What is Virtual Reality?

Have you ever thought about closing your eyes, thinking about some beautiful place and when you open your eyes again you will be there !. well, with today’s technology it can be true! ( of course there is limits to this, but its still amazing ).

Introduction to VR

VR or virtual reality is the replacement of someone’s environment using computer generated simulations. in other terms, it is being in a totally other environment than the one you are really at. however, that environment is virtual ( not physical). this technology has progressed a lot during these last years, and with just a compact headset you can have this experience .

How does it work ?

Basically the aim of VR headsets is to trick the eye by creating an immersive 3D environment. and that works in a very simple concept. the headset has two screens ( one for each eye ) each screen displays a slightly different image to each eye and that helps to make things feel more natural. also the two lenses magnify the image which gives that impressive 3D looking environment. there is also and a small camera and a sensor in these headsets called the gyroscope, the function of that sensor is to make the image move with the movement of the head and the camera tracks the eye movement which makes the image move as the eye moves .

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Fields of use for VR technology

VR technology is now used in many fields like pilot training programs, scientific research, some therapy programs and even for self-entertainment. one of the best examples is the VR pilot training programs where this lowers the cost a lot for flight companies and the military air force training and it is way safer than training on real aeroplanes .

Of course the most common use for this tech nowadays is for entertainment superposes. many companies like Microsoft, Oculus, amazon, HTC and many others are manufacturing VR headsets for playing video games , watching movies and videos and for experiencing new environments and places. However, these headsets are very expensive an may even cost more than one thousand US dollar, but don’t worry there is a very cheap alternative to that.

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How to make your own VR headset

In fact you can enjoy VR experience without having to buy very expensive headsets. just grab some cardboard, 2 lenses, your smartphone and your good to go!

There is a very quick DIY project by Google that you can do in less than an hour and you can enjoy some VR videos and some games too. you can follow the instructions in the URL bellow to make your own VR headset.

URL for DIY VR headset: https://vr.google.com/cardboard/manufacturers/

Conclusion

VR technology existed for decades, but with the progress of sience its becoming cheaper and much more useful, so what do you think about the future of this tech ? is going to disappear after a while or does it have a promising future ?