Virtual Reality (VR) provides an immersive experience allowing users to strap a device with a screen to their face and look freely around a 360 degree environment while looking completely ridiculous to everyone else. (mn9l)
Virtual Reality has long been the dream of many tech entrepreneurs. It has been attempted over the last couple of decades but every attempt has had its show-stopping quirks, usually related to performance. Issues like high latency have plagued previous attempts. A person issuing a command on a gaming controller and the delay of that action being reflected on screen can be annoying, but in Virtual Reality if what you see on screen isn’t keeping up with your movements it can make you throw up. Virtual Reality demands a new level of precision and perfection offering extremely low latency with every movement of your head which has not been achieved … until now.
Enter Oculus.
Oculus wasORIGINALLY
proposed in a Kickstarter campaign by Oculus VR, which was at the time an independent american based start-up; where it raised $2.5 million for the productsDEVELOPMENT. It has since been acquired by Facebook for $2 billion. Following a large uptake of development prototypes, a consumer version of the Oculus VR named the Rift was made available for pre-orders during January 2016. The Rift is not a stand-alone device, it requires a high spec PC with a powerful GPU to run via cable. It features a 3-axis rotational and positional tracking system, a 1080×1200 OLED screen per eye and integrated sound. With a price tag of $920.00 AU ($599.99 US) and the dependence on a high-end PC rig, the Oculus Rift is primarily targeted towards gamers. Despite this, pre-orders have created a higher than expected backlog and have pushed shipping out from March to July 2016.
proposed in a Kickstarter campaign by Oculus VR, which was at the time an independent american based start-up; where it raised $2.5 million for the productsDEVELOPMENT. It has since been acquired by Facebook for $2 billion. Following a large uptake of development prototypes, a consumer version of the Oculus VR named the Rift was made available for pre-orders during January 2016. The Rift is not a stand-alone device, it requires a high spec PC with a powerful GPU to run via cable. It features a 3-axis rotational and positional tracking system, a 1080×1200 OLED screen per eye and integrated sound. With a price tag of $920.00 AU ($599.99 US) and the dependence on a high-end PC rig, the Oculus Rift is primarily targeted towards gamers. Despite this, pre-orders have created a higher than expected backlog and have pushed shipping out from March to July 2016.
At about the same time, HTC has launched its version of a Virtual Reality headset in conjunction with gaming company Valve named the HTC Vive. HTC claims to have sold 15,000 units within the first 10 minutes of orders opening at a price tag of $817.27 US. Again, you need a pretty sweet PC rig to power
Vive.
There doesn’t seem to be a shortage of people ready to jump straight into the world of Virtual Reality with some big firstGENERATION consumer ready headset orders. There are also a couple of other Virtual Reality devices hitting the market more affordable and accessible to mainstream users.
consumer ready headset orders. There are also a couple of other Virtual Reality devices hitting the market more affordable and accessible to mainstream users.- Oculus Gear – A device which you strap to your head with your Samsung Galaxy S6 or S7 phone, essentially turning your phone into a Virtual Reality screen.AVAILABLE
- PlayStation VR – Will work alongside the PlayStation 4 gaming console. Available later in 2016.
There is no doubt in my mind that Virtual Reality will affect gaming in a big way and slowly become the norm for modern gaming. People who play gamesWANT to be immersed in a different environment and VR truly takes this to the next level. Backing from game companies like Valve (owners of Steam who will be offering a Steam VR Catalog of games) and PlayStation is a show of support for its future and game developers to create content. We already have some big titles on the way.
to be immersed in a different environment and VR truly takes this to the next level. Backing from game companies like Valve (owners of Steam who will be offering a Steam VR Catalog of games) and PlayStation is a show of support for its future and game developers to create content. We already have some big titles on the way.
Will Virtual Reality appeal to the masses and be used for other activities, not just gaming? I believe it will and can see it already is. Last week at my local shopping centre, Audi was showing off their new range by taking people for a ride around a virtual race track using an earlier development kit version of Oculus Rift. Other business could use Virtual Reality to take their customers to another place, like property developers giving virtual realityTOURS of a new development. How about connecting with each other socially using virtual reality? Facebook obviously sees a bright future in Virtual Reality having just invested 2 billion in it. My guess, is they will one day incorporate Virtual Reality as part of the Facebook offering as social media users look for richer media, like the new addition of livestreaming to express themselves and connect with others.
of a new development. How about connecting with each other socially using virtual reality? Facebook obviously sees a bright future in Virtual Reality having just invested 2 billion in it. My guess, is they will one day incorporate Virtual Reality as part of the Facebook offering as social media users look for richer media, like the new addition of livestreaming to express themselves and connect with others.
Like all new advancements in technology, it will take several years as improvements are made and a greater range of content is developed to appeal to the mainstream not just the early adopters. I think Virtual Reality is off to an absolutely crackingSTART and can’t see the great momentum behind it slowing down. So is this another tech fad? Absolutely not, I think this is the beginning of the Virtual Reality revolution.
and can’t see the great momentum behind it slowing down. So is this another tech fad? Absolutely not, I think this is the beginning of the Virtual Reality revolution.
Hachem El Hani
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