VIRTUAL REALITY, AUGMENTED REALITY AND WHAT LIES BETWEEN THEM

Will we soon be able to choose the reality of our lives in the way we change the picture on the smartphone screen?

Virtual Reality (VR for short) is a technology that allows a person to experience a different reality from the one he is in, by creating the illusion of replacing the environment he sees, and sometimes hears and feels, in a different environment. A common example is virtual reality glasses such as Gear VR, Day Dream, Oculus Go, Mirage Solo, HTC Vive, or even Google Cardboard made of cardboard and a pair of lenses.Virtual reality glasses usually include a screen or the possibility of connecting a smartphone as a screen and lenses that can be viewed, so that the viewer sees the environment projected instead of the real environment.

 

Unlike VR, Augmented Reality or AR technology makes it possible to change the visible reality without replacing it completely. In other words, virtual information can be added to the physical environment or to a particular location in space. For example, you can watch through the phone screen in the room you are in and place in a furniture room that you want to buy. Alternatively, you can measure the length, width and height of the table in the room. Another example is the possibility of “measuring” clothes before purchase, and to put them on your body in person and according to your size.

 

In the 1960s, Morton Hailig built the Sensorama, an archetype of virtual reality theater that allows viewers to see five short films that include a multi-sensory experience: sight, hearing, smell and touch. A little later, in 1968, Ivan Sutherland and Bob Sprawl built “Sword of Damocles,” a device that includes two television screens suspended from the ceiling above the user’s head (hence the name) and placed before his  eyes. Thus, for the first time, computerized virtual reality glasses were created.

 

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A common use of virtual reality is in computer games and movies. In the first half of the 1990s, a number of versions of virtual reality glasses were released for games, such as the SEGA VR-1 or Nintendo Virtual Boy, but were not very successful.

In the last decade, a new generation of devices such as Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, PlayStation VR and more has been developed, bringing with it many applications and new applications in the field, such as simulated training for sensitive or complex tasks such as medical procedures, military training or flight training.

The most familiar use of the newly discovered reality is the game Pokémon Go, which aims to locate and capture “wandering” Pokemon in the real world.  The game, released in July 2016, has accumulated over 800 million downloads in less than two years!

 

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A more practical use of reality in everyday life is navigation. The realms of virtual reality have become a competitive arena for technology giants. Facebook acquired Oculus VR as early as 2014 and developed Facebook Spaces, a place for interactive meetings in a virtual environment.

In addition, Google is working on DayDream and recently collaborated with Lenovo to create the Mirage Solo, AR / VR with built-in screen. AT & T invested this year in Magic Leap, a start-up that produces innovative laminated goggles that integrate computer graphics, and signed an agreement for cooperation and exclusivity in the American consumer market, combining this technology with 5G communications.

Technology is developing rapidly, and more advanced devices are entering the market. The vision is that within a few years, we can use a virtual reality experience for daily tasks that take place outside the home, such as going to work, shopping, meeting friends and all in a virtual environment.

 If so, the question is, will we soon be able to choose the reality of our lives as easily as we change the picture on the screen on our smartphone? 

Simulated or laminated – it is quite clear that in the coming years the reality of our lives will change without recognition.