Trends in virtual reality

The promise of virtual reality has always been enormous. Putting on a virtual reality headset and being transported anywhere. It's about breaking free from the mundane through metaphysical transportation to an altered state.

History of virtual reality

Nintendo Virtual Boy

The origin of virtual reality is often attributed to a system developed by the Philco Corporation in 1958. In 1965, Ivan Sutherland (creator of the first computer pointer) spoke of tantalizing virtual worlds, and it was in 1966 that he conducted preliminary experiments in three dimensions. By the late 1970s, virtual reality was being developed as a tool for an aviation class in the U.S. Department of Defense for flight simulations.

Early Virtual Reality Devices

In 1982, Thomas Zimmerman patented an Electroglove that he invented while researching how to control a virtual musical instrument with the hand. In 1988, Scott Foster invented a gadget for generating three-dimensional sound. In 1989, Atari released the first machine with 3D technology.

Virtual Boy: A gadget from Nintendo. It did not achieve significant commercial success. From that perspective, it was a failure (with 770,000 units sold), but not from a technical standpoint. In the words of Shigeru Miyamoto, the problem was that it was commercially perceived as the successor to the Game Boy, when in reality, it was a research project. Had it been approached as such, the number of sales it achieved would have been considered a resounding success.

Oculus Rift: The revolution of 2012

The Oculus Rift was the first affordable virtual reality device. Developed by Oculus VR, it achieved this by generating virtual reality through software rather than through extremely costly lenses. Before creating the Oculus Rift Development Kit 1, various prototypes were developed to explore different technologies. Prototypes included the PR1 and the PR2.

The creator: Palmer Luckey

Palmer Luckey, the creator of the Oculus DK1, began developing virtual reality headset prototypes because he was dissatisfied with all the gadgets he had tried. Faced with this situation, he started creating gadgets and used the MTBS3D forum to promote them and gain recognition. He launched a Kickstarter campaign that achieved unprecedented success. John Carmack requested a prototype of the Oculus DK1 from Palmer Luckey and used it during the presentation of the video game Doom 3, which helped to further popularize the creator’s invention. The Kickstarter campaign raised $240,000,000, approximately ten times the initial goal. Palmer Luckey has been awarded a Smithsonian Ingenuity Award and a World Technology Award.

Virtual reality vs augmented reality

A person inside a virtual reality experience

The main characteristic that differentiates virtual reality from augmented reality is that augmented reality requires the use of the real world and aims to blend with it so that the difference between the real and the virtual is not noticeable. In contrast, in virtual reality, the user is immersed using immersive devices into a completely virtual world, creating the belief that they are part of that world.

Classification of virtual reality gadgets

Virtual reality gadgets can be classified based on their intended use, distinguishing between headsets, devices that focus on interaction with specific parts of the body, those that engage with the entire body, and other devices that enhance immersion but do not interact directly with the body.

Headsets

Oculus Rift DK1

Oculus Rift Development Kit 1

First version of the Oculus. It was sent to everyone who funded the Kickstarter project with $300 or more. It used a 7-inch screen with a color depth of 24 bits per pixel. It was withdrawn from the market in March 2014. The field of view is 110º, aiming to create a sense of immersion. It amazed those who tried it and generated significant hype upon its release, despite its numerous issues. Notable problems included dizziness and nausea. It has a screen-door effect due to large pixel size. Also, it has screen blur with head movement.

The headset consists of a stereographic image player, which, through a series of software-induced distortions, makes the image appear real when a pair of lenses is placed just a few centimeters from the screen and very close to our eyes.

In addition to this, an orientation sensor is included, which constantly detects the direction we are looking and transmits this signal via a USB port so that an application can interpret it and make us "turn our head" within the virtual environment.

Finally, to make the task of creating virtual reality experiences easier, developers are provided with an SDK (Software Development Kit) along with the headset. This SDK is a package of libraries and tools that, when included in an application, completely adapts the app to be viewed with the Oculus Rift. This SDK was easily integrable with major game engines like Unity or UE4. Over time, the existence of the SDK has been incorporated into these engines, which now offer native VR modes without the need for an SDK.

Absolute positioning had not yet been introduced, meaning the ability to determine our position within the three dimensions of the XYZ space and identify our coordinates. In the absence of absolute positioning, some users conducted experiments by attaching a Razer Hydra controller (a device with absolute positioning) to the headset, configuring the controller to manage and control our position, allowing us to peek through a window or move out of the way before being hit by a ball.

One of the additional features of this headset was that it included three pairs of lenses designed for people with vision problems who need to wear glasses.

It is the only Oculus headset where the controller is completely decoupled from the display of the headset itself. This controller was a small black box that included numerous buttons (similar to those on computer monitors), including settings for brightness and contrast, as well as HDMI, DVI outputs, and a USB port necessary for sending IMU data to the computer.

InfiniEye

A headset similar to the Oculus Rift that aims to increase the FOV (Field of Vision). It uses two independent 1280x720 pixel screens and employs Fresnel lenses. Fresnel lenses, which had not been used in virtual reality up to this point, provide a greater FOV because traditional lenses that cover a wide field of view are very large and heavy. Fresnel lenses have concentric circular cuts that minimize their height, creating a kind of circular staircase where the steps become more angled as they move away from the center, as the lens becomes more parabolic the further it is from the center. Palmer Luckey offered collaboration to the creators of the project, who remained under the radar until June 15th, when they presented the advances made in their new headset, StarVR (which will be explained later).

Among the improvements incorporated into this sensor to enhance immersion, the main one is the increased FOV, which, according to their claims, allowed you to still see the screen even if you looked towards the horizontal edges of your vision. However, one critique of this FOV is that, despite having such a wide horizontal FOV, the vertical FOV—i.e., the range between the highest and lowest points of your vision—was similar to or even less than that of the Oculus Rift. This gave the sensation of viewing the virtual world through a very wide cinema screen, completely eliminating the feeling of the "dive effect."

Finally, for positional tracking, this device used 9 degrees of freedom IMU sensors from the Arduino control board, so it did not have as high a response time as the Oculus Rift.

True Player Gear AKA VRVana Totem

A headset from the VRVANA group, which began as a personal challenge in 2005 and gained greater attention following Facebook's acquisition of Oculus VR. They more recently worked on prototype number 5, which aimed to feature absolute positioning and hardware-accelerated distortion correction, a 1080p OLED screen, and compatibility with PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One, as well as focal adjustments for each eye and very large lenses to facilitate text reading.

The main feature of this headset is that it includes a pair of cameras on its front that offer three new functions:

The ability to use the headset as an augmented reality viewer, allowing us to display the real world (in three dimensions, as it includes a camera for each eye) with enhancements typical of augmented reality.

• The ability to perform absolute positioning of the virtual reality headset by monitoring changes in the images and setting reference points to control our position.
• The ability to introduce parts of our body into the virtual world by scanning, for example, our hands and integrating them into the virtual environment.
• The headset was presented as a robust and compact device, and many virtual reality enthusiasts chose to wait for this alternative headset.

AntVR

A wireless HMD of Chinese origin that appeared in 2014 and includes a gun controller that opens up and converts into a gamepad. It was advertised as compatible with all types of content. It featured a screen with aspheric lenses to avoid image distortion, resulting in a 4:3 aspect ratio with a 100º field of view. The project was successfully funded on Kickstarter, raising more than the goal amount.

Some time after being announced, the commercial version was released and shipped to all those who pre-purchased it during the Kickstarter campaign, in addition to being put on sale. The results of this version were far from expected, with many users expressing dissatisfaction and explaining why this headset was not suitable for virtual reality.

Among the issues with the commercial version were constant failures of the inertial sensor used by the device, causing image jumps or "ticks" that resulted in severe motion sickness and completely eliminated immersion when the user moved their head in ways the system did not recognize. Additionally, the resting sensor was poorly calibrated, causing gradual deviation along one axis, which meant that if you were using an application where you needed to look straight ahead, you would end up with your neck twisted, looking to one side.

Furthermore, the quality of the gamepad/gun was one of the most criticized aspects, as both the headset and the gamepad were reputed to be made from low-quality plastic. The mechanism for transforming the controller into a gun was quite flimsy, and once in gamepad mode, it was not as comfortable as it seemed, constantly closing while in use. Lastly, the gamepad included an inertial sensor similar to the one in the headset to determine where you were aiming with it when in gun mode. This sensor experienced the same issues as its counterpart in the headset.

Project Morpheus

A project that Sony planned to release in the first half of 2016. It would require an intermediary device with three processors: one for digital audio, a frame rate adapter, and another for image distortion to match the lenses. These processors would handle adapting the game for the headset to avoid overloading the PS4’s processor. The device was designed to operate at 120Hz but also be compatible with 60Hz.

The first version of Morpheus had characteristics similar to the Oculus Rift DK1, including many of the same issues. This version was not commercialized; it was introduced to the market as a prototype that would work with the PS4 in a manner similar to how the Oculus Rift works with PCs. At the time, these features were quite disappointing because, around the same period, the Oculus Rift DK2 was set to be released, offering significantly superior features to the DK1 or Morpheus, along with numerous new technologies and improvements.

However, the project was not abandoned, and details about the final version of the headset have since been revealed, which will be showcased at E3 2015. This final version includes a 1080p OLED screen, a 100º FOV, latency under 18ms, and a refresh rate of 120Hz. The device will feature absolute positioning through colored lights and the PlayStation Move system. A version very similar to the final Proyect Morpheus was shown at SVVR, where many who tried it were impressed by the quality the device was achieving.

It eventually launched as the PSVR.

Oculus Rift DK2 - Luces infrarrojas atraviesan el plástico

Oculus Rift Development Kit 2

This second version of the Oculus Rift introduced absolute positioning. In this project, the screen refresh rate was reduced and its resolution increased, thereby reducing adverse effects such as dizziness or nausea commonly associated with using these devices. However, it still has issues such as a limited field of view and the screen door effect, although these problems have been reduced compared to the Oculus Rift DK1. The screen resolution has improved, but pixels are still noticeable due to the proximity of the eyes to the screen.

Camara Oculus Rift DK2

Regarding the absolute positioning system, the Oculus Rift DK2 incorporates an optical absolute positioning system. This type of system is known for its low cost, as it uses only a camera and a matrix of points in space to determine the headset's position at all times. This matrix of points was included beneath the headset's casing with small infrared LEDs capable of penetrating the protective plastic, improving the final appearance of the device compared to the Crystal Cove prototype, which had a similar positioning system. These infrared lights allow positioning in any lighting condition, without needing a well-lit area for absolute positioning to occur. However, the camera does not have impressive resolution and cannot be used as a webcam. It is designed as a specialized device to detect the Oculus Rift DK2's points in any lighting with a high refresh rate, minimizing latency.

Unfortunately, the absolute positioning system is not perfect; it fails to track if you turn your back to the camera or move out of its field of view. This aspect of the camera disappointed many users, who expected an independent absolute positioning system that would allow the Oculus Rift to be used with other devices like the Virtuix Omni.

One of the weaknesses of the Oculus Rift DK2 is that, by reducing the screen size and increasing the size of the lenses, the edges of the screen are visible as two black bars at the edges of your field of view. This caused dissatisfaction among many users who complained about the reduced immersion. However, regular users noted that while the vertical bars seemed bothersome at first, they tended to fade over time.

Regarding the screen improvements, it is crucial to explain the importance of the implementation of low persistence. This low persistence causes the screen to remain lit for much less time than usual, displaying each frame of the image (with a refresh rate of 75Hz in the DK2) for a much shorter period. This makes the pixels more responsive to color changes and allows them to switch quickly to another color without transitioning between colors while the LED is on. This completely eliminates the blur effect of older screens, which blurred the image when the head was moved rapidly, and removes "ghosting" effects where residual images that should no longer be visible persisted in the pixels. As a result, this provides a greater sense of fluidity in the headset and a drastic reduction in motion sickness in most cases.

Oculus Rift Crescent Bay

The first prototype since Facebook acquired Oculus VR, with a commercial release planned for the first quarter of 2016. Expected improvements include enhanced audio, increased screen resolution to eliminate the screen door effect, expanded FOV, and larger lenses to reduce the "dive effect" of wearing glasses. Despite these anticipated upgrades, there are calls from the public for a 4K screen to significantly improve image quality, but it does not seem that these demands will be met at this time.

The Oculus Rift Crescent Bay features binaural audio, which is far superior to standard stereo audio (though the headphones remain stereo). It can accurately locate and transmit the exact position of a sound source in space. The technology implemented in Crescent Bay is called RealSpace3D, a software that had been developed for over 10 years at the University of Maryland. In addition, RealSpace3D adds reverberation effects that alter the sound depending on whether we are in a large room with echo or a closed space. This technology is included in the Oculus SDK.

Regarding screen improvements, it was announced that this device uses the same screens as the future commercial version of the Oculus Rift. Specifically, it features two 1080x1200 OLED screens, with a refresh rate of 90 Hz each. Combined, these screens provide a resolution of 2160x1200, which is considerably higher than the 1920x1080 of the previous version, but still falls short of the desired 2K or 4K resolutions. With the increased screen size and reduced pixel spacing, the grid effect that was present since the first prototype has been completely eliminated (as originally promised).

Additionally, Crescent Bay incorporates infrared LEDs on its rear, so there is no need to worry about losing absolute positioning if we turn around, thus preventing a break in immersion.

HTC Vive developer unit

HTC Vive

A virtual reality device developed by Valve. It features two 2160 x 1200 screens in total (1080x1200 pixels each) with a refresh rate of 90 Hz. It has achieved absolute positioning with the introduction of two external sensors. These sensors also track the position of two controllers, one for each hand, that come with the device. The screen door effect and motion sickness issues have been significantly reduced (nearly eliminated based on tests) for users of the device. The version is still only available to developers and is priced slightly higher compared to other devices currently on the market.

The main feature of the HTC Vive is the Lighthouse absolute positioning system, which is in many ways superior to that of Oculus. With Lighthouse, you can transform a room into a virtual environment where you can move around and interact with everything inside it. Since rooms have limited space and it's very likely that you might bump into walls if allowed to move freely, the Vive SDK generates "holographic" walls in the virtual environment to alert you that if you collide with them, you'll hit the real walls of your room. This provides a good option that ensures immersion without breaking it. Additionally, Lighthouse not only tracks the headset's position but also tracks the two controllers included with the Vive, allowing you to interact with elements in the environment by extending your hand, adding another layer of immersion.

Regarding the Vive controllers, which come included in the kit, they are quite different from other similar devices. Instead of buttons or joysticks, they feature touchpads that you can press, swipe, or touch to interact. These controllers have a reputation for being somewhat bulky and unattractive, though those who have tried them report no issues, finding them ergonomic and lightweight.

Finally, HTC Vive recently joined the OSVR standard, making it a strong alternative to the OSVR headset manufactured by Razer, which is relatively basic and similar to the Oculus Rift DK2. The news of HTC Vive and Valve joining OSVR provided a significant boost to the platform, as Valve is a major player in the gaming world and has elevated OSVR to compete with Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus, which are increasingly seen as proprietary and less integrable with other devices.

FOVE

A virtual reality headset designed to track the movements of both the head and eyes. It recognizes where you are focusing in the scene using two infrared cameras. FOVE aims to prioritize the area of the scene where your eyes are directed. They have shown this technology with a child in Japan playing the piano using eye movements. This allows people with mobility issues to participate in virtual reality experiences. They are currently working on supporting major game development tools like Unity, Unreal, and CryEngine. The project is hosted on Kickstarter. The main challenge is competing against established companies like Sony, Facebook, or Microsoft.

The ability to interact with your eyes in the virtual world represents a significant advancement in immersion. Developers could apply blur effects to areas of the scene where the user is not looking and focus on those areas where the user's gaze is directed. Additionally, it could enable visual communication with other virtual entities (e.g., a game character might become upset if you stare at it for too long). It would also greatly improve interaction with virtual interfaces, which currently require head movements and focusing on the interface elements you wish to interact with. Finally, this technology could significantly reduce the hardware specifications required to run VR applications, as it would allow for reducing the number of polygons rendered in areas not being looked at by the user.

Oculus Rift - Consumer Version 1

The first consumer version of the Oculus Rift was revealed in a live conference. As previously mentioned, this version does not add many hardware improvements, as it still features two 1080x1200 pixel screens for each eye (2160x1200 combined), just like its predecessor, the Oculus Rift Crescent Bay. This device focuses on appearance, comfort, and especially ergonomics. It completely eliminates the need for lens adjustments for people with vision problems; however, it significantly improves its internal structure to make it much more comfortable to use while wearing glasses. It has been confirmed that the lenses used are Fresnel lenses, which occupy a large part of the device's interior and are larger than those in Crescent Bay. Consequently, the FOV is increased, and while official figures have not been revealed, it is assured that it is greater.

Regarding Oculus's positioning in the software development world, it is known that Oculus has formed an alliance with Microsoft to integrate Oculus Rift not only with Windows 10 for full compatibility but also with Xbox One. As a result of this partnership, it has been announced that Oculus Rift will be integrated with the Xbox One Controller and will be sold as a combined package.

The device is constructed entirely from carbon fiber and features numerous small vents, making it breathable and addressing the issue of lens fogging that some users experienced due to lack of ventilation in the internal area of the visor. Additionally, this makes the device much more ergonomic, so once worn, it is barely noticeable.

The device includes the same binaural audio headphones but adds the option to easily remove them and replace them with your own headphones.

The absolute positioning system has been improved for better tracking by adding a base that elevates the camera, enhancing the sensor's field of view. This updated absolute positioning system is now called Constellation and adds the capability to interconnect multiple sensors to track the user even when they move out of the range of one sensor.

In addition to the commercial version of the Oculus, a new device was announced that would allow similar interaction to what is achieved with a Razer Hydra, but wirelessly, and also includes haptic feedback through multiple vibrations throughout the device. It has also been announced that this device will be capable of recognizing gestures such as making an "OK" sign with the hand or pointing with a finger.

Lastly, Oculus has announced that from now on, the speed of iterations in developing new and improved commercial versions of the headset will be much faster. They have stated that they will not be years without announcing a new device, like some other developers, but will instead have relatively short intervals.

StarVR

As an evolution of InfiniEye, the company that developed the prototype announced on June 15 that they had not been idle. Over this time, they have been secretly developing an HMD with the highest specifications of any previously announced headset. Its features include two QHD resolution screens, one for each eye, meaning 2560x1440 pixels each. When combined, the total resolution of both screens is 5120x1440, which doubles the horizontal FOV of the Oculus Rift, providing a FOV of 210º. Like its predecessor InfiniEye, this device uses Fresnel lenses.

Additionally, an optical absolute positioning system based on symbols has been developed, which they claim has sub-millimeter precision. However, these symbols require light to be identified, so, unlike Oculus's positioning system, we need lighting for the positioning to work.

Finally, despite the positive aspects of this device, it is worth noting that the screens exhibit significant screen door effect and lack low persistence systems, currently causing quite a bit of nausea. Despite the enormous FOV providing great immersion, this immersion is compromised by the issues associated with early virtual reality devices. It is important to note that this device is still a prototype and work is ongoing to address these issues.

Mobile cases (Smartphone VR viewers)

The world of virtual reality advanced so quickly that everyone wanted access to it. However, since most devices are for developers and others are quite expensive, mobile phone cases emerged as a cheaper and more accessible alternative for entering the world of virtual reality.

These cases are devices into which a smartphone (preferably one equipped with an inertial system with a gyroscope and accelerometer) is inserted, allowing us to view stereographic images in the same way a VR headset does, leveraging all the resources of the smartphone.

Due to their low manufacturing and distribution costs, and because they require no additional hardware—being just cases—many models have emerged. Among them, the most interesting ones will be explored:

vrAse

• vrAse: Surge como una de las primeras carcasas móviles. Merece la pena mencionarla porque gran parte del equipo de desarrollo es español.

Google Cardboard

• Google Cardboard: Of all the mobile VR headsets, this one is the most affordable, costing about $5 to $10. It is made from cardboard and features relatively small lenses with a very limited FOV. It includes an additional feature, such as a small magnet, which allows for interaction without removing the smartphone from the headset. A more expensive version is available for devices larger than 6 inches, iOS, and iPhone, offering a slightly wider FOV.
• Samsung Gear: Made by Oculus VR in collaboration with Samsung for the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge.
• Wearality: This mobile VR case is distinguished by offering the widest FOV available in a mobile VR case. The manufacturers of Wearality are lens specialists and have developed a lens that fully utilizes the mobile screen to provide an FOV between 150 and 210 degrees. However, Wearality lenses can also be purchased separately and integrated into a traditional virtual reality headset.

Focused Interaction with Specific Body Parts

• Razer Hydra: Presented as the first device capable of true and high-quality absolute positioning. It represents an evolution of the Wii controller, being able to position itself in space at any time. This device allows us to interact with our hands within the virtual world, enabling actions such as performing operations (like in Surgeon Simulator) or firing a weapon in Half-Life.

• Leap Motion: An optical device similar to a miniature Kinect. It can track our hands with high precision, including each finger. Interaction is limited because its interaction angle is quite small, requiring hands to be positioned in front of the device for it to work properly. Additionally, as an optical device, it struggles to identify fingers when they are hidden behind the palm of the hand, which can break immersion in the virtual world due to its positioning errors.
• 

  Leap Motion
  Taptical Haptics: A device that provides real haptic feedback to stimuli on a gamepad. This device uses a series of sliders that move up and down to create tension in the palm of the hand, simulating the resistance of an object weighing on the skin. Although it cannot simulate actual weight, experiences suggest that the result is very convincing, making, for example, handling a virtual sword much more realistic, as you will always feel the weight of the sword, greatly enhancing immersion. This device is also easily integrable with STEM and is part of the OSVR standard.

• Stompz: A device that attaches to the feet and detects when they move to trigger actions within an application. This device had limited success because it is designed for use while seated, which breaks immersion when walking, an action typically performed while standing.

• File:Emotiv epoc 2014.jpg

  Emotiv Epoc
  Thalmic Myo: This device, shaped like a bracelet, is worn on the forearm and can detect muscle impulses generated there and transmitted to the hand. It allows the identification of hand gestures and translates them into actions in the virtual world with precision.

• Emotiv Epoc: Finally, this device is the most complex of all the aforementioned. It can read neural impulses generated in the brain and transform them into actions that we configure. For instance, if we imagine a potato in our head, we can assign it to the action of moving forward. This device was integrated into a video game called Son of Nor, where, through a small learning system, we can cast powerful spells using only our head, adding an incredible degree of immersion and allowing us to perform actions typical of a supernatural world.

Full-Body Interaction

Walkers

• 

  Virtuix Omni
  Virtuix Omni: A device that interacts with the entire body. It features a base for leg movement and is known as an omnidirectional walker, allowing movement and walking in a virtual world without physically moving in the real world, similar to a treadmill but in all directions. This is achieved through a concave base, a harness that secures us at waist height (with adjustable height), which prevents displacement while walking, and a highly slippery surface on which our feet glide with minimal effort, fully simulating the walking process. Initially, it used Kinect, but now it has its own integrated sensors. It requires special shoes to ensure proper sliding, although shoe covers for regular shoes can also be used. It still has several drawbacks, such as the base's weight, approximately 50 kg, and its size, with a diagonal of 122 cm, making it cumbersome to store.

• File:Cyberith Virtualizer.JPG

  Cyberith Virtualizer
  Cyberith Virtualizer: A walker with three support bars. Special shoes are not required; the sensors are located in the base of the walker. It has an advantage over other devices as playing without shoes reduces noise during use. This device features a harness with adjustable height that adapts while in use, allowing us to crouch, jump, and even sit on it, simulating actions like driving a virtual car. They are working on an SDK to facilitate integration, which will be included in the OSVR standard.

• Wizdish: A simpler walker compared to the two previously mentioned. It is characterized by being much smaller and more easily stored than other omnidirectional treadmills. This walker lacks a harness, and movement is achieved by moving the feet with super-slippery special shoes to prevent displacement. However, this device, lacking a harness and being extremely slippery, is very unsafe, and the commercial version is sold with a large inflatable donut-shaped mat to prevent injury if we fall. Additionally, this mat adds the functionality of sitting on it, for example, to drive a virtual car.

• Runpad: This walker is much simpler than the others. It consists of a base similar to a pedal, which allows us to perform actions such as moving forward or sideways by moving our feet. However, this walker is used while seated, so the immersion achieved is much lower than with other devices in its category.

Body Tracking

• PrioVR: This body tracking system is presented as a much better alternative to Kinect, significantly reducing its latency and solving the issues of optical systems, where non-visible parts of the body cannot be positioned in space. This positioning is done through inertial sensors, 9 degrees of freedom IMUs (Gyroscope + Accelerometer + Magnetometer), which calculate movement through changes in these sensors. It is available in two formats: one with 11 sensors and another with 17. Finally, PrioVR is part of the OSVR standard, so it will work with any implementation of it.

• Sixense STEM: This device emerges as an evolution of the Razer Hydra. It uses the same absolute positioning system based on magnetism, but improves it by making the devices wireless. Additionally, the system consists of small "trackers," which can be inserted into other devices, such as Sixense gamepads or Tactical Haptics.

• Perception Neuron: As a more professional solution, Perception Neuron is presented as a device similar to PrioVR but more easily extensible, with hand tracking capabilities and a much smaller size. However, this device is significantly more expensive, doubling the price of PrioVR.

Other Devices that Enhance Immersion

• Petal: A fan that connects via USB to the PC or virtual reality device controller and is capable of emitting airflow controlled by software. It is being considered for plugin integration with major game engines like Unreal Engine and Unity. The system is similar to Phillips' amBX. Multiple fans can be used to simulate airflow coming from different directions.

• FeelReal: A sensation mask that connects to the headset (compatible with Oculus Rift, Morpheus, Gear VR, and other similar devices) to enhance the realism of feeling part of the virtual world. It features two vaporizers, two vibration motors, two heaters, a microphone, and cartridges with different scents (currently, 7: ocean, jungle, fire, grass, metal, gunpowder, and flowers). Development kits are set to be released in the summer of 2015.

OSVR (Open Source Virtual Reality)

OSVR is an open-source platform aimed at establishing a standard for virtual reality by creating an SDK for developers (both hardware and software) that allows all types of devices to communicate with all types of applications. The OSVR standard is supported by a large community, not only from virtual reality consumers but also from major hardware and software development companies.

Among the companies supporting OSVR are major players like Razer, Ubisoft, Sixense, LeapMotion, and GearBox Software, the developers behind the famous Borderlands series. It is also supported by numerous smaller companies such as Cyberith Virtualizer, CastAR, and Tactical Haptics. This means that as consumers, if we acquire a device or software compatible with OSVR, we can enjoy it with a wide range of devices or experiences tailored to our preferences, and we will achieve quality results comparable to those produced by these renowned companies.

Suppose we have an OSVR setup with a headset and an absolute hand positioning controller, such as a Razer Hydra. If desired, we can play a game with these devices, but what if we want to enhance our immersion? We can do so. We could add a walker like the Cyberith Virtualizer to take our experience a step further into the virtual world. And if we want a wireless controller? We can easily replace our Razer Hydra with a Sixense Stem or Valve Lighthouse controllers.

Now, suppose we have our OSVR setup built, and major development companies like Ubisoft, GearBox Software, or Valve bring big video game titles to our customized OSVR environment.

The entire OSVR ecosystem is modular, robust, incremental, easily expandable, adaptable to our needs and preferences, and, above all, open.

The OSVR standard presents an alternative to current major brands like Project Morpheus with its PlayStation Move-based ecosystem or Oculus Rift with its Constellation-based ecosystem. These proprietary alternatives tend to become increasingly closed and limit intercompatibility to commercial agreements, whereas OSVR offers freedom from such constraints, allowing us to be free from hardware and software dependencies and to replace them if we are dissatisfied.

Integration into Society

Currently, there are numerous projects utilizing virtual reality. Here are some examples of its use in social projects:

• The British Army uses the Oculus Rift device to attract potential recruits. It allows them to participate in a training exercise, making the person testing it feel as if they are in a real exercise.
• At the Hospital Perpetuo Socorro in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, they are testing the Oculus Rift device during surgical procedures. A woman accepted it in place of general anesthesia. The operation was recorded with Google Glass, merging virtual reality and augmented reality.
• NASA plans to use the Oculus Rift to maintain astronauts' mental well-being during space missions, allowing them to be in a place other than the inside of the spacecraft. They aim to simulate friendly and familiar environments, including scents to enhance realism.
• Jaunt Studios has announced that it will focus entirely on creating cinematic experiences for virtual reality. They have already collaborated with several artists to create 3D and 360º experiences.
• The American automotive company Ford has been using NVIS SX60 devices for some time, and in April 2014, added Oculus Rift to their labs. They use virtual reality to accelerate the vehicle design process. In 2012, they were already using absolute positioning systems with NVIS SX60. They use a virtual hand to interact with virtually created elements.

References

• Interview with Shigeru Miyamoto (Spanish)
• Creation of Oculus Rift
• Fresnel Lenses (Spanish)
• vrVana
• FOVE
• Numerous news articles from www.realovirtual.com (Spanish)
• Virtuix Omni
• Cyberith Virtualizer
• OSVR