ALL ABOUT VIRTUAL REALITY & OCULUS RIFT

WHAT IS VIRTUAL REALITY?

Virtual Reality refers to a high-end user interface that involves real-time simulation and interactions through multiple sensorial channels.

Virtual Reality means feeling an imaginary (virtual) world, rather than the real one. The imaginary world is a simulation running in a computer. The sense data is fed by some system to our brain.

Virtual Reality allows a user to interact with a computer-simulated environment, be it a real or imagined one.

HISTORY OF VIRTUAL REALITY

1950’s visionary cinematographer Morton Heilig built a single user console called Sensorama. This enabled the user watch television in three dimensional ways.

In 1961, Philco Corporation engineers developed the first HMD known as the Headsight.

It was in 1965 IVAN SUTHERLAND envisioned what he called the “Ultimate Display.”

In 1988, commercial development of VR began. In 1991, first commercial entertainment VR

system "Virtuality" was released.

DEVICES USED IN VIRTUAL REALITY

HEAD MOUNTED DISPLAY (HMD)

CAVE AUTOMATIC VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT (CAVE)

DATA GLOVES DATA SUIT

Applications Education & Training

- Driving simulator - Flight simulator- Ship simulator- Shooting simulator

Applications Movies - Virtual reality is applied in 3-D movies to try and

immerse the viewer into the movie and/or virtual setting and environments.

Video Games - Virtual reality is evident in video games. Now you can physically interact with a game by using your body and motions to control characters and other elements of the game that years ago people would only imagine.

Education and training – Training and education is done through virtual reality because it can prepare you for many dangerous jobs and put the worker in real scenarios without the risk of them being hurt. Doing this enables them to fully train and educate themselves in almost any situation possible so that they’re ready and well equipped for the job. Virtual reality can give them the experience they need without actually putting them or others in danger.

Business:

Virtual reality is being used in a number of ways by the business community which include:

Virtual tours of a business environment. Training of new employees. A 360 view of a product.

Training:

Virtual reality environments have been used for training simulators.

Examples include flight simulators, battlefield simulators for soldiers,paratrooping.

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS

BEGINNING WITH FLIGHT SIMULATORS, ADVANCING THROUGH SCIENTIFIC

APPLICATIONS, AND INTO THE ENTERTAINMENT ARENA, VIRTUAL

ENVIRONMENTS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED TO PROVIDE AN IMMERSIVE SIMULATED

EXPERIENCE WITHOUT THE EXPENSE AND RISK ASSOCIATED WITH THE REAL

THING.

BOEING 787

FLIGHT SIMULA

TOR FROM

ALTEON

MOLECULAR SIMULATION AT ARGONNE

NATIONAL LABORATORY

Engineering and Design:

VR is widely used in engineering and designing process.

It gives better understanding of the design and facilitates changes wherever necessary

It helps to reduce the time and cost factor.Examples: Building construction, car designing.

Medical:

Healthcare is one of the biggest adopters of virtual reality which encompasses surgery simulation, phobia treatment, robotic surgery and skills training.

VR finds its application in nursing, dentistry, health issues for the disabled.

Entertainment:

The entertainment industry is one of the most enthusiastic advocates of virtual reality, most noticeably in games and virtual worlds.

Virtual Museum, e.g. interactive exhibitions Gaming Virtual theme parks

DIGITAL 3D

ADVANCES IN DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY AND STEREOSCOPY HAVE ENABLED FILMMAKERS TO AFFORDABLY PRODUCE 3D FILMS AND THEATRE

OWNERS TO AFFORDABLY SHOW THEM.A 3D DIGITAL CAMERA RECORDS VIDEO, CIRCULARLY POLARIZING THE RIGHT VIEWPOINT USING RIGHT-HANDED POLARIZATION...

...WHILE RECORDING THE LEFT VIEWPOINT USING LEFT-HANDED

CIRCULAR POLARIZATION.

BOTH IMAGES ARE PROJECTED SIMULTANEOUSLY ONTO THE THEATRE SCREEN, IN A MANNER THAT GUARANTEES THAT THE VIEWPOINTS ARE SYNCHRONIZED.

THE MOVIEGOER WEARS POLARIZED GLASSES THAT

ONLY ALLOW THE RIGHT-HANDED POLARIZED IMAGES

TO PASS THROUGH THE RIGHT LENS AND THE LEFT-HANDED POLARIZED IMAGES TO PASS

THROUGH THE LEFT LENS.

VERGENCE VS. ACCOMMODATION

PROJECTING A 3D IMAGE ONTO A 2D SCREEN OR TELEVISION

DISPLAY TENDS TO PLAY TRICKS WITH ONE’S VISUAL

PERCEPTION.IN THE REAL WORLD, WHEN A PERSON TRIES TO FOCUS ON A

DISTANT OBJECT, THE EYES EXPERIENCE VERGENCE, WHERE

THEY BOTH ROTATE ON THEIR OWN VERTICAL AXES UNTIL THEY BOTH POINT AT THE

OBJECT.

MEANWHILE, THE EYES EXPERIENCE

ACCOMMODATION, WHERE THEY REFLEXIVELY FOCUS ON THE OBJECT IN ITS DISTANT POSITION, CAUSING NEARBY

OBJECTS TO GO OUT OF FOCUS.

WITH 3D IMAGES, HOWEVER, THE EYES ROTATE SO THEY

ARE POINTED TO WHERE THE OBJECT SEEMS TO BE, BUT THE

REFLEXIVE FOCUS MUST ADJUST TO THE SCREEN’S

ACTUAL LOCATION, ELIMINATING THE NATURAL

BLURRING OF NEARBY OBJECTS.

THIS RESULTS IN SERIOUS

EYESTRAIN AND HEADACHES FOR

MANY 3D AUDIENCE MEMBERS.

Oculus Rift

Oculus Rift was invented by a virtual reality enthusiast named Palmer Luckey.

The Oculus Rift is a virtual reality head mounted display, being developed by Oculus VR, a division of Facebook.

The Oculus Rift is a virtual reality headset that lets players step inside their favorite games and virtual worlds.

How it works

It uses a 7 inch LCD display screen with a resolution of 1280 by 800 pixels.

Screen is divided into 640 by 800 pixels per eye, with a fixed distance between lens centers.

User can view the screen through two lens cup.

How it works

Back view of Oculus Rift.

[5]

OCULUS RIFT

Head-Mounted Display

(Coated in white markers)

Camera(Tracks markers to record user’s head

position)

Head Straps

Circuit BoardScreen

Diopter Adjustment

(Rotate to fine tune so

eyeglasses aren’t needed)

Lenses(Three pairs are provided

to accommodat

e good, moderate, and heavy

nearsightedness)

Foam Padding(Fits to face)

How it works

A control box is used to hook the headset up to your computer.

Control box includes HDMI port, mini USB port, DVI pot and DC power connection port.

Control box also contains five buttons for controlling contrast, brightness and power.

How it works

Control box.

[6]

Developer Version

In August 2012, Oculus announced the "dev kit" version of the Oculus Rift.

In March 2014, Oculus announced the upcoming Devkit 2 (DK2) which they expected to begin shipping in July 2014.

Consumer Version

A consumer version of the Rift is in development, which will be aimed at a general market and feature improved components.

Improved positional tracking, higher resolution, and wireless operation are some of the features under consideration.

THE OCULUS RIFT EXPERIENCE

Problems

Resolution is currently too low. Not glasses friendly yet. Heavy weight design. Users experiences motion sickness.

SIMULATOR SICKNESSEFFORTS TO MAKE VR SIMULATIONS AS REALISTIC AS

POSSIBLE FREQUENTLY HAVE UNPLEASANT SIDE

EFFECTS.FOR EXAMPLE, PROVIDING A

VISUAL HEADBOB (LIKE THE ONE

ILLUSTRATED AT RIGHT), WITHOUT

AN ACCOMPANYING

PHYSICAL MOTION, CAN RESULT IN

MOTION SICKNESS AND NAUSEA.

SIMILAR PROBLEMS TEND TO OCCUR WITH RAPID CHANGES IN

ACCELERATION AND RAPID SHIFTS IN PERSPECTIVE.

BALANCE & THE INNER EAR

THE SEMICIRCULAR CANALS WITHIN THE INNER EAR CONTAIN HAIR

CELLS THAT REACT TO BODY

MOVEMENTS.

THESE REACTIONS ARE TRANSMITTED BY MEANS OF THE

VESTIBULAR NERVE TO THE BRAIN, WHICH

SUBCONSCIOUSLY SENDS MESSAGES

TO THE BODY’S TRUNK AND LIMBS

TO MAINTAIN BALANCE.

WHEN THE EYES SEND THE BRAIN A DIFFERENT MESSAGE

REGARDING THE BODY’S MOVEMENTS, THE BRAIN MAY

REACT ADVERSELY, CAUSING A LOSS OF BALANCE.

VR LATENCY

WHEN THE VR SYSTEM’S PROCESSING TIME IS

EXCESSIVE, ITS REACTIONS TO THE

USER’S ACTIONS WILL LAG BEHIND, WHICH

DESTROYS THE ILLUSION OF IMMERSION WHEN IT

BECOMES NOTICEABLE TO THE USER.

LATENCY IS PARTICULARLY

PROBLEMATIC IN “AUGMENTED

REALITY” APPLICATIONS,

WHERE VIRTUAL OBJECTS ARE OVERLAID ON THE USER’S

REAL WORLD SETTING, SINCE

THE VIRTUAL AND THE REAL

SHOULD OSTENSIBLY BE INTERACTING.

VR HEADSETS

Oculus Rift Carl Zeiss Cinemizer

Silicon Micro Display ST1080

Sony HMZ-T2640x800

Resolution870x500

Resolution1920x1080 Resolution

1280x720 Resolution90° Horizontal

FOV30° Horizontal

FOV39° Horizontal

FOV45° Horizontal

FOV13.4 Ounces 4.2 Ounces 6.3 Ounces 11.6 Ounces7˝ Diagonal

Display0.39˝ Diagonal

Display0.74˝ Diagonal

Display0.7˝ Diagonal

DisplayLiquid Crystal Display

Organic Light-Emitting Diode

Liquid Crystal on Silicon

Organic Light-Emitting Diode$300 $749 $799 $894

FACEBOOK PAYS $2 BILLION FOR OCULUS

“Our mission is to make the world more open and connected. For the past few years, this has mostly meant building mobile apps that help you share with the people you care about. We have a lot more to do on mobile, but at this point we feel we're in a position where we can start focusing on what platforms will come next to enable even more useful, entertaining and personal experiences…“After games, we're going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences. Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face -- just by putting on goggles in your home.“This is really a new communication platform. By feeling truly present, you can share unbounded spaces and experiences with the people in your life. Imagine sharing not just moments with your friends online, but entire experiences and adventures.”

Mark ZuckerbergMarch 25, 2014

GOOGLE CARDBOARD

Cardboard($2)

Lenses($10)

Magnets

($6)

Velcro($3)

Rubber Band(1¢)

Google’s response to the $350 Oculus Rift

Developer’s Kit is this do-it-yourself “Oculus

Thrift” which turns Android devices into portable VR viewers, using an open source software developers

kit.

CONCLUSION

• Virtual Reality is a growing industry.• PC and specialized hardware are getting better, faster and

cheaper because of development in VR.• In the past, computing power has doubled approximately

every 18 months. If this is the case then we should have a computer powerful enough to run immersive VR programs in our own homes by the year 2037.

THANK YOU…

QUESTIONS???