Hello readers! I’m Edwin and this is my first guest article on Digital Street. Pretty stoked! So I’m a 3D Motion Graphics Artist working in the TV industry in Jozi and I’m here to share some of my thoughts and opinions on the latest trends in design and animation as well as the technology behind it. I mean who doesn’t enjoy a good “Behinds the Scenes” look at the way things work. I’m sure you all have heard of Virtual Reality by now and if not, get out from under that rock!
So what is virtual reality (VR)?
First things first, you’re going to need to know what VR actually is. Yes, as the name suggests, It’s an experience of a world that doesn’t actually exist in our reality but does so in a virtual one. This virtual reality is created by a computer that allows you to view and interact with a very appealing 3D world through a display (mounted on your head) and some form of input tracking (head movement, eye tracking, motion sensors etc).
The display is split between your eyes, creating a stereoscopic 3D effect with a similar effect for audio, and these all come together to truly trick the senses into believing you’re in this virtual world from the comfort of your home or anywhere really. VR will make you feel like you are there mentally and physically. You turn your head and the world turns with you so the illusion of full on immersion is never lost.
VR as we know it today has been kicking around for decades. To give you an idea, the first head-mounted display wasn’t Oculus, even though this is the device that kicked VR into 2nd gear, it was a device called Headsight that was created in the 1960s. But they were non-digital predecessors. The technology has been used for all sorts of things over the last 200 years from science and medicine to training pilots and helping architects present their latest skyscraper, allowing people to walk through a building before the first brick is laid.
So this is not a new concept at all but it has been popping up that 2016 is the year of VR. I don’t agree, I think it’s more like just a soft introduction (to those who can afford it). VR is all about full on immersion, so you’ll get the best taste with something like the HTC Vive (R11800) or the Oculus Rift (R8900) from Facebook not forgetting the incredible looking Hololens from Microsoft (R44000), nope that’s not a typo. It’s also worth mentioning that you’ll need a pretty high spec PC to connect the headset to, so add at least another 10K to your VR bill. The console war has also been mixed into the equation with both Microsoft and Sony pushing out heavily beefed up machines (Project Scorpio and the PS Neo) just to run VR at optimum levels. They’re also dropping their own VR headsets which are looking like the cheapest option provided you already own a console or are planning to buy one.
Sure there are cheaper alternatives most notably Google Cardboard (R200) or the Samsung Gear VR (R1500) which are both amazing for anyone who hasn’t experienced Virtual Reality before, I was pretty entertained for the first few weeks using it but then you long for something better. A lot of companies are embracing low cost VR and pushing cardboard to their customers to engage consumers on a new level.
All these devices are essentially first generation, remember the PlayStation 1 or those TVs with the huge tube at the back? Technology evolves at a rapid rate, so the VR we’ll be getting in the next 5-10 years will be the stuff of dreams. Hap-tic suits (which react to your body’s every movement), sensors and tracking software that will be sure to trick many people into believing the impossible.
Imagine your very own hologram (or avatar) able to interact with a virtual environment, shopping for clothes, attending a class or visiting a photo-realistic version of your favorite movie. Then throw in a social network like Facebook on top of that and you’ll be able to connect with people in a way you’ve never imagined before. Sitting in front of a screen would feel like like using a Nokia 3310 (a mobile phone that you could send texts and make calls on, oh and you could play Snake! ). We a have a generation of toddlers that can operate tablets and smartphones already, surely they’ll grow up with a hunger for tech and fully embrace VR.
Confined to a single room, unplugging from “The Matrix” every now and then to sleep and eat, sure they’ll be “connected” but they’ll be even more isolated than our batch, stuck to our smartphones and laptops. Will family and friends have to speak to each other in virtual scenarios? Most people enjoy staring at a 5″ screen for the majority of their time anyway. VR will be no different.
My idea of what it holds for the future is inspired by Ernest Cline’s ‘Ready Player One’. The book portrays the not so far dystopian future where everyone is plugged into VR, people have jobs, go to school, and meet friends all in a virtual world called The Oasis. I strongly recommend reading it if you’re interested in this stuff or you can wait for Hollywood and Spielberg’s movie version in 2018.
VR is here and here to stay, the benefits and possibilities are endless, surely more good than bad can be achieved through this emerging technology. The future looks bright for people wanting to escape reality and learn more about world we live in, lets hope we don’t like it too much.
