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What is virtual reality all about?

I would like some insight about how virtual reality came to be and how it is actually set up. I had a demo on virtual reality while visiting CNBC headquarters two months ago and I really liked seeing virtual reality before my very eyes. I just want to know more information about virtual reality is exactly and what field that would be in. #help #virtual-reality

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Leo’s Answer

Virtual Reality is about presenting a photorealistic 3D environment to the user while at the same time trying not to get the user to puke.

On the one hand, you need 3D art that looks as real as possible and it should have the right proportions (or else things will look weird/scary). If you put too much detail, though, your performance will suffer. When this happens, the user might get dizzy and puke.

On the other hand, the 3D display must be really really fast. You need 90 frames per second to get a good experience. If your code or your hardware can't keep this refresh rate, then your user might get dizzy and puke.

On top of this, there's the tracking of the headset and peripherals. Again, you need at least 90 fps. Due to synchronization issues, your code will probably have to predict one or two frames in advance and do the calculations for a future position. If you don't get this right, your user will get dizzy and puke.

So, the bottom line is that you need great art, great code and great hardware. You need to find a compromise between these areas or else your user will get dizzy and puke.

Seriously, the biggest complain I've heard about my VR projects is that people get dizzy.
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Sarah’s Answer

Hi Gloria, I don't have experience in this field myself but thought that this link from the UK to the Virtual Reality Society may be of use to you:
http://www.vrs.org.uk/
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Wesley’s Answer

Virtual Reality or VR as its commonly called has been around as a concept for a while, with some ambitious attempts at bringing it to life in the past couple of decades but has only recently been able to gain traction as a mainstream product with break troughs in technology that allow it to be a lot more comfortable experience. The Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive are arguably the first true VR headsets. All of the available headsets generate an entire digital world around you by using the graphical capabilities of a modern computer and some form of tracking of your head movements to tell the computer what you are looking at. The Vive uses IR lasers to pinpoint the exact location you are looking which is then imitated by a virtual camera in the digital world and played back to you in real time on the displays inside the headset, giving the illusion of an entire world around you. This same technology is used to track controllers that allow you to interact with and influence objects in the digital world. Currently there is no way to fully implement all of your body movements into the virtual world which leads to your physical self appearing as floating hands/controllers with an invisible body in most cases, almost as if you are a ghost. Once better tracking technology is developed we will be even more immersed in the world and able to see our own bodies presented in the virtual world just as it is in the real world. Fields for VR are all going to center around computers. 3D modeling/animation, programming, and sound design are all important fields pertaining to a captivating VR experience.
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steven’s Answer

virtual reality is a graphical representation generated by using computer environment and make some one feel close to reality
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