The virtual reality concept became popular by the end of the 80s thanks to one of its pioneers, Jaron Lanier. One of the most commonly accepteddefinitions of virtual reality nowadaysis the one given by the British Encyclopaedia, stating that this technology consists of “the use of modeling and the computerized simulation that enables a person to interact with an artificial three-dimensional (3D) visual or other sensory environment.”
When talking about virtual reality, we refer to an experience in which the user dives into an environment created by a computer, simulating reality by using interactive devices that send and receive information and are used as glasses, body apparel and gloves, among others. Thanks to virtual reality, for example, we may simulate that we are playing a tennis match in which Rafa Nadal throws balls to us holding his serv; or may walk through an apartment, still under construction, being able to customize the floor, walls or furniture we wish to see in each room. The fact that the user may 100% believe to be in a different placethan the one he really is, and still taking decisions in a real environment, is a revolution itself with more and more applications each day.
The virtual reality glasses are the biggest growing trend in current technology. Actually, whereas virtual reality used to be just one more accessory at technology fairs and events just a couple of years ago, the various existing glasses designsare now autonomous items and have become a product themselves, as we could see at the 51st Consumer Electronic Show(CES) that took place last January in Las Vegas.
For the time being, this technology’s limits are still unknown. Although it is clearly taking off and generating big business within the entertainment industry, it is also true that in fields such as tourism (virtual tours all around the world), retail (trying on clothes, furniture, etc.), education (immersive teaching, new pedagogic models creation, etc.) communication (new interactive narratives), medicine (in case of complex surgery with the corresponding recovery time reduction after the operation), manufacturing and art, the applicationof virtual reality enables the creation of new business and lets us all dive into completely new worlds.
Last but not least, we may state that this technology is the natural outcome of an evolution arisen in the last few years from the 3D industry. Despite the growing number of start-ups dedicated to virtual reality, forma counts on an in-house team working on this kind of projects, with no need to outsource any of our services. Our goal and philosophy is to deliver highest quality products to all of our customers; therefore, we believe it is important that all professionals directly belong to our team. We currently code the virtual experiences and 3D tours (as if it was a panoramic) for various platforms: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Samsung GEAR, Cardboard and DayDreams.
In our next post, we will bring you the differences between virtual reality and augmented reality.
by Develona