Virtual Reality

    During the introductory lesson on VR, we took a look at different different environments in which virtual reality was realized, more or less. The main ones are: 

•       Cave automatic virtual environment (CAVE): it is a empty room, similar to a cage which uses all its surfaces to simulate highly immersive virtual environments 
•       Head-Mounted Displays (HMD): this can be related to as more of a collection of devices than just a particular environment. They are the most recognizable devices when the subject of VR is brought in a discussion. 

    Therefore, there are several variations of this type of device, made by different companies for different purposes and budgets. Some of this are the following: 

• GearVR (Samsung + Oculus) 
• HTC Vive 
• Microsoft Mixed Reality headsets 
• Quest 1 and 2 (Meta) 
• PS VR (PlayStation) 

      An important subject regarding VR is tracking, of which there are two types: inside-out and outside-in tracking.

Inside-out pros: 

• No restriction over the play space, meaning that you can go wherever you please 
• More mobility, meaning that it is slightly more immersive 

Inside-out cons:

• Accuracy and latency suffer due to the headset making all the calculations itself - technology is a bit behind outside-in 

Outside-in pros: 

• Accuracy is best, thanks to several trackers assembled around the play space 
• Minimal latency 
• Quality can be improved by increasing the number of trackers 

Outside-in cons: 

• Occlusion, meaning that some object gets in the way of the trackers, the experience will suffer 
• The device can be used only as long as the user is in the field of view of the trackers 

Alongside the concepts presented above, there are a few more things a manufacturer or even developer needs to consider when approaching VR technology: 

• Rendering is demanding of the GPU and currently it is safe to assume that todays technology is a bit behind compared to the possibilities VR can provide. 
• The lenses and FOV most headsets provide are not even near the human eye Therefore, these two aspects can impact the product someone would like to develop, as costs and complexity would increase beyond expectations, depending on the case.

    In order to properly use VR products like games or other utility programs for work fields, the user would need some way to input his or hers actions. But as of today, there are no standards and simulator sickness is still something that needs to be solved. The most common methods of input are hand tracking devices and controllers. The same idea is valid for UI and menus, meaning that there are no rules or standards. After the lesson on 27/09, we have received the 3rd assignment we will have to present on 25/10. At the time of posting this blog, we are still brainstorming and scoping ideas. 

 Author: Ioan Catalin Alexandru