Editing Virtual reality

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'''Virtual reality (VR)''' is the experience of being in a computer generated environment. It involves technology that uses computer-generated environments to simulate a physical presence in a virtual world. The system uses position-tracking and responds to the user’s inputs.

The difference between VR and [[mixed reality]] is VR immerses a user and mixed reality gives the user a tool.

Virtual reality can be used as an interactive and immersive medium.
 
Virtual reality is related to [[augmented reality]].

==Hardware technologies==
===Head-mounted display===
VR is enabled by [[head-mounted display]]s (HMDs) such as the [[Oculus Rift]]. HMDs utilize [[stereoscopic displays]] and specialized [[lenses]] along with [[#Motion Tracking|motion tracking hardware]] to give the illusion that the user is physically inside the virtual world. 

The headset tracks the movement of your head and changes the images shown on the display based on it. This process creates the sensation that users are located within the virtual environment. Users of these devices are able to interact with the virtual environments. Various input methods, from the traditional game controllers and keyboards to the futuristic hand gestures and voice commands, are available or under development.

===Position and rotation tracking===
A HMD tracks the movement of the user's head and updates the rendered scene based on the head's position and orientation. This process is similar to how we look around in real life. There are 2 classifications of tracking: [[rotational tracking]] and [[positional tracking|positional]]. 

[[Rotational tracking]] tracks the 3 rotational movements: pitch, yaw, and roll. It is performed by [[IMUs]] such as [[accelerometer]]s, [[gyroscope]]s and [[magnetometer]]s. 

[[Positional tracking]] tracks the 3 translational movements: forward/back, up/down and left/right.

Motion tracking is not only used to track your head in HMDs but also used to track your hands and rest of your body through various [[Input devices|input devices]].

==Theory==
VR is possible using electronics and computer technology. More primitive ideas can be implemented using more primitive technology, such as a fixed [[stereoscope]], or panoramic murals (or 360-degree murals). These fill the viewer’s field of vision with the intention of making them feel a sense of presence at a certain historical event or scene.<ref name=”1”> Virtual Reality Society. History of Virtual Reality. Retrieved from https://www.vrs.org.uk/virtual-reality/history.html</ref><ref name=”2”> The Franklin Institute. History of Virtual Reality. Retrieved from https://www.fi.edu/virtual-reality/history-of-virtual-reality</ref>

Stereoscopes work because the brain processes different two-dimensional images for each eye into a single three dimensional-ish object. A stereoscope gives some sense of depth and immersion.<ref name=”1”></ref><ref name=”2”></ref><ref name=”3”> Gemsense. Virtual Reality: History, projections and developments. Retrieved from http://gemsense.cool/virtual-reality-developments/</ref>

It could be argued that since the creation of stereoscopic images, people have been interested in making images more three dimensional to enrich its experience.<ref name=”3”></ref>

Virtual reality is related to flight simulators.<ref name=”1”></ref><ref name=”3”></ref>

==History==
===Philco headsight===
The [[Philco headsight]] used a camera feed and a motion tracker.

Motion tracked-HMDs can be used for immersive remote viewing of dangerous situations, for use in military.<ref>Philco [[Headsight]], by two Philco Corporation engineers, Comeau and Bryan</ref> An immersive device like this does not need to have a computer rendering system attached. It can be attached to a motion tracked camera using an electromagnetic tracking system. This type of device can use a video screen for each eye. In this type of system, the head movements of the user are replicated by a remote camera, allowing him to look around the environment.<ref name=”1”></ref>

===1965 - The Ultimate Display===
[[Ivan Sutherland]] developed the concept of the “Ultimate Display”. This device could simulate the natural world so realistically that a user could not tell the difference between actual reality and virtual reality. The concept comprised of a virtual world viewed through an HMD and had augmented 3D sound and tactile feedback; computer hardware that created the virtual environment and maintained it in real time; and interactivity between users and objects from the VR world in a realistic way. Sutherland suggested that the device would serve as a “windows into a virtual world”, and his idea would become a core blueprint for the concepts that encompassed VR as of 2015.<ref name=”1”></ref><ref name=”2”></ref><ref name=”6”></ref>

===1968 - Sword of Damocles===
Ivan Sutherland and Bob Sproull created the Sword of Damocles, an HMD that was held by a mechanical arm mounted on a ceiling. The device was connected to a computer and displayed simple wireframe graphics to the user. The arm tracked the user’s head movements but was difficult to use. The contraption was also too heavy and bulky for comfortable use.<ref name=”1”></ref><ref name=”4”></ref><ref name=”6”></ref>

===1982 - Sayre gloves===
The Sayre glove was the first wired glove. It was invented by Daniel J. Sandin and Thomas Defanti from an idea by Richard Sayre. Both scientists were from the Electronic Visualization Laboratory at the University of Illinois, Chicago. The glove used light emitters and photocells in the fingers. When flexed, the quantity of light reaching the photocell changed, translating the finger movements into electrical signals.<ref name=”4”></ref>

The [[VIEW]] project at NASA’s Ames Research Center was founded with the purpose of producing a VR system that allowed astronauts to control robots outside a space station. The HMD that was developed had super-wide optics (almost an 180-degree field of view).<ref name=”4”></ref>

NASA worked with Eric Howlett at LEEP to develop the optics. LEEP developed the [[Cyberface]]. LEEP optics were used by VPL for the first EyePhone.<ref name="g041">{{cite web | title=LeepVR | website=LeepVR | date=1983-09-27 | url=http://www.leepvr.com/about.php | access-date=2024-08-14}}</ref>

The interest in VR regained momentum after [[Palmer Luckey]] created the first prototype of the [[Oculus Rift]], in the year +2011, and launched a kickstarter campaign for its development in the year +2012. The campaign was successful, raising $2.5 million. In March 2014, Facebook bought the company Oculus VR for $2 billion dollars. After this, virtual reality's popularity hugely increased. Multiple companies invested in the development of their own VR systems. The rise of smartphones with high-density displays and 3D capabilities has also enabled the development of lightweight and practical VR devices.<ref name=”1”></ref><ref name=”5”></ref><ref name=”7”></ref>

[[Google Cardboard]] happened in about the year +2015.

[[SteamVR]] happened. Then the [[Oculus Quest]] VR headsets.

==References==
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[[Category:Virtual reality]]