Table of Contents:

1. Introduction
2. What is Virtual Reality
3. Difference between Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality
4. Types of Virtual Reality
5. Benefits of Virtual Reality
6. Application of Virtual Reality
7. The working of Virtual Reality
8. Main features of Virtual Reality
9. Conclusion

If there is anything that defines our tomorrow, it’s virtual reality. To most of you, it may come across as science fiction but realistically, the types of virtual reality blend in with our daily lives. Popularly known as VR, it is here to stay.

The stimulating experience is far away from the real world. Applications of virtual reality technology involve medicine, education, video games, sports, mental health, engineering, fashion, education, arts, business communication and more. With the diverse COVID-19 gloom-ridden impact, it has clamped the virtual reality space positively. In a 2020 survey, almost 71% of respondents aver using VR technology during the pandemic. Also, the virtual reality space is predicted with a compound annual growth rate of 27.9% from 2020 to 2025.

Reality Check: Businesses project a boom by adopting virtual reality, with nearly 56% of businesses implementing VR or AR in some form.

What is virtual reality?

To begin with, the origin of virtual reality is not as recent as you may think. However, the widespread application of this forward-thinking technology has made it an essential subject. Its invention date goes back to the mid-1950s, and the progressive advancement has led to its surging implementation.

VR is a computer-generated, fully digital experiential environment involving realistic-looking images for authentic interaction. The cutting-edge technology allows users to leverage computer automation for a three-dimensional experience. Virtual reality makes use of sensors to replicate real-life activities and make users believe they are in the situation. It tricks the human brain into discerning the virtual situation as reality. With successive headway in technology, VR advancements have occurred in interface design and devices.

Difference between Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality:

VR and AR are both reality technologies that work toward enriching or replacing real-life surroundings. With augmented reality, the application lets the user add digital elements to a real-world situation by relying on a smartphone or a tablet screen. AR combines the real and simulated worlds and can enhance both.

On the other hand, Virtual Reality is an immersive experience that replaces the real world with a simulated one. It stamps out the real world with an entire virtual world. It is a customised environment meant to be larger than life. The captivating situation cannot do without a headset device.

Types of Virtual Reality

Primarily there are three types of VR.

1. Non-immersive VR

A non-immersive VR is fashioned to impart a computer-generated environment where the user can control activities without direct interaction. The type of VR is commonly used in everyday life, and it completely relies on a computer or a video game console to build an environment. One common example of a non-immersive VR would be a video game where you can control the character without direct interaction.

Non-immersive virtual reality is a type of VR in which you interact with a virtual environment, usually through a computer, where you can control some characters or activities within the experience, but the virtual environment is not directly interacting with you.

2. Semi immersive VR

A semi-immersive VR allows a virtual tour while connecting to the physical surroundings. The technology is somewhere in between non-immersive and fully-immersive VR. With the help of VR glasses, the user can experience a virtual environment without any physical sensation. It simply means a semi-immersive VR allows the user to be in a different reality while being connected to their physical surroundings. The technology depends on high-resolution and powerful simulators to impart realism. This type of virtual reality is often used for education or training purposes.

3. Fully immersive VR

Here’s the most realistic simulation experience ever. A fully immersive VR has incorporated technological advancements for a complete virtual tour from sound to sight. The type of virtual reality is completely confined and away from the physical surroundings. It is commonly adapted for gaming and entertainment. In a fully immersive VR, the user would feel physically present in the virtual world and would experience events like they are first-hand. The artificial environment is created with special equipment like VR glasses, body detectors, gloves, and sense detectors. The display creates a stereoscopic 3D effect for a believable experience. 

A common example of a fully immersive VR would be a virtual gaming zone which involves the players interacting with the virtual environment and playing against each other. The breakthrough technology stimulates as many senses as possible to provide a true-to-life experience.

Benefits of Virtual Reality:

The Virtual reality technology comes with several benefits.

• It provides high-quality visualisation with countless sensations.
• A fully immersive VR can simulate potentially menacing real-world situations like flight operations or surgery.
• As a tourist, virtual reality technology helps you decide if any upcoming trip is worth it or not. 
• The types of VR provide consumers with an engaging experience.
• Virtual reality is of great help to pilots, firefighters, astronauts and police officers to practise in a safe environment before getting into a jeopardised situation.
• This technology is handy in day-to-day activities.
• It makes watching more enjoyable, thereby creating interest.
• Virtual reality can effectively overcome language barriers.

Application of Virtual Reality

1. Healthcare

The medical field has been one of the biggest embracers of virtual reality technology. Amateur professionals can practise complex situations and get trained for real-world scenarios without risking any life. Furthermore, VR systems can also cure issues like depression, alcohol addiction, claustrophobia and more. A study proves an improvement of 37% with the help of VR technology. 

2. Retail

Virtual reality has taken the retail industry to the next level. It provides a dive engagement to potential consumers by collecting all the information and providing a tailored experience. Some examples include allowing consumers to try clothes, eyeglasses, a new haircut or even furniture for the home. COVID-19 has increased virtual sampling by 32% and is foreseen growth by $18 billion by 2028.

3. Automotive

Virtual Reality in the automotive sector foregrounds experimentation without an extortionate blueprint plan. The technology helps save time and money while designing and redesigning exterior and interior components. Companies like Tesla and Audi have come to the fore to create a virtual showroom and allow users to explore the features by sitting in a virtual car. The global VR market is expected to touch $54 billion by 2026.

4. Sports

Sounds far away from the conventional path, sports space takes a state-of-the-art approach with visual reality technology. The National Football League coaches have leveraged VR technology to train players. 

5. Education

Virtual Reality has been big in the education space to boost student engagement and abet in staying focused. VR technology has helped students go beyond the traditional methods, foster creative thinking, promote peer interaction and flourish their imagination.  

The working of Virtual Reality

The working of virtual reality involves software and hardware to create a realistic experience. The technology’s end objective is to provide high-intensity sensory stimulation.

• A head-mounted display is worn on the head to deliver a 3D view of virtual reality. The realistic experience encompasses newfangled audio, motion-tracking sensors, 3D effects and hand trackers. A VR headset blocks the outside world to create a simulation for the user. The screen sets a peripheral vision and lets the user feel they are in the situation.
• Components like magnetometers, gyroscopes and accelerometers modify the virtual environment as per the user position.
• A headphone with spatial audio imparts an audio landscape which would be anticipated in a real environment.
• Gloves, controllers, treadmills revive senses such as touch, enhancing engagement in a virtual environment. 

Main Features of a Virtual Reality

1. Immersion

The end goal of a VR system is to immerse the user in virtual reality. The process involves fusing into a peripheral vision by cancelling the surround sound and giving the user complete control over the situation. Some interactive features make the immersion even stronger.

2. Interaction

Interaction takes virtual reality to the next level and elevates the immersion experience. For instance, users can control elements and interact with the new Playstation. VR simulations have been upgraded by allowing interaction with characters and the ability to pick objects.

One Last Thought:

The future of Virtual Reality is going to shock you pleasantly. An International Data Corporation research of 2018 has speculated a 21-fold investment, reaching 15.5 billion euros by 2023. In 2020, more than half the European companies will adopt different types of virtual reality strategies.

However, India is still in the infancy stage and is gradually inducing the virtual world. Much has been spoken about integration with artificial intelligence, which together rules the present and future.

Virtual Reality is no more fiction. The Interactive Technology major at Atria University will help you gain a strong understanding and create a physical piece that reacts to a viewer’s voice, face or movement. Pursue Virtual and Augmented Reality Development to master modern technology.