A lot of people have asked this question, ‘What does VR stand for? VR simply means Virtual Reality. A virtual world is an artificial environment or the replica of a real world generated through the combination of various electronic devices and internet. Reality is the real world that we see in our day to day lives. In this article we explore what is VR? Types of VR devices and various uses of it. So let’s enter the virtual world and find out more.
VR simply means Virtual Reality
VR is a computer generated environment that allows people to experience a different world without having to leave the comfort of their own space. It allows you to teleport from one place to the other in a fraction of a second. What is interesting is that you can play with the environment, pick things and also walk just like you do in the real world. In VR, you become the hero of the narrative and make your own decisions. You are in the center of an action, which makes it even more difficult for you to analyze if you are in a virtual world or a real world.
History of VR
In order to experience VR, you would need a VR device that will immerse you completely in the virtual world. The fundamentals of VR date back to 1960, when researchers like Ivan Sutherland created a head-mounted display and named it ‘Sword of Domocles’ . Although, the creation wasn’t a breakthrough, it certainly paved the way for future researchers to work on it and improvise the structure and features of a VR device.
Types of VR Devices
There are mainly two types of VR devices
- Mobile
- Head-mounted Standalone
Mobile
A mobile VR is the simplest ways to experience Virtual Reality. All you need to do is create a cardboard VR or buy a mobile VR headset. On your smartphone, just go open Youtube and click on VR option and insert your phone into the VR device.
Standalone Head mounted display
On the other hand, you have a standalone VR headsets like Oculus Quest 1 and 2, HTC VIVE PRO and Varjo VR 1 and 2. Within the standalone devices you have two types of VR devices: Consumers for Entertainment and Enterprises for training.
Various Uses of VR
- VR for Training
- VR for Collaboration
- VR for Data Analytics
- VR for Gaming
- VR for Virtual Tours
VR for Training
Many Fortune 500 companies are using Virtual Reality for training their employees. A virtual simulation of the real world scenarios can help organization minimize the cost of spending a million of dollars on training programs which are traditional and ineffective. VR provides the possibility to re-create dangerous situations and immerse the workers and ensure they keep practicing it in the virtual world until they learn.
VR for Collaboration
Social VR is becoming the next big thing. VR allows users from different parts of the world with VR headsets to collaborate to watch TV series on Netflix, play games or conduct a virtual conference. Just like any social media platform, in VR you can not only chat but also see each others Avatars, talk to your friends and collaborate for work and entertainment.
VR for Data Analytics
Virtual Reality combined with Eye-Tracking technology allows companies to track data of their employees and understand what they are learning and where they are looking inside the VR environment. VR can also help professionals to virtualize data in the virtual world, which makes it easier for them to comprehend.
VR for Gaming
VR for gaming is the first thing that comes to the mind when people think of VR. This is probably because gaming, be it on mobile phone or laptop or a PC has a wider outreach and generates users interest.
VR for Virtual Tour
VR can be used to create virtual tour where users can see their travel destination before visiting that place. This can avoid cultural shock and also create a sense of familiarity with the place.
Benefits of VR
There are various benefits of Virtual Reality.
- Travel to different places without leaving the comfort of your home
- Create prototypes before marketing it in the real world
- Unlike Augmented Reality, VR provides close environment. Thus, the focus is on the content completely
- Face difficult scenarios and practice until you learn
