Basic Facts You Should Know About Virtual Reality(VR) & Augmented Reality( AR)

Here is an opportunity to learn everything about Virtual reality(VR) and Augmented reality(AR).  If you are the type that just loves updating your knowledge of technology like me, you will find this article extremely useful. This post will cover the most notable comparisons between VR and AR. Read along and enjoy it.

Must Read: Practical areas where Medical doctors can benefit from the use of virtual reality

What’s VR and AR?

   By definition,  “Virtual reality” is the world transmitted to man through his senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch, and others. Virtual Reality imitates an exposure and response to the impact.

Augmented reality (AR) on the other hand is a technology that complements the real world, adding any sensory data. Despite the name, these technologies can both bring in the real world virtual data and remove objects from it. AR possibilities are limited only by the capabilities of devices and programs.

Notable Comparisons Between VR and AR: What are the Differences Between Virtual reality and Augmented reality?

VR blocks the real world and immerses the user into a digital universe. If you put on the headset, suddenly you can find yourself in the middle of a fight against zombies, then this VR. In other words, with VR, all realities of life are blocked out.

AR adds the elements of the digital world into reality. If you walk down the street and suddenly on the sidewalk in front of you appears Pokemon Dragonet, this is AR.

The History of Virtual Reality(VR)

     First and foremost, it is considered that the development of virtual reality began in the 50s. In 1961, Philco Corporation developed the first virtual reality helmets Headlight for military purposes. As a result, this was the first application of the technology in real life. But based on the current classification system, it more likely would relate to the AR-technology.

In addition, the Virtual reality is considered to be the invention of Morton Heilig. In 1962 he patented a virtual stimulant called “Sensorama” first in the world. The apparatus was a bulky device, externally resembling slots 80 and allow the viewer to experience an immersive experience in virtual reality.  For example, a ride on the motorcycle through the streets of Brooklyn. But this Heilig’s invention caused distrust among investors and scientists and he had to stop the development.

    A few years after, a similar device provided by a Harvard professor, who, along with the student Bob Sproull created a “Sword of Damocles“. This was the first virtual reality system based on the head display. Points were attached to the ceiling and through the computer broadcast picture.

    In the 80s the company VPL Research and developed more modern equipment for virtual reality. These equipment include -goggles and gloves EyePhone, and DataGlove. One of the company’s employees,  Jaron Lanier – a talented inventor coined the term “virtual reality”.

The History of Augmented Reality(AR)

 Basically, augmented reality went hand-in-hand with the virtual until 1990. In 1990, the scientist Tom Caudell first proposed the term “augmented reality.” In 1992, Lewis Rosenberg developed one of the earliest operating systems of augmented reality for the US Air Force.

Rosenberg allowed the military to manage virtual machines, while in a remote control center. In 1994 Zhyuli Martin created the first augmented reality in the theatre under the title “Dancing in Cyberspace”.

 Furthermore, In the ’90s there were other interesting discoveries, such as the Australian Dzhuli Martin joined virtual reality TV. Then began the development of gaming platforms using virtual reality technology. In 1993, the company has developed the Sega Genesis console.

 Also, games from Sega VR were accompanied by headaches and nausea, and the device never went on sale. The high cost of devices, poor technical equipment, and the side effects have forced people to forget about VR and AR technologies.

     In 2000, thanks to the addition to the AR technology. The Quake game was introduced. It has an opportunity to pursue monsters on real streets. Truly, the game could only be played with a virtual helmet with sensors and cameras that did not contribute to the popularity of the game, but it was a prerequisite for the emergence of the now-famous Pokemon Go game.

When Did VR and AR Become Popular

The VR/AR boom began only in 2012. August 1, 2012, a not too popular company Oculus launched on its platform a campaign to raise funds for the head-mounted display. Developers promised users an “immersive effect” due to the use of displays with a resolution of 640 by 800 pixels for each eye.

After three and a half years, and on the 6th of January 2015, started pre-sales of the first production of consumer head-mounted display Oculus Rift CV1. It is just as if to say that the release was expected. The entire first batch of helmets has been sold out in 14 minutes.

Surprisingly, this was the symbolic beginning of a boom VR-technology and the explosive growth of investment in this sector. It was in 2015 that virtual reality technology became a truly new technological phenomenon.

What Industry/Company Use of Virtual and Augmented Reality

It is possible to identify several key areas of the industry that can make use of AR or VR. Depending on the content and scope of application of VR and AR covers the following areas:

1. games ;
2. cinema;
3. sports broadcasts and shows;
4. social networks;
5. marketing
6. education;
7. medicine ;
8. trade and real estate;
9. and the defense industry.

Are There Markets for AR and VR?

There is a detailed overview of the market for each of these technologies. The explanations below tell how specifically VR and AR technology is used in various industries. If you carefully read the section dedicated to the history of virtual reality, you already know that the development started in the first place for their use for military purposes.

VR development has become better, and it can now be used not only in military affairs but also in other areas. For example, for the treatment of mental disorders. Experts from Harvard University published a review article, which examines the effectiveness of VR modern methods for the treatment of mental illness, and especially – anxiety disorder and phobias. In addition, a group of scientists from the UK and Spain developed a method for the treatment of depression with the help of virtual reality and demonstrated its effectiveness.

Perhaps the most useful VR-made development in medicine is that medical students no longer need to hone skills on cadavers, but instead apply virtual simulators with haptic feedback.

  Interesting solutions abound in virtual and augmented reality, there is marketing. And if you think that marketing and advertising are just a waste of time and money, look at the project  Inside Impact Bill Clinton Foundation Against Poverty. To raise money for the development of East Africa, the Foundation created the film, shot on the 360-degree camera. When viewing the audience come to Kenya, along with Bill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea. Raising about HIV/AIDS, malaria, lack of maternity hospitals, and prospects of solar energy, the viewer almost hand-carried through the streets, schools, and other institutions, involving pushing and empathy.

Therefore, If VR technology is quite specific and does not fit any business, the AR-technology can be implemented in almost every industry.

Dynamics in the Market of Virtual and Augmented Reality

•  As you would expect, virtual reality has more opportunities available to mainstream consumers as well-known companies engaged in the full development of these technologies. The owner of Universal Studios company Comcast has invested $ 6.8 million in Felix & Paul small VR-studio in Montreal
• The development of virtual reality is also evident in the invest edition of the New York Times. For many editions creates 360-degree videos that win festival “Cannes Lions”.  In 2014, Facebook acquired the company Oculus VR for $ 2 billion, and this year they have launched a social network with a 3D-avatars and features VR-interaction.
• In 2016, HTC also joined the trend. The company contributed $ 100 million to develop its platform Vive. HTC is developing a product line HTC RE and their head-mounted display has long been a rival to the  Oculus Rift.  HTC not only develops its own products but also creates an accelerator for the VR-startups. On June 21 in San Francisco, they passed a demo day on their accelerator Vive X, in which 26 companies have demonstrated the technology.
• Sony company in 2015 acquired the developer of spatial gesture recognition systems Softkinetic Systems’. In a similar fashion, Samsung has announced to invest $ 6 million in the US Baobab Studios, which specializes in animated virtual reality.
• Large companies issue their own virtual reality headset (HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR) while developing exclusive games and software just for them. But things can change if manufacturers will begin to interact with each other, share experiences, in order to promote the technology of virtual reality.

To this end, major companies in the sector were established at the end of 2016 at the Global the Virtual Reality Association (GVRA). This association will deal with the development and promotion of VR. The association includes Acer (Starbreeze), Google (Cardboard, Daydream), HTC (Vive), Facebook (Oculus Rift), Samsung (Gear VR), and Sony (PlayStation VR) and others.

If you want to navigate the vast flow of AR / VR-company note that  The Venture Reality Fund together with the French LucidWeb assembled a complete industrial VR-ecosystem, which includes more than 300 companies.

Who are the Major Investors in VR and AR Market

The company CB INSIGHTS  in one infographic collected funds, with the aim of investing in VR and AR technologies. Below are the top three companies investors:

1.  Rothenberg Ventures The most active investors in the industry, with a focus on so-called “frontier technologies”. River Accelerator firm invests in VR and AR  at lower levels One of their recent transactions was an agreement with VR Medtech, which develops surgical robotics.
2.  BoostVC:- They aim at blockchain technology and virtual reality. The latter company is to invest Boost Vizor, based on Finland’s VR platform for content creation.
3.  Vive X – Accelerator from VR HTC headset manufacturer. In their latest participation, they are working in all sectors, from corporate tools ( Snobal ) before the football athletic training( Soccerdream ).

Devices/Objects Used in Virtual Reality

By VR objects we are talking about all of the devices that we use for immersion in the virtual world. It can be:

•  Suit virtual reality
•  Points VR
•  gloves
•  VR room

 1. The Virtual Reality Suit

This is a device that allows a person to plunge into the world of virtual reality. This suit is completely isolated from the outside world. Inside the suit set, there are a video screen, a multichannel sound system, and an electronic device, acting on the nerve endings of the skin, or causing the illusion touches.  For example, the wind is blowing. Now the production of the suit is inappropriate due to its high cost, so for partial immersion in a virtual space usually use a helmet and gloves of virtual reality.

However,  A device called Hardlight weighs only half a kilogram and is intended for the upper half of the body. The costume attached sensors and Vibro motors, which are responsible for different muscle groups. With Hardligh users can experience the sensation of touch objects in virtual reality.

  2. VR Glasses

A simpler and cheaper way to experience the charm of new technology – glasses and a head-mounted display. Once a person puts on such a device, all he sees – is a virtual world. This, for example, is the main difference between virtual reality glasses and augmented reality glasses. Points of virtual reality – it’s like headphones, but only for the eyes.

In 2016, according to Super Data, there was a purchase of about 6.3 million of these VR-set. The sales leaders are:

•  Oculus Rift
•  HTC Vive
•  Samsung Gear VR
•  Sony HMZ-T1
•  Silico MicroDisplay ST1080

The price for these devices ranges from $ 100 to $ 900.

  3. Virtual Reality Gloves

These gloves are most popular among fans of virtual games. Often, they look like ordinary gloves but are able to read the movement of the arms and simulate them on the screen using the game engine. The cost of a pair of gloves – $ 200-500.

Dexmo Gloves can transmit physical sensations of human interaction with the virtual objects. They monitor 11 degrees of freedom of movement of the user’s hand and act on every single finger when touching the hand to the virtual object. Surprisingly, if you take in hand the virtual stone, the thumb drive will not allow you to squeeze a hand stronger than if the stone was indeed in your hands:

Besides Dextra Robotics, gloves provide Oculus, Contact Ci, Manus VR, HTC, and other companies.

 4. VR-room (or System of the CAVE,)

The VR-room provides the most complete effect of immersion in the virtual world. The main advantages of the room before helmets – it’s a high-resolution image, low tracking delay, wide field of view, the tracking of the head and space “mouse” over the entire volume of the room, and if necessary, and the entire body, including the fingers (if, in addition to using the suit and gloves virtual reality).

The price of this room, of course, not $ 100 like a helmet, but reduced following the release of more affordable 3D-projectors.

Install VR-room in the apartment is unreasonable, but to try what it is, it is already possible in entertainment outlets. In Moscow, for example, game center quests ExitGames launched Russia’s first virtual reality room on the basis of technology developed by HTC Vive. The game lasts 60 minutes, while 5 persons can participate. These rooms are in Moscow, there are at MSU. However, these students do not play and conduct scientific experiments.

Conclusion on The Notable Comparisons Between VR and AR

First, virtual and augmented reality, developed for military and medical needs, over time, these technologies have to progress in the game industry … That will be next, experts build different forecasts.

So, Maykl Abrash, Chief Researcher of Oculus, the Connect conference in November 2016 made a few predictions about the state of the industry in the next five years. Abrash said that it is important to improve visual quality. Naturally, Man has a field of view of approximately 220 degrees – about 120 pixels per degree. Current helmets, such as Rift and Vive, offer a 100-degree field of view and resolution 1080 × 1200, which is equivalent to approximately 15 pixels per degree. According to him, in five years we hope to double the number of pixels per degree – up to 30 – with the expansion of the field of view up to 140 degrees with a resolution of about 4000 × 4000 per eye.

Abrash touched upon the addition of real-world elements into a virtual, called him “augmented virtual reality.” Future helmets can scan the space and move things out of the user’s physical environment in VR applications. Also relevant may become a “teleportation” user to shoot in the real-time location. In fact, it looks like mixed reality. Abrash clarifies helmets augmented virtual reality will be very different from the helmet augmented reality because they allow not only to impose a schedule but also to control each pixel in the mixed stage.

In June 2017 at a conference   Augmented World Expo Dzhessi Shell, CEO of Schell Games and professor at Carnegie Mellon University, also talked about VR and AR future. And he was less optimistic.

     According to Shell, the development of VR need to improve technologies that contribute to tactile sensations. Shell predicts particularly popular controllers for virtual reality like Oculus Touch or those used for the HTC Vive helmet. According to him, such controllers give users a sense of tactile interaction and therefore show a lot better than the system tracks the movement of the hands.

    AR for the need for new technologies, and the sooner the better. According to Shell, modern devices augmented reality too heavy and uncomfortable, and it will be many years before the technology will evolve so that we can create points, which would be no different from the usual. But no one wants to put on his glasses and look stupid.