Page 21 - AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report

Virtual Reality
Virtual reality (VR) is an artificial environment created with software and appearing to the user “as a real environment.” It is one of the fastest growing technological trends and is increasingly more widely available. As a result, companies are starting to exploit technology to offer consumers new ways to enjoy diverse audiovisual content. The evolution of virtual reality begins to inte- grate surround screens, “augmented” rooms equipped with portable equipment and haptic devices, a term that encompasses all non-audio- visual experiences, which even allow screen contents to be felt. Wearable electronic devices have also increased the capacity for interaction and virtualization. They raise the possibility of controlling, simulating and rendering avatars, virtual recreations of people for their immersion in an artificial reality, or they permit operation in extreme conditions in which users may not even be able to directly see their body.
Fig 5. Simulation using virtual reality infrastructure [Fortune]
The recent breakthrough that the VR has experi- enced has come hand in hand with the momen- tum provided by the hardware. New devices, adjusted in price and subjected to economy of scale, have allowed widespread access for users to experience VR, as compared to just a few years ago [Olszewski] [Grebner] [Zhang]. The introduction of Oculus Rift and its first develop- ment kit in 2013 can be considered a watershed moment for the takeoff of virtual reality and its
accessibility [Riva] [Hilfert] [Kapoor] [Olszewski] [Boletsis]. Next came new devices such as HTC Vive headsets and those designed for Sony Play Station. The increased availability of devices, accompanied by the publication of open source software development kits, such as the one offered by the Open Source Virtual Reality project, have finally cemented the presence of VR [Kapoor] [Barnes] [Olszewski] [ Boletsis]. At the same time, more affordable options emerged on the market with low-cost solutions that allowed a smart phone to become a VR device. Some examples of this are Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear VR [Barnes] [Kesselman].
Virtual reality (VR) is an artificial environment created with software and appearing to the user “as a real environment.”
With the recent advances, virtual reality system hardware prices have dropped, thanks in large part to the traction they gained among commu- nities of videogame players [Hilfert] [Olszewski]. This has transformed virtual reality into a widely accessible and popular technology in recent years [Moreira]. More conventional users have the possibility of acquiring virtual reality systems at a low price, use them in the comfort of their homes and benefit from the same advantages that have permitted the development of virtual reality applications for various application do- mains [Boletsis].
In addition, the quality of the virtual environ- ments has increased rapidly, providing realistic graphics and complete “immersion.” [Rosen]. More recently launched VR systems have taken advantage of rapid advances in graphics cards (graphic processor units, or GPUs) to produce high quality graphics and render complex high fidelity scenes, and even the recreation of totally immersive environments [Reinert] [Boletsis].
Multiuser virtual reality environments are finally beginning to be considered technically robust, overcoming the lack of technical capabilities
AC/E DIGITAL CULTURE ANNUAL REPORT 2018
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Digital Trends in Culture