[Gaming and Multimedia] Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR), which can be referred to as immersive multimedia or computer-simulated reality, replicates an environment that simulates a physical presence in places in the real world or an imagined world, allowing the user to interact in that world.
Foundry’s interpretation: Virtual reality is the umbrella term for all immersive experiences, which could be created using purely real-world content, purely synthetic content or a hybrid of both.
This is where the industry is getting excited right now. Content-viewing hardware, a.k.a. head-mounted displays (HMDs), ranges from Google Cardboard right up to HTC Vive. The market here is hot, hot, hot and the media is full of news about launches. Second only to excitement about headsets is excitement about cameras. Nokia OZO launched in December, GoPro has its Odyssey—a collaboration with Google Jump, Ricoh has Theta, and there’s also Bublcam and Giroptic.

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FIVE REASONS WHY VR WOULD BE A GAME CHANGER.

1 — Full Sensory Immersion

The goal for technology is to improve our lives. It’s at the heart of innovation and design. No matter what type of technology we’re discussing, its ultimate aim has been to make things just a little bit better or easier for us.

The Internet is one such recent innovation that has personified this level of improvement. Access a small computer in the palm of your hands and the world’s information is at your fingertips. But virtual reality is set to do far more than that, while being aided, of course, by our current state of interconnectedness.

Full sensory immersion are the three words that will set virtual reality apart from all of its predecessors. Imagine taking a test drive without actually going to the dealership. What about trying on clothes without every leaving your house? How about hiking Mount Everest from the comfort of your own home?

The mere thought of this is enough to send our minds into a tailspin. With the use of haptic feedback and other methods that will stimulate the senses that include smell, sound, touch and even taste one day, virtual reality is going to literally change everything.

#2 — The Rise of a Virtual Social Network

Imagine having the ability to go out and meet new people, form bonds, and even network with other business owners without ever having to leave your home. Yes, this is something the Internet has afforded us the opportunity to do today, but imagine doing it as your virtual self.

While the Internet has given us the ability to connect with others, the impersonalization of the screen-to-screen interaction doesn’t hold the same level of impact that an almost-real face-to-virtual-face interaction does. You meet, shake hands, and speak to another person in a seemingly real environment, without ever leaving your home.

Some pundits might think that this is another way that technology is separating us from reality, and that might be true in a sense, but virtual reality will bridge the divide far further than any of its technological predecessors have in making social interactions that occur over the Web easier and more fluid.

It might be hard to envision a future where a Facebook Page can open into a virtual realm where photos and videos become more tangible and real, but it’s the future and it’s approaching far faster than any of us could ever imagine.

#3 — Augment the Ease of Learning Complex Things

The efficiency of our education is increased whenever we learn something by not only hearing about it by reading it in some book, but also by listening to it and actually doing it. Virtual reality will afford us the opportunity to do and learn complex things at a moment’s notice.

Imagine the possibilities that exist for military and educational formats. You can learn to parachute from a commercial airplane just as simply as you can learn to fly a stealth aircraft or rebuild an engine on a space shuttle. Or, how about the capability to study geography and culture by flying to a place in a virtual world and seeing, feeling, smelling and even touching the environment?

The applications are endless, and the word game-changer doesn’t even come close to signaling the coming tectonic shift that’s about to occur thanks to the rise of virtual reality. People can ease their fear of heights by walking a tightrope at the top of a skyscraper, or even speaking in front of a large audience to help them alleviate their fear of public speaking.

#4 — Proving Grounds for Difficult Circumstances

Virtual reality will make seemingly impossible tasks much simpler. Military applications are one such realm where this technology will blossom. The ability to find yourself in an immersive hostile environment without the risk of real bodily harm, yet have the ability to learn and study your surroundings through military-style drills, raids, and invasions will likely be the assistive platform for future battles in the real world.

But it’s not just its military applications that give the potential for enormous benefits. Dry runs for difficult surgeries can make for breeding well-versed surgeons without the risk of death or loss of life that might happen in real-world situations.

Other applications include potential uses by NASA and other government agencies looking to help shed some light on the real physical experience of living, exploring and understanding other planets. Imagine being transported to Mars through a virtual-reality application that mimics all of its environmental and topographical features, allowing the user to literally feel as if they’re on the Red Planet.

Secretive government agencies might even use virtual reality to help topple oppressive regimes by mapping out underground passageways that can be studied through immersive experiences.

#5 — Ease of Accessibility through a Lower-Price Point

While Google suffered a minor setback with Glass, its augmented reality headpiece, it’s surely paved the way for future iterations that will most likely be far less expensive and invasive on others’ privacy.

However, virtual reality is not suffering from the same taboos that have plagued augmented reality. While augmented reality will likely rise in popularity over time, the lower-cost-to-market VR products will most certainly make the technology more easily accessible and widely adapted.

There are 36 million VR-ready PS4 consoles out there in the world today, and with an expected release price of $399, the PS4 VR headset will be competitively priced, likely giving Sony a big leg up in the gaming VR space.

This is not to mention Facebook’s Oculus Rift VR headset, which starts shipping on March 28th with an entire library of games. While the Oculus price of $599 is considerably more than the expected PS4 VR headset slated for October, both prices are still well within mass-market budgets.