Let's start with a quick VR history primer. VR was invented in 1965 by Ivan Sutherland - he created "Ultimate Display", a device that can cover the inside of a wireframe in a room. Soldiers at the same time research and invest in VR capabilities for flight simulation and training.
The VR industry continued to evolve over the next few decades, but the appeal was limited to aspiring engineers and first adapters due to the cost of parts, and computers that enabled them. Even in the early 90's, the price tag on an unrealistic device was over $50,000. The high cost of entry, of course, meant that it was far from a question for the average consumer.
Top display
PALMER LUCKEY AND OCULUS RIFT CHANGE THE GAME
40 years go by quickly and Palmer Luckey (founder of Oculus Rift) created his first 18-year VR image in his parents' basement. Luckey eventually developed a product to be known as the Oculus Rift. Oculus ushered in the current era of VR development and breathed new life into this promising technology.
The Oculus announcement was closely followed by in-house technicians, developers, and first responders, all of whom had been trying to find this new frontier in VR development. It was not long before heavyweights such as Facebook, Google, and Samsung realized and began investing heavily in VR in hopes of producing the first consumer-friendly device. Facebook believes so much in Oculus Rift that they acquired the company for $2 Billion in March 2014. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said he saw the discovery as "a long-term bet on the future of the computer."
TODAY'S CUSTOMER CHOICE CHOICES
The current list of VR products makes the gamut in terms of price and accessibility. You can wet your feet with a Google product (appropriately named Cardboard). Cardboard is very cheap, estimated at $ 20.0 It uses easy access to items such as cardboard, biconvex lenses, a few magnets, Velcro, and a rubber band. Instead of a built-in display like Oculus Rift, this product is powered by any Android phone running 4.1 or higher (just slide your phone into "headset"). You associate yourself, following Google's step-by-step instructions with photos.
The phone enables all to experience the apps available in the Google Cardboard app store). There are no external cables or hard hardware to deal with ... just a Cardboard case with your Android phone. At Primacy we recently built one to inspect the house - the whole building took about 5 minutes from start to finish.
Google Cardboard
Oculus Rift for Facebook
Given the current speed of renaming it is a safe bet that both the hardware and software of Facebook's Oculus technology will only get better in the coming months. The consumer model, although not yet available, is expected to be released in mid-2015. The developer model (DK2) costs $350 and comes loaded with a low latency display (the same one used on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3). The display delivers a decent resolution of 960 × 1080 per eye with a resolution of 75Hz. The unit also incorporates a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a magnometer and a nearby infrared camera for tracking the location and location. The applications are running on a computer connected directly to the headset via HDMI and USB cable.
Oculus Rift
Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition Samsung
Samsung saw an opportunity to jump into the VR mix and partner with Oculus. They have produced a headset that looks like the most suitable device for the consumer to date. Samsung's Gear VR Innovator Edition is exactly what you would expect from a fixed technological giant both in terms of quality and usability. And the most expensive option, it comes with a msrp of $200 headsets +$750 (contract) on the phone needed to enable it. Unlike Google Cardboard, Gear VR only works with Samsung Galaxy Note 4, so if you are lucky enough to already own it you can save yourself a significant amount of money.
The headset itself is very well designed and accurate. There is a volume switch button, a touchpad, and a "right back" headset button that can be used to easily navigate the VR experience and applications. The top of the earphones has a focus wheel that is used to adjust the focus to the right distance for your eyes. The two strings hold the unit firmly in your head which closes your view to the outside world to enhance the feeling of immersion. Also, the absence of any cords that bind you to the computer helps to make the sensation enjoyable and comfortable.
No need to remove the unit from your head in order to download or modify apps ... it can all be done via the Oculus Home menu or the Samsung program library after initial setup and configuration. There are a number of interesting and useful out-of-the-box apps like Oculus Cinema - for movie and video watching, Oculus 360 - for panoramic viewing, and Oculus 360 videos - for panoramic video viewing. Samsung recently launched a market called Milk VR which is YouTube for VR.
Samsung Gear VR
LOW - JUDGES 'CASE
We found that most of the apps available now are heavy graphics and the feeling can be degraded without a proper photo card. It is noteworthy that sensations involving 3D graphics and fast movement can quickly irritate some people due to the frame rate or GPU limitations and the so-called "judge" (when images are rotated, blown or distorted in some way), so it is actually the engineer's responsibility to create the animation. " comfortable "intended to reduce the judge. Despite the drawbacks - when used in conjunction with a computer with a high GPU, the result is an immersion concept that seemed impossible 10 years ago. Oculus developer site currently lists PC and Mobile SDK which includes a combination of Unity and Unreal game engines. PC SDK is intended for the Rift DK2 where-as the Mobile SDK is intended for powerful Oculus devices running mobile phones.
VR - THE FUTURE EXISTS (OR REALLY, Shut down)
We are starting to splurge on VR. The emergence of panoramic video and photo makes it easy to "send" viewers to places they would not otherwise be.
Think of the front seat to watch your favorite band play live ... with the freedom to look anywhere in real time. Imagine walking (literally ... walking) in your favorite national park as if you were real. Imagine yourself sitting in a conference room halfway through the world and interacting with others as if you were your very existence. These are just a few of the amazing applications that allow VR devices like Oculus Rift. So stay tuned - if current progress is indicative, the visible reality will always be there, and it will be invading your living room or office faster than you can imagine.
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