Essay On Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality: The Next Big Thing

Computer technology has a long journey ahead of itself. A type of new technology called virtual reality creates a 3D simulated environment. Rather than just looking at a screen, virtual reality puts the user in a 3D world where the user can interact with their virtual surroundings. 3D is a three-dimensional shape or object that shows an object’s height, width, and depth and is meant to closely resemble the real world. There is also 2D which means two-dimensional; 2D has only horizontal and vertical dimensions and objects appear flat like looking at a photograph (Cefrey, 10)Although virtual reality is still in its early stages, it will eventually become the next huge technological advancement that could improve

In order to create a 3D image it must display two flat images of the object. This way it makes the mind combine the two images. That’s what the stereoscopes are for; they give depth. “In 1838, Charles Wheatstone’s research demonstrated that the brain processes the different two-dimensional images from each eye into a single object of three dimensions.”The stereoscope was a device which was made for seeing 3D images. The later development of stereoscope, called the View-Master was an updated version of the original. The View-Master had a reel that had about 10 stereoscopic images; so if there was 10, then it would make up 5 stereoscopic images (Virtual Reality, 2016). In 1985, a computer scientist and visual artist named Jaron Lanier and his fellow companion, Thomas G. Zimmerman, founded VPL research. In 1987, Jaron Lanier coined the term “virtual reality.” This area of research now had a name. Even though people tried to name this technology, there was no official name for it. Before that, people would call virtual reality “binocular vision”(Virtual Reality, 2016).

Present day

Virtual reality is very expensive. The truth is that mainly the wealthy, universities, researchers, and scientists can really get their hands on virtual reality. There is a cheaper version made by Google called the Google Cardboard which cost about $15 but requires a smartphone to make it work (Virtual Reality, 2016).

Virtual reality will be way more than just gaming itself. Virtual reality can improve our understanding of things that can’t be done in real life. For example, if a scientist wanted to study a disease and needed to look at the bacteria, he could use virtual reality to enhance and enlarge the bacteria. NASA can study planets without physically going there using virtual reality. Architects can design a house using virtual reality; speeding the process of just ordinary blueprints. Virtual reality can save lives, explore remote areas, design structures, and give enjoyment to users around the world (Cefrey,