What is VR and How is it Different from Other Media?

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En provenance du cours de University of London

Introduction to Virtual Reality

203 notes

University of London

Introduction to Virtual Reality

203 notes

Cours 1 sur 5 dans Specialization Virtual Reality

This course will introduce you to Virtual Reality (VR). The course will teach you everything from the basics of VR- the hardware and the history of VR- to different applications of VR, the psychology of Virtual Reality, and the challenges of the medium. The course is designed for people who are new to VR as a medium. You may have experienced some virtual reality before, and may have some hardware- but this course is suitable to individuals who have never experienced VR and those who do not have much hardware- we will explain Mobile VR as well as devices such as the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. Introduction to Virtual Reality is the first course in the Virtual Reality Specialisation. A learner with no previous experience in Virtual Reality and/or game programming will be able to evaluate existing VR applications, and design, test, and implement their own VR experiences/games using Unity by the end of the specialisation.

À partir de la leçon

Virtual Reality- Hardware and History

In this week, we’ll cover the basics of VR. We’ll start by sharing a definition of Virtual Reality, and exploring VR hardware, and then you’ll see demonstrations of a range of VR Head Mounted Devices. In the latter part of the week, you will hear more about the history of Virtual Reality and finish the week by drafting your ideas for a VR application.

What is VR and How is it Different from Other Media?5:28

Displays | CAVE and HMDs3:33

Head Tracking5:46

Controllers5:58

Choosing your VR Device5:27

HMD | Oculus Rift1:57

HMD | HTC Vive3:11

HMD | Sony PlayStation VR4:23

HMD | Mobile VR | Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear2:59

CAVE VR Systems8:28

Rencontrer les enseignants

Dr Sylvia Xueni Pan
Lecturer, Department of Computing
Goldsmiths, University of London
Dr Marco Gillies
Senior Lecturer
Computing Department, Goldsmiths, University of London

[MUSIC]

In this video we will discuss what virtual reality, or VR, is.

The definition of VR can be very broad.

I've come across situations where people referred to VR as

anything that happens in the digital world.

This includes things like online banking, online shopping, and social networking.

But more often, the term VR has been used to refer more specifically

to computer-generated graphical representations of the real or

fantasy world.

This definition includes any games, films, and

advertisements where computer graphics are used.

And you normally view them on your phone, on TV, or in the cinema.

However, recently more and

more people have started to use the term VR exclusively for

the immersive experience supported by a relatively small range of VR displays.

Including the CAVE-like system on the left and Oculus Rift headset on the right.

The experience delivered by these devices can be very different from

watching TV at home or going to the cinema.

And in order to describe these experiences,

we often use terms such as immersive, engaging, and interactive.

This immersive and engaging experience will be new to most people,

but a vision of it has existed for over 50 years.

In this course, we will use the more recent definition for Fred Brooks in 1999.

He defined VR as the experience in which the user is effectively

immersed in a responsive virtual world.

In particular, he pointed out that this implies the user has dynamic control

of their viewpoint, which is something at the heart of any VR display system.

So how is immersive VR different from other types of media,

for instance, TV, cinema, 3D TV and 3D cinema?

Essentially, three things make VR more immersive than other types of media,

3D Stereovision, user dynamic control of viewpoint, and a surrounding experience.

Let's explain this with a standard VR headset, in this case, an Oculus Rift.

In this video clip, you can see a participant wearing an Oculus Rift.

I have a similar device here.

So first of all, with these devices you have two displays, one in front of

each eye, and the image on each display is slightly different from the other.

Just like how we perceive the real world with both eyes,

this gives you 3D stereo vision.

It is similar to a 3D cinema experience.

Secondly, these devices give the user dynamic control of their viewpoint.

As we mentioned in the VR definition by Fred Brooks,

this means that the experience is more real than in a 3D cinema.

In a 3D cinema, you can have hundreds of viewers looking at one big display.

But here,

the display is updated according to the exact viewpoint of one specific user.

This is achieved through a built-in head-tracking device

in the head-mounted display, or HMD.

Finally, with these devices

your full visual perception is surrounded by the device.

If you compare watching a film on a small TV to watching the same movie in a cinema

or in an IMAX cinema,

where you have a massive screen, the experiences can be very different.

Basically, the more of your field of view is covered by the screen,

the more immersed you will feel.

The screen size of these headsets might be tiny, but there is no escape.

In a cinema when you look around, you can see your friend sitting next to you.

But with these headsets, you are trapped.

When you look around in this headset,

you still see images from the virtual world rather than the real world.

The interesting thing is that this kind of experience is overwhelming and persistent.

It doesn't diminish over time.

I've been working with these immersive VR devices since 2005,

but I still have the illusion.

For instance, once I had a device on and a colleague was talking to me from my right.

So automatically, I turned right to reply to her.

And obviously with a headset on, I couldn't see her.

And for about half a second, I was really puzzled.

And I thought, where did she go?

The effect of these devices can often be surprising and

even shocking to the participants.

This is something I have frequently observed in hundreds of

experiments using these devices.

[MUSIC]

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