The term immersive technology refers to the technology that is used to create a virtual world for its users. Immersive technology uses a simulated world to create the feel of being in a physical world. This surrounding sensory feeling felt by the user gives the user a sense of immersion in real life setting. The blend of virtual reality and augmented reality is called mixed reality. [1]
Immersive technology was initially only a work on science fiction. Appearing in futuristic novels and films. "In one of the first short stories to imagine a virtual reality, Pygmalion’s Spectacles, published in 1935, characters wear goggles to experience “a movie that gives one sight and sound…taste, smell, even touch. […] You are in the story, you speak to the shadows, and the shadows reply, and instead of being on a screen, the story is all about you, and you are in it”. [2] The origination of VR technology began in the 1950s using photos and then advanced from there.
A fully immersive, perceptually-real environment will consist of multiple components.
The following hardware technologies are developed to stimulate one or more of the five senses to create perceptually-real sensations
|
|
|
|
|
These technologies provide the ability to interact and communicate with the virtual environment.
"Software interacts with the hardware technology to render the virtual environment and process the user input to provide dynamic, real-time response. To achieve this, software often integrates components of artificial intelligence and virtual worlds. This is done differently depending on the technology and environment; Whether the software needs to create a fully immersive environment or display a projection on the already existing environment the user is looking at.
Many universities have programs that research and develop immersive technology. Examples are Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab, USC's Computer Graphics and Immersive Technologies Lab, Iowa State Virtual Reality Applications Center, University of Buffalo's VR Lab, Teesside University's Intelligent Virtual Environments Lab ,Liverpool John Moores University's Immersive Storyl lab ,University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Oklahoma State University and the University of Southern California. [3] All of these universities and more are researching the advancement of the technology along with the different uses that VR could be applied to. [4]
As well universities the video game industry has received a massive boost from immersive technology specifically Augmented reality. The company Epic games known for their popular game Fortnite generated 1.25 billion dollars in a round of investing in 2018 as they have a leading 3D development platform for AR apps. [5] The U.S. Government requests information for immersive technology development [6] and funds specific projects. [7] This is for implementation in government branches in the future.
Immersive technology is applied in several areas, including retail and e-commerce, [8] the adult industry, [9] art, [10] entertainment and video games and interactive storytelling, military, education, [11] [12] and medicine. [13] It is also growing in the Non-profit industry in fields such as disaster relief and conservation due to its ability to put a user in a situation that would elicit more of a real-world experience than just a picture giving them a stronger emotional connection to the situation they would be viewing. As immersive technology becomes more mainstream, it will likely pervade other industries. Also with the legalization of cannabis happening worldwide, the cannabis industry has seen a large growth in the immersive technology market to allow virtual tours of their facilities to engage potential customers and investors.
The potential perils of immersive technology have often been portrayed in science fiction and entertainment. Movies such as eXistenZ, The Matrix, and the short film Play by David Kaplan and Eric Zimmerman, [14] raise questions about what may happen if we are unable to distinguish the physical world from the digital world. As the world of immersive technology becomes deeper and more intense this will be a growing concern for consumers and governments alike as to how to regulate this industry. Because all these technology is immersive and therefore not taking place in real life the application and or problems that come with the developing industry are something to keep an eye on. For example, Legal systems debate on topics of Virtual crime, and whether it is ethical to permit illegal behavior such as rape [15] in a simulated environment, this is relative to the adult industry, art, entertainment and video games industries.
Multimedia is a form of communication that combines different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single presentation, in contrast to traditional mass media, such as printed material or audio recordings. Popular examples of multimedia include video podcasts, audio slideshows, animated shows, and movies.
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that can be similar to or completely different from the real world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment and education. Other distinct types of VR-style technology include augmented reality and mixed reality, sometimes referred to as extended reality or XR.
Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience of a real-world environment where the objects that reside in the real world are enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information, sometimes across multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be defined as a system that fulfills three basic features: a combination of real and virtual worlds, real-time interaction, and accurate 3D registration of virtual and real objects. The overlaid sensory information can be constructive, or destructive. This experience is seamlessly interwoven with the physical world such that it is perceived as an immersive aspect of the real environment. In this way, augmented reality alters one's ongoing perception of a real-world environment, whereas virtual reality completely replaces the user's real-world environment with a simulated one. Augmented reality is related to two largely synonymous terms: mixed reality and computer-mediated reality.
Computer-mediated reality refers to the ability to add to, subtract information from, or otherwise manipulate one's perception of reality through the use of a wearable computer or hand-held device such as a smartphone.
Mixed reality (MR) is the merging of real and virtual worlds to produce new environments and visualizations, where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real time. Mixed reality does not exclusively take place in either the physical or virtual world, but is a hybrid of reality and virtual reality. There are many practical applications of mixed reality, including entertainment, military training, and remote working. There are also different display technologies used to facilitate the interaction between users and mixed reality applications.
Virtual reality therapy (VRT), also known as virtual reality immersion therapy (VRIT), simulation for therapy (SFT), virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET), and computerized CBT (CCBT), is the use of virtual reality technology for psychological or occupational therapy and in affecting virtual rehabilitation. Patients receiving virtual reality therapy navigate through digitally created environments and complete specially designed tasks often tailored to treat a specific ailment. Technology can range from a simple PC and keyboard setup, to a modern virtual reality headset. It is widely used as an alternative form of exposure therapy, in which patients interact with harmless virtual representations of traumatic stimuli in order to reduce fear responses. It has proven to be especially effective at treating PTSD, and shows considerable promise in treating a variety of neurological and physical conditions. Virtual reality therapy has also been used to help stroke patients regain muscle control, to treat other disorders such as body dysmorphia, and to improve social skills in those diagnosed with autism.
Immersion into virtual reality (VR) is a perception of being physically present in a non-physical world. The perception is created by surrounding the user of the VR system in images, sound or other stimuli that provide an engrossing total environment.
A projection augmented model is an element sometimes employed in virtual reality systems. It consists of a physical three-dimensional model onto which a computer image is projected to create a realistic looking object. Importantly, the physical model is the same geometric shape as the object that the PA model depicts.
American author, inventor and futurist Raymond Kurzweil has become well known for his predictions about artificial intelligence and the human species, mainly concerning the technological singularity. He predicts that Artificial Intelligence would outsmart the human brain in computational capabilities by mid-21st century. His first book, The Age of Intelligent Machines, published in 1990, put forth his theories on the results of the increasing use of technology and predicted the explosive growth in the internet, among other predictions. Later works, 1999's The Age of Spiritual Machines and 2005's The Singularity is Near outlined other theories including the rise of clouds of nano-robots (nanobots) called foglets and the development of Human Body 2.0 and 3.0, whereby nanotechnology is incorporated into many internal organs.
The Virtual Human Interaction Lab (VHIL) at Stanford University. It was founded in 2003 by Jeremy Bailenson, associate professor of communication at Stanford University. The lab conducts research for the Communication Department.
zSpace is a technology firm based in San Jose, California that combine elements of virtual and augmented reality in a computer. zSpace allows people to interact with simulated objects in virtual environments as if they are real.
Tango was an augmented reality computing platform, developed and authored by the Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP), a skunkworks division of Google. It used computer vision to enable mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, to detect their position relative to the world around them without using GPS or other external signals. This allowed application developers to create user experiences that include indoor navigation, 3D mapping, physical space measurement, environmental recognition, augmented reality, and windows into a virtual world.
Windows Mixed Reality is a mixed reality platform introduced as part of the Windows 10 operating system, which provides augmented reality and mixed reality experiences with compatible head-mounted displays.
uSens, Inc. is a Silicon Valley startup founded in 2014 in San Jose, California. The company's core team includes researchers and developers building interactive and immersive computer-vision tracking solutions. The team has extensive experience in artificial intelligence (AI), computer vision, 3D Human–computer interaction (HCI) technology and augmented reality and virtual reality. uSens has been applying computer vision and AI technologies in AR/VR, Automotive and smartphones.
EON Reality is a multinational virtual reality and augmented reality software developer headquartered in Irvine, California. The company was founded by Dan Lejerskar, Mikael Jacobsson and Mats W. Johansson in 1999. The company's clients include entities such as Boeing, Microsoft, Lexus and Cornell University.
X Reality is defined as: a form of “mixed reality environment that comes from the fusion (union) of ... ubiquitous sensor/actuator networks and shared online virtual worlds....”. It encompasses a wide spectrum of hardware and software, including sensory interfaces, applications, and infrastructures, that enable content creation for virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), cinematic reality (CR). With these tools, users generate new forms of reality by bringing digital objects into the physical world and bringing physical world objects into the digital world.
Virtual reality (VR) is a computer application which allows users to experience immersive, three dimensional visual and audio simulations. According to Pinho (2004), virtual reality is characterized by immersion in the 3D world, interaction with virtual objects, and involvement in exploring the virtual environment. The feasibility of the virtual reality in education has been debated due to several obstacles such as affordability of VR software and hardware. The psychological effects of virtual reality are also a negative consideration. However, recent technological progress has made VR more viable and promise new learning models and styles for students. These facets of virtual reality have found applications within the primary education sphere in enhancing student learning, increasing engagement, and creating new opportunities for addressing learning preferences.
Volumetric video is a technique that captures a three-dimensional space, such as a location or performance. This type of volumography acquires data that can be viewed on flat screens as well as using 3D displays and VR goggles. Consumer-facing formats are numerous and the required motion capture techniques lean on computer graphics, photogrammetry, and other computation-based methods. The viewer generally experiences the result in a real-time engine and has direct input in exploring the generated volume.
Virtual reality applications are applications that make use of virtual reality (VR), an immersive sensory experience that digitally simulates a virtual environment. Applications have been developed in a variety of domains, such as education, architectural and urban design, digital marketing and activism, engineering and robotics, entertainment, fine arts, healthcare and clinical therapies, heritage and archaeology, occupational safety, social science and psychology.
Immersive learning is a learning method which students being immersed into a virtual dialogue, the feeling of presence is used as an evidence of getting immersed. The virtual dialogue can be created by two ways, the usage of virtual technics, and the narrative like reading a book. The motivations of using virtual reality (VR) for teaching contain: learning efficiency, time problems, physical inaccessibility, limits due to a dangerous situation and ethical problems.