VR, AR, and the Future of Learning
Virtual Reality (VR) is an immersive simulation of a 3D environment. It will profoundly impact the way we work, learn and play, and raise potent ethical issues. Unlike augmented reality, the real world is completely replaced by the simulated environment. Virtual Reality requires additional technology which ranges from Smartphones and low-cost VR headsets (from Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear VR) to high-end systems such as Oculus Quest and Rift, the HTC Vive, and PlayStationVR. Content ranges from 360-degree photos and videos (though this is not fully VR) to deeply immersive geo-located environments with haptic feedback. VR Experiences with haptic feedback rely on gloves, vests, and full-body suits.
With the rapid advance of the technology supporting Virtual Reality, new standalone VR headsets are arriving – especially the new Oculus Quest which will ship in Spring 2019.
VR is creating fascinating opportunities for Education, Media, Storytelling, Journalism, Work and Retail environments. It is already beginning to transform entertainment and learning even though we are in the first steps of a long journey. In the end, it will impact society even more than the development of the graphical interface at the Xerox PARC labs in the 1970’s for computing.
The ethical issues raised by Virtual Reality are hard to identify now but the blurring of the boundary between the real and the virtual will create profound challenges. This is an area that both fascinates and concerns us at Digital Bodies.
Shareable VR? We’ve been waiting for something like Viewr to come along. It’s designed to solve the isolation that we have in our current VR experiences. You know how it is. One person goes through an immersive …
Virtual Reality is already transforming healthcare, education, and corporate training. But there are other areas such as eSports where immersive technologies could profoundly impact human behavior. A new British Cycling VR event will lead to a national …
Read more New VR event for British Cycling changes the game for eSports
The Dreamscape Immersive VR arcade project showed up in Hollywood last year flush with cash ($30 million) and a vision of what virtual reality could be. Big-name backers included AMC Entertainment, and 21st Century Fox, and …
Read more Dreamscape Immersive VR arcade opens in Los Angeles
Ready to discover Ancient Rome through virtual reality? Take a look at the new version of Rome Reborn. It’s an international project dating back to the mid-1990s. But VR has finally caught up to the vision …
It’s that time of the year again in the States, and you can watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade in VR and AR. As with last year’s parade, there will be 360° cameras along the route. With …
We’re definitely fans of location-based VR, the large-scale facilities that The Void and a few other companies are building. They’re the best VR experiences available to the public. They’re interactive, deeply immersive, and free-roaming with laptops …
There’s enough challenges in using VR but a primary one can be lack of space. And it’s a problem that Google looks to solve in patenting a pair of VR shoes. Even if you have a …
The SPHERES VR experience made news in the spring when it scored the million-dollar-plus deal at the Sundance Film Festival. That distribution agreement had us all guessing when and where it would show up. We got the …
Read more The amazing SPHERES VR experience is now on Oculus Rift
The arrival of the new Vive Focus standalone headset makes one thing clear – 2019 will be the year we go cable-free with our VR headsets. Facebook’s Oculus Quest will be out in the (probably late) spring …
Read more New Vive Focus standalone headset launches worldwide