Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality brings to us a strange world of interesting points and a ton of fun along the way. With new trends following Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality and Augmented Reality, the world just got a whole lot better.

My parents always told me as a kid not to sit to close to the TV as it would hurt my eyes and now playing with an HTC Vive I can’t help but have this massive screen right up in my face, what did I learn as a kid, that the future was going to be an awesome place to experience. Now I feel like a kid again.

Types of Virtual Reality Devices

1. Oculus Rift – The first to be introduced into a world of how cool is this.
2. HTC Vive – The Vive truly made a large step forward to bring us what its like to really play inside a virtual world.
3. Samsung Gear VR – When this was released it really did look awesome, the only difference being, all the power for the VR was now handled through the mobile phone. You need a mobile phone to be able to use the Gear VR.
4. Google Cardboard – For the cheap alternative and yet still requires a mobile phone.
5. HoloLens – The Holy Grail when it comes to Mixed Reality, the HoloLens far exceeds the limitations for the consumer device, only available to developers and used on a large footprint of commercial businesses. The HoloLens has enabled NASA to allow a team to walk on Mars thanks to the rover taking photos and placing the end user inside a strange new world.

Different Kinds of Virtual Reality

1. World on a Window – This particular Virtual Reality system is perfect for the field of medicine. Typically using a desktop monitor rather than an HMD, it allows its user to visualize complex medical procedures such a surgeries or colonoscopies. What’s more, it can also be used for the simulation of a number of training scenarios.
2. Immersive – The next step beyond the World on a Window view is the immersion using a virtual headset. By removing its users from the physical world, and placing them in a virtual world, the sharp visuals and crisp audio delivered via the HMD can help them escape everyday life and explore a far-off land.
3. Telepresence – Refers to a set of technologies which allow a person to feel as if they were present, to give the appearance of being present.
4. Mixed Reality – The final kind of Virtual Reality that we will be looking at is Mixed Reality. This is where computer generated inputs are brought together with the previously mentioned telepresence inputs or the user’s view of the real world to create a valuable output. This could be a fighter pilot’s view of maps or key data points displayed inside his helmet, or a surgeon being able to view real-time patient information during a complex surgery while wearing an HMD.

Mixed Reality WDDM Issues