augmented reality has a better chance of becoming a technology that is practical and society could use everyday because it does not require the user to completely block out the external world. Augmented reality could be used as a tool to help make certain aspects of life more convenient. Further expansion of the technology could lead to a reality that is augmented so heavily that it boarders on the realm of virtual. It would only a matter of time before we lose our grasp of reality all together. If technology continues to grow exponentially at this pace and follows the trend that companies like Microsoft suggests it might then future generations may not know a world that lacks some type of augmented reality. The question begins to change from can we create these technologies to should we allow these technologies to completely detract us from reality. While this notion may seem a bit radical, it is frightening to think of world where people are creating false realities for themselves rather than exploring the reality that was created for them.