Virtual Reality
What is Virtual Reality?
Virtual Reality (VR) allows the user to put on a headset and become immersed in a virtual world. The goal of VR is to trick the senses into believing they are exploring the real world. It's up to you to decide how effective this is with different experience and equipment combinations.
Variations of this technology have been around for over a quarter of a century, but the technology has only recently become commercialized. The first versions of VR designed for home use required expensive computers with high processing power, the headset had to be wired to the computer, and external cameras were used to orient the user in time and space.
More recent editions like the Oculus Go and Oculus Quest allowed the user to experience VR using a free-standing headset that did not require a separate computer or cameras to operate. This was a game-changer for VR users and developers. This technology has already reached just about every industry and is expected to grow considerably. How can VR solve problems in your community?
For a more detailed look at VR, please check out these additional resources.
Additional Resources:
(YouTube) Virtual Reality: Explained: This video from Marques Brownlee is from 2015, so there are new headset varieties on the market now. However, his description of VR is too good to miss.
The WIRED Guide to Virtual Reality: This deep dive into VR covers everything from how it works to the history and future of VR.
What is Virtual Reality? The Virtual Reality Society dives into the details of how VR simulates reality and describes the various situations in which VR would be beneficial in the real world.
(YouTube) What are Virtual and Augmented Realities? VR and AR are sometimes confused. ColdFusion describes the similarities and differences between the two distinct technologies.
Real World Solutions & Use Cases
There is no doubt that VR is really cool. However there has been some intense debate as to the usefulness of virtual reality to solve problems in the real world. As the technology matures and improves, practical applications and use cases are growing and improving as well. VR has now impacted nearly every industry on the planet.
Check out these websites to see VR has been doing good in a variety of industries:
Use Cases
Applications of Virtual Reality:The Virtual Reality Society has gathered examples of how VR is being put to good use in every major industry.
VR for Good: Explore how Oculus is using VR to help people train for dangerous situtations, assist in healthcare, and more.
Surgical Theater: See how VR is helping doctors train for complex surgery, helping ease patient fears by allowing them to see inside their body, and more.
What Could Go Wrong?
As with any device powered by the internet, there are still privacy and security concerns attached to Virtual Reality. Other questions have been raised of how VR affects the brain, both positively and negatively. Check out these resources to learn about what could go wrong, and how we can keep ourselves safe as VR grows in popularity:
Indsutry review boards are needed to protext VR user privacy: The World Economic Forum describes how your personal information can fall into the wrong hands if data protection is not regulated in virtual worlds. Consider how data is collected, used and shared, and who can protect consumers if things go wrong.
Virtual Reality and Ethical Issues: The Virtual Reality Society tackles the issues of desensitisation to violence, and virtual cirminality. We are all still trying to tackle cyberbullying online. What happens when cyberbullying is amplified in a simulated virtual world?
This is Your Brain on VR: The Neuroscientist's Perspective: Thrive Global interviews Dr. Sook-Lei Liew, an Assistant Professor and head of USC's Neural Plasticity and Neurorehabilitation Lab. She raises some intersting questions about the potential pros and cons to implementing VR technology. There is still a lot we dont know about VR and the brain.
Virtual Reality, Real Injuries: How to reduce physical risk in VR: This article in Science Daily describes ergonomic design for VR. We learned a lot from computer ergonomics. If you wouldn't move that way in real life, don't move that way in VR!
Why Does VR Make Some People Sick? Live Science describes this phenomenon and what both users and designers of VR can do to prevent it from happening.
How VR is Made & Team Roles
Now you know more about what VR is and have seen some examples of how it is used to solve real problems in the world, but how is this technology made and implemented in the real world?
The resources in this section will tell help you learn how VR is designed and developed, and learn the specific roles and responsibliites of a VR team.
Business News Daily describes some common project management and developer roles and requirements to get a VR project up and running. They also touch upon some of the other roles that come into play.
Virtual Reality Production: Where Do I Start? BBC details the planning process for designing a VR experience, including budget brackets, planning questions, and more.
Designing User Experience for VR Applications: This article in UX Planet details the process of planning and designing an optimal experience in VR.
How to Design for Virtual Reality: While this Wired guide is about five years old, much of it still holds true. The only real difference is the number of controls and features that are availalbe to allow users to interact with the virtual environment.
VR Project Development- Hot Project Managers Should Prepare: Toptal provides a detailed overview of VR markets, key roles in VR development, and how to build the best team to get the job done well.
Deciphering Digital Reality: This interview of Delotte experts provides some excellent information about how to plan, design and implement digital reality into real, marketable business solutions.
Request Kit Tech Kit Home ⇒Try it in the Library
You may have noticed that virtual reality is pretty cool. This section will provide some tools and options to introduce your community to VR.
- Tech Kits: The easiest way to introduce your community to VR is to check out a headset from the Nebraska Library Commission and use the guide and activities on that page.
- Introducing VR to Your Community: Public Libraries Online also offers this great collection of tips and tricks and introducing VR.
- Tips for Launching a Public Library VR Program: State Tech describes several existing program ideas, along with pros and cons to certain approaches.
Learn How to Make It
These resources will allow patrons to learn how to design and build VR experiences for themselves:
- Cospaces: This was developed for use in the classroom. Cospaces uses drag and drop blocking programming to help you build virtual worlds.
- A-Frame: Build VR for the web and/ or use in a headset using HTML, CSS and JavaScript. There are plenty of tutorials to get people started.
- A-Frame Tutorial Series: Try this YouTube series to learn A-Frame, step-by-step.
- Unity for Beginners: This tutorial is for beginners with no development or VR experience. Use this to test the waters. The next step is learning C# to level up your game!
- VR Beginner: The Escape Room: Learn Unity by using a project template to design an escape room, step-by-step.
Learning Communities
As people dive deeper into VR, they naturally want to join online learning communities. Point people to these to get started and level up in VR:
- Unity Community: "Join the largest community of Unity users. Creators of all types- beginner to expert, hobbyist to pro- connect here to learn, share and inspire.
- A-Frame Community: "A-Frame's greatest strength is in enabling an ecosystem and the community of people who come together to make developing WebVR a rewarding experience.
- Deloitte Consulting: Sometimes you have an idea, but don't want to learn how to make it yourself. Delotte is a consulting firm that can get the job done, or point you in the right direction.
Please note that Deloitte is not the only VR consulting company in the world, there are many. This is just an example of a large, global brand. You might want to look closer to home first!