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Virtual Reality, a fictional world that exist that exist centuries ago, in the minds of a
dreamer. Human imagination is really powerful isn’t it? Maybe the worlds we built in of imagination
in our heads wasn’t enough, we have that need that we need to touch it, feel it and live with it,
that’s the people of the future as we call now “today” is still struggling to create the technology we
need for people to reach this virtual world, they succeeded. The people in the present may not
realize that they are already exposed in virtual reality. By simply watching in our television in our
homes, we are transported into the world of Virtual Reality. The invention of television, created
that stepping stone that was needed for the development of the virtual reality. Virtual Reality have
been a topic of research for the past few decades, whether on its application or for its technology.
It was an interesting subject to learn after all, mainly because of its possible impact in our society.
In November 17, 2017, a summit was held at the George Washington University’s Milken Institute
School of Public Health in Washington, DC. This summit was dedicated to the positive social
impact of Virtual Reality as well as Augmented Reality. They brought together the developers and
practitioners in healthcare, education and other related fields that are using Virtual Reality in
meaningful ways. In the article published by Forbes “the potential for VR to help us understand
and transform ourselves and the world around us is limitless. It is crucial that the VR industry
comes together in these formative years to fully leverage this potential for social good” as stated
by Ylva Handsdotter, Head of VR for impact, HTC Vive. In this summit the speakers was needed
to make younger generation to get them interested in Virtual Reality. These people thought that
the interest in Virtual Reality is an important step, because digital media is and will always create
a great change in our society. A Eric Larson, a Senior Director of IT Future Labs said that - “Virtual
and Augmented Reality are playing a crucial role in this evolution by inspiring young people to
use and experiment with innovative technology, which can prompt them to consider careers in
IT.” Like what Eric had stated. Virtual Reality can inspire younger audiences to pursue a career
in computer technology, giving our world birth to another batch of innovators that will give a bright
future for the next generation. It is a given fact that technology will change people’s way of living
and as any other technology, virtual reality has this potential that. As far as the study of Virtual
Reality goes, the impact of the virtual reality in health care is prevalent. In this summit, Piotr Loj,
Founder of the Virtual Dream Project, said he is travelling in the Poland to share how he is using
Virtual Reality to aid the relief of young oncology (the study of treatment of cancer and tumors)
patients. He stated that- “Virtual Reality is one of the crucial issues of social development in our
time as it touches every crisis of the modern world. Escapism, alter-ego, depression, anti-social
behavior, porn addiction, gaming addiction, suicide and suicide prevention, a lack of empathy for
others and the dehumanization of society. In all of this cases VR has a great potential”.
The Virtual Reality creates an immersive world and the applications for immersive
environments are endless. It can allow us to engage in practices that in instances that might risk
bodily or physical harm in some way or another. The military is currently employing virtual reality
to assist in training soldiers and battling in environments that might not be so forgiving. Healthcare
is using the technology to conduct virtual surgeries where the surgeon can be thousands of miles
away guiding real-world tools through the use of haptic feedback and other sensory input. The
fashion world is set to use the technology to help people try on clothes.
As the matter of fact it already has an impact in our way of living. In another article of
Forbes: “Five Reasons Why Virtual Reality Is a Game-Changer” as the title suggest, it gives 5
The goal for technology is to improve our lives. It's at the heart of innovation and design.
No matter what type of technology we're discussing, its ultimate aim has been to make
things just a little bit better or easier for us. The Internet is one such recent innovation that
has personified this level of improvement. Access a small computer in the palm of your
hands and the world's information is at your fingertips. But virtual reality is set to do far
more than that, while being aided, of course, by our current state of interconnectedness.
Full sensory immersion are the three words that will set virtual reality apart from all of its
predecessors. Imagine taking a test drive without actually going to the dealership. What
about trying on clothes without everyday leaving your house? How about hiking Mount
Everest from the comfort of your own home? The mere thought of this is enough to send
our minds into a tailspin. With the use of haptic feedback and other methods that will
stimulate the senses that include smell, sound, touch and even taste one day, virtual reality
Imagine having the ability to go out and meet new people, form bonds, and even network
with other business owners without ever having to leave your home. Yes, this is something
the Internet has afforded us the opportunity to do today, but imagine doing it as your virtual
self. While the Internet has given us the ability to connect with others, the
impersonalization of the screen-to-screen interaction doesn't hold the same level of impact
that an almost-real face-to-virtual-face interaction does. You meet, shake hands, and
speak to another person in a seemingly real environment, without ever leaving your home.
Some pundits might think that this is another way that technology is separating us from
reality, and that might be true in a sense, but virtual reality will bridge the divide far further
than any of its technological predecessors have in making social interactions that occur
over the Web easier and more fluid. It might be hard to envision a future where a Facebook
Page can open into a virtual realm where photos and videos become more tangible and
real, but it's the future and it's approaching far faster than any of us could ever imagine.
3. Augment the Ease of Learning Complex Things
The efficiency of our education is increased whenever we learn something by not only
hearing about it by reading it in some book, but also by listening to it and actually doing it.
Virtual reality will afford us the opportunity to do and learn complex things at a moment's
notice. Imagine the possibilities that exist for military and educational formats. You can
learn to parachute from a commercial airplane just as simply as you can learn to fly a
stealth aircraft or rebuild an engine on a space shuttle. Or, how about the capability to
study geography and culture by flying to a place in a virtual world and seeing, feeling,
smelling and even touching the] environment? The applications are endless, and the word
game-changer doesn't even come close to signaling the coming tectonic shift that's about
to occur thanks to the rise of virtual reality. People can ease their fear of heights by walking
a tightrope at the top of a skyscraper, or even speaking in front of a large audience to help
Virtual reality will make seemingly impossible tasks much simpler. Military applications are
one such realm where this technology will blossom. The ability to find yourself in an
immersive hostile environment without the risk of real bodily harm, yet have the ability to
learn and study your surroundings through military-style drills, raids, and invasions will
likely be the assistive platform for future battles in the real world. But it's not just its military
applications that give the potential for enormous benefits. Dry runs for difficult surgeries
can make for breeding well-versed surgeons without the risk of death or loss of life that
might happen in real world. Other applications include potential uses by NASA and other
government agencies looking to help shed some light on the real physical experience of
living, exploring and understanding other planets. Imagine being transported to Mars
through a virtual-reality application that mimics all of its environmental and topographical
features, allowing the user to literally feel as if they're on the Red Planet. Secretive
government agencies might even use virtual reality to help topple oppressive regimes by
experiences.
While Google suffered a minor setback with Glass, its augmented reality headpiece, it's
surely paved the way for future iterations that will most likely be far less expensive and
invasive on others' privacy. However, virtual reality is not suffering from the same taboos
that have plagued augmented reality. While augmented reality will likely rise in popularity
over time, the lower-cost-to-market VR products will most certainly make the technology
more easily accessible and widely adapted. There are 36 million VR-ready PS4 consoles
out there in the world today, and with an expected release price of $399, the PS4 VR
headset will be competitively priced, likely giving Sony a big leg up in the gaming VR
space. This is not to mention Facebook's Oculus Rift VR headset, which starts shipping
on March 28th with an entire library of games. While the Oculus price of $599 is
considerably more than the expected PS4 VR headset slated for October, both prices are
The ongoing research for Virtual Reality in healthcare services is the full body with utilizing
five senses for the interaction on the virtual world and on the related note: the researchers’ has
the goal of pursuing this research for people’s psychological and physical enhancement. The
targeted field of the researchers is mainly physical rehabilitation. And virtual reality is bringing
new ways for the treatment for Physical Therapy, as stated in the blog of VR health posted online
on April 17, 2018: Why VR is bound to Revolutionize Physical Therapy. “Many of us, at one point
or another in our lives, have been involved in accidents that end up causing extensive physical
damage, rendering the normal functioning of the body hard or nigh impossible. It could’ve been a
car accident, a mishap at the place of work or during a sporting event. However, there are
restorative measures that can be taken to correct this mishap. This is where physical therapy
Physical therapy is a restorative care and treatment that is intended to relieve pain
resulting from injury and help the patient recover movement and functions. Apart from the
management of pain resulting from injury, physical therapy can help manage other health
conditions such as chronic illnesses, recovery from birth, adaptation to artificial limbs, among
other uses.
Physical therapy works for people of all ages and gender. The procedure is carried out by,
Different techniques are used during therapy. Some of them include infrared radiation,
laser therapy, massage and manual resistance training. Different equipment is also incorporated
into the practice in accordance with the need. They could be electrical devices, heat, ultrasound
or even stimulating the patient’s body manually using body contact. Swimming, use of chairs,
exercise balls and even stairs have also been successfully applied to manage injury and promote
recovery.
Virtual Reality Physical Therapy redefining Therapy with New Technologies: The most
recent technology incorporated in physical therapy is Virtual Reality (VR). A virtual environment
is created to help patients suffering from pain and injury relearn the use of their limbs in a way
that is both encouraging and fun. This technique has been in use for some time now in the
successful treatment of stroke victims, walking disorders as well as back pain. This has been
shown to greatly improve the patient’s motor learning and coordination skills by enabling users to
For instance, with the VR headset, patients who are exercising their lower limbs on the
treadmill are provided with an environment that appears as if they are taking a walk in a park or
by the countryside. This ensures that they enjoy the activity, a factor that serves to greatly
accelerate their treatment. Another important aspect is the gamification with VR. Playing games
on VR has proven to be a great way to get patients to engage in their physical therapy exercises
and treatments.
All these technological advances have led to great improvements in the medical treatment
and management of diseases and conditions that were previously thought to be unmanageable.
And the more discoveries are made, the better and easier it will become.
In conclusion, physical therapy is a very important health restorative procedure that while
used, either in isolation or together with other treatment procedures, help manage many of the
injuries and conditions that befall people. And, with the advancements in the VR technology,
physical therapy has now become an engaging, fun and thrilling experience.”
Virtual Reality Technology was just recently implemented into medical fields, as the article
said: it brings a new enjoyable ways to for the patient to have a positive mindset on their
rehabilitation. Another interesting concept presented from this article, is “Gamification”. It brought
a new angle of medical treatment, as it distracts the patient on their disabilities and enjoy the
game presented to them. But then again it is a proven fact that Games can have a positive or
negative impact on a person, nonetheless and our researchers thought of the ways on how people
can positively use it. The idea of “Gamification” was supported by University of Waterloo. “Games
are a powerful and underutilized research tool with the power to educate, train, and rehabilitate
game users in a highly motivating way. Working with The Games Institute, we are involved in a
number of academic and academic-industry research projects and programs focused on
Another study was performed on touching on human psychology: changing the bad
Reality is already implemented in education, virtual reality can be a simulation of real life training,
so it is not surprising that Virtual Reality is expected to change the way we learn. It is already in
work in progress the project of Classroom Management. It can benefit both of the instructor and
the students. Less stress in both sides. Instructors can have a good time teaching and the
students are trained to have an effective learning a lesson. “In a classroom, disruptive student
behavior can have far-reaching detrimental effects on the experience and emotional state of both
teachers and students, hindering the achievement of teaching goals and diminishing the overall
efficacy of learning for one or all in the classroom. As such, preempting, controlling, and mitigating
disruptive behavior are vital skills for anyone hoping to effectively teach in face-to-face and one-
Competence in establishing and maintaining order, engaging students and eliciting their
trust, respect, and cooperation are essential aspects of classroom management which in turn is
an important topic in educational research and a fundamental module during teacher training.
Management, the training stimuli are a classroom full of students displaying a wide variety
of realistic normal and disruptive student behavior. Generally speaking, realistic training
stimuli can be attained by either training in vivo, that is, in a real classroom with real
the difficulty of training to match the current competence of the trainee because it is
important that the training scenario be neither too far beyond nor below their current
capabilities. It also includes the capacity to expose trainees to identical training stimuli
multiple times.
measure of their current performance enables them to adjust their behavior to achieve
better results. In terms of the first element, the gold standard of Classroom Management
training is a real classroom with real students. There might, however, be times when it is
not possible to provide trainee teachers with sufficient time in real classrooms. Further, it
should be apparent that, in certain scenarios, a compromise exists between the first
element (realism) and the second and third elements (control of stimuli and feedback).
This is certainly the case with Classroom Management. The unpredictability of a real
classroom greatly diminishes any control over the exact nature and difficulty of training
decoupled from the actual situational context, impeding trainees’ capacity to adjust their
performance in response.
Ideally, control of stimuli and provision of feedback would occur in a closed real-time loop
between trainer and trainee, allowing the trainer to provide stimuli that finely match and gradually
extend the trainees’ capabilities and skills. For example, suitable reactions to disruptive behavior
have various communicative and interpersonal aspects (choice or wording, tone of voice,
loudness, non-verbal signals by body posture, gestures, movement, and eye contact). All of these
aspects are important and have to be mastered for successful class management. A failing
reaction to a disruption does not necessarily mean that all of the aspects of the counter action
have been wrong; hence, targeted feedback is necessary. Providing such feedback in a real
classroom is difficult to achieve without inadvertently influencing the state of the classroom or
Management, virtual training environments have been successfully used in training and education
concentrating on the knowledge transfer of the subjects taught. Stress exposure training delivered
via a Virtual Training Environment has been used across many domains, including military,
aviation, and health care. We followed this approach and developed an immersive virtual reality
environment for Classroom Management training that generates appropriately stressful situations
as expected in front of classes. Stress exposure training rests on the simulation’s ability to elicit
emotional responses from the teachers. The ability of the system to realistically elicit stress similar
stressful stimuli, which is hard to grasp and master with only video analysis and/or role-play
games. One of the main technical challenges is then the simulation and control of a high number
of virtual students, which is essential not just for realism but also for provoking realistic levels of
stress. In terms of feedback, Virtual Training Environments offer a rich variety of possibilities,
Real-time feedback helps users to identify their weaknesses during their performance and
to continuously adapt their behavior to efficiently reach training goals. Previous research has
demonstrated that effective feedback systems should reinforce the gamification aspects of the
training, which is based on the gradual increase of challenges, perceptual support, and finely
tuned scoring systems. However, how best to provide effective feedback within an immersive
training: realism, fine control of stimuli, and real-time, fine-grained feedback. Classroom
Management skills are an important aspect of face-to-face teaching situations typically found in
classrooms. Unfortunately, training Classroom Management with the available methods based on
a pure theoretical understanding or role-play does not match all the aspects found in the real-
world scenario, including all of the embodiment and stress aspects. Likewise, a real-world
scenario fails in terms of fine-tuned online stimulus control and feedback required for successful
training. Virtual Training Environments are a promising alternative for the real-world scenario. As
a computer-generated environment, they provide good control of the presented stimulus, and, in
theory, they open up various feedback channels. At the same time, less research has been
dedicated to studying fully visually and auditory immersive training environments, despite their
capacity to provide a more realistic emotional response and memorable training; and the
efficiency and feasibility of such systems for Classroom Management have not yet been
With the recent advent of the VR consumer market, the low-cost products open up novel
Consumer systems now provide a reasonable rendering quality, end to- end latency, number of
input/output channels (including tracking capabilities), and level of comfort for an acceptable price,
making them usable and affordable for institutions such as schools (approximately 2.500 € for a
computer and VR headset, with head and hands tracking). Our objective is then to provide a new
apparatus for Classroom Management training, enabling further research on such novel
However, the consumer hardware and software are still not capable of providing a truly
interactive photo-realism for the environments and the virtual humans and avatars, which should
faithfully replicate a person’s appearance, movement, and facial expression in an interactive real-
time experience. In addition, despite recent progress, photorealistic avatar and agent creation
based on scanning or photogrammetry is still time consuming, which is important if one wants to
simulate large crowds, such as multiple students/pupils. A higher degree of realism requires
higher levels of detail (number of polygons and shaders), which in turn increases rendering time
and might affect latency. Numerous user studies have demonstrate the negative impacts of high
latencies, temporal jitter, and positional error on user performances, satisfaction, discomfort, and
sense of immersion. Hence, it is important to find the right balance between realism and overall
performance.”- frontiers
Knowing some of the application of Virtual Reality in education and medical fields, it is
also an interesting subject to discuss the technology and software that is used for Virtual Reality.
The behind the scene actors that made the Virtual Reality possible. Virtual Reality technology is
continually reproduced from the early 1950 to the present. While in its early stages, Virtual Reality
was never meant to have a dependency on headsets. The first idea that was presented, was a
full body immersion on the virtual world, with the use of our all five senses. But as the time goes
by, the researchers found it quite impossible. In the present times, the use of headsets are
prevalent as it is the only access in virtual world. So in the world of business, many companies
are promoting their sales. As of June 2018, imotions stated that “The leading company for
hardware platform is the HTC with their Vive and Vive Pro as it generates a high fidelity experience
with high resolution, precision tracking using lighthouses and support of sophisticated controls.”
There were still many more platforms in the market but HTC: Vive and Vive pro, Facebook Oculus
Go and Oculus Rift are still the most popular ones. These headsets work with Virtual Reality with
the use of stereoscopic display to give the 3 dimensional depth the users are seeing. First what
Wheatstone, stereoscopy creates the illusion of 3 dimensional depth using 2 dimensional images.
Stereoscopy takes two slightly different 2 dimensional images and presents them separately to
the left and the right eye. These images are typically called stereograms, and with the help of
stereoscope, the brain accepts the images as one solid 3 dimensional object. The combination of
both images creates the perception of three-dimensional depth. Stereoscope uses lenses that
make each image on the stereogram appear larger and farther away than they are. To enhance
the effect, a divider is place in between the two images to prevent each eye from becoming
distracted by the image that is intended for the other. This device primarily serves as a source of
entertainment and saw its popularity peak in the late nineteenth century. It has a resurgence in
the 50’s and 60’s with the “View-Master”, a device that would hold a number of stereographic
image in rotating disc. Today, the underlying idea of using two slightly different images hasn’t
changed but the technology has gotten a modern twist. There are modern stereoscopes that can
hold your smart phone, and with the help of an app, you can display offsetting images.
Stereoscopy has a big influence in the evolution of Virtual Reality. It was discussed in
Wikipedia; it was written there on how the headsets or HMD was used. “The user typically wears
a helmet or glasses with two small LCD or OLED displays with magnifying lenses, one for each
eye. The technology can be used to show stereo films, images or games, but it can also be used
to create a virtual display. Head-mounted displays may also be coupled with head-tracking
devices, allowing the user to "look around" the virtual world by moving their head, eliminating the
need for a separate controller. Performing this update quickly enough to avoid inducing nausea
in the user requires a great amount of computer image processing. If six axis position sensing
(direction and position) is used then wearer may move about within the limitations of the
equipment used. Owing to rapid advancements in computer graphics and the continuing
miniaturization of video and other equipment these devices are beginning to become available at
It is not only applicable on Virtual Reality, as it was also implemented in Augmented Reality
“Head-mounted or wearable glasses may be used to view a see-through image imposed upon
the real world view, creating what is called augmented reality. This is done by reflecting the video
images through partially reflective mirrors. The real world view is seen through the mirrors'
reflective surface. Experimental systems have been used for gaming, where virtual opponents
may peek from real windows as a player moves about. This type of system is expected to have
wide application in the maintenance of complex systems, as it can give a technician what is
effectively "x-ray vision" by combining computer graphics rendering of hidden elements with the
technician's natural vision. Additionally, technical data and schematic diagrams may be delivered
to this same equipment, eliminating the need to obtain and carry bulky paper documents.”
The technology of Virtual Reality is not only limited on HMD or headsets only. InTech listed
in their book: “Understanding Virtual Reality Technology: Advances and Applications” is a book
that have an in-depth understanding the technology of Virtual Reality. – Some people think that
VR is only limited on these hardware; that is, headset, glove and walker. VR is defined as a highly
interactive, computer-based multimedia environment in which the user becomes the participant
experienced visually in the three dimensions of width, height, and depth and that may additionally
provide an interactive experience visually in full real-time motion with sound and possibly with
tactile and other forms of feedback. VR is a way for humans to visualize, manipulate and interact
with computers and extremely complex data. It is an artificial environment created with computer
hardware and software and presented to the user in such a way that it appears and feels like a
plurality of human participants, appropriately interfaced, may engage and manipulate simulated
physical elements in the environment and, in some forms, may engage and interact with
computer-based technology for simulating visual auditory and other sensory aspects of complex
stereoscopic environment, VR technology breaks down barriers between humans and computers.
to create right-eye and left-eye images of a given 3D object or scene. The viewer’s brain integrates
the information from these two perspectives to create the perception of 3D space. Thus, VR
technology creates the illusion that on-screen objects have depth and presence beyond the flat
image projected onto the screen. With VR technology, viewers can perceive distance and spatial
relationships between different object components more realistically and accurately than with
Virtual Reality hardware components are divided into five sub-components computer
workstation, sensory displays, process acceleration cards, tracking system and input devices.
time, workstations are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user
operating systems. The term workstation has also been used to refer to a mainframe
offered higher performance than personal computers, especially with respect to CPU and
graphics, memory capacity and multitasking capability. They are optimized for the
plots. Workstations are the first segment of the computer market to present advanced
commoditized and is dominated by large PC vendors, such as Dell and HP, selling
platforms are provided by Apple Inc., Sun Microsystems, and Silicon Graphics
International (SGI) Computer workstation is used to control several sensory display
Sensory displays - Sensory displays are used to display the simulated virtual worlds to the
user. The most common sensory displays are the computer visual display unit, the head-
o Head mounted displays - Head mounted displays place a screen in front of each
of the viewer's eyes at all times. The view, the segment of the virtual environment
of the scene is generated. In most cases, a set of optical lens and mirrors are used
to enlarge the view to fill the field of view and to direct the scene to the eyes (Lane,
1993).
used to stabilize the monitor, so that when the user releases the monitor, it remains
in place. To view the virtual environment, the user must take hold of the monitor
and put her face up to it. The computer will generate an appropriate scene based
on the position and orientation of the joints on the mechanical arm (Aukstakalnis
& Blatner, 1992). Some of the problems associated with HMDs can be solved by
using a BOOM display. The user does not have to wear a BOOM display as in the
case of an HMD. This means that crossing the boundary between a virtual world
and the real world is simply a matter of moving your eyes away from the BOOM.
o Visual Display Unit (VDU) or monitors - here are two types of computer visual
display unit. The CRT monitors and the LCD monitors. The distinguishing
characteristics of the two types are beyond the scope of this piece.
Process acceleration cards - These cards help to update the display with new sensory
Tracking system - This system tracks the position and orientation of a user in the virtual
infrared trackers
Input devices - They are used to interact with the virtual environment and objects within
the virtual environment. Examples are joystick (wand), instrumented glove, keyboard,
Software components - The software components are divided into four sub-components:
simulation software.
of the objects in a virtual world and specifies the visual properties of these objects.
o Digital sound editing software - Digital sound editing software is used to mix and
together. It is used to program how these objects behave and set the rules that the
It also interesting fact that there is a different classification of Virtual Reality, it was divided
on the immersion of the user in the Virtual World. VR is classified into three major types: Non-
systems. Other forms of classification are levels of VR and methods of VR. Levels of VR deals
with efforts employed to develop VR technology. Under this classification we have entry level,
basic level, advanced level, immersive systems and big-time systems. Methods of VR
classification deals with methods employed in developing VR system. Under this class we have
simulation based systems, projector based systems, avatar-image based systems and desktop
based system.
as Window on World (WoW) (Onyesolu, 2006). Using the desktop system, the virtual
monitor. Interaction with the virtual environment can occur by conventional means such
performance graphics computing system which can be coupled with either a large screen
monitor; a large screen projection system or multiple television projection system. Using
a wide field of view, these systems increase the feeling of immersion or presence
experienced by the user and stereographic imaging can be achieved using some type of
shutter glasses.
experience of virtual environments. Here the user either wears an head mounted display
Monitor (BOOM) to view the virtual environment, in addition to some tracking devices and
haptic devices. An HMD or BOOM uses small monitors placed in front of each eye which
World by only using a Desktop Computer. The arcade games that used to play in the consoles is
an example of it. As a matter of fact, is that the first virtual reality hardware that was created was
a three televisions that is placed side by side, in a “v” position. We are already done in that era.
The hardware and software that we use now in Virtual Reality is advance, developers have still
has a lot to work on. The developers might reach the idealistic virtual reality much sooner than
what we think.
On the side note: The masses are always thinking, that maybe someday that Virtual
Reality will replace the Real World. While it may be a possibility, our technology has still evolving
and for that to happen, our world is still have many ways to go. It was called virtual for a reason,
as it was only a limited experience. The Virtual World exist by illusion. There's a lot going on in
your brain as it interacts with the world around you, things like accessing old memories and
simultaneously storing new ones, and it respond to what our five senses inform based on an initial
understanding of cause and effect. Virtual reality taps into what your brain thinks it should be
“"A lot of work is done on the development side with field of view, resolution, feedback,
positional sound, and interactivity to simulate as many of these elements [as they function in real
life] as closely as possible," says Eble. "As long as virtual environments behave the way you
would expect them to in the physical world, you will continue to experience virtual reality with no
physical side effects such as motion sickness, and the experience will not be broken." Interacting
with a new environment in 360-degree video triggers more memory-writing areas of the brain than
does simply observing a familiar environment like a room in your home, Eble explains. "This, to
me, supports the old adage about memory: We remember [about] 10 percent of what we read, 20
percent of what we hear, 30 percent of what we see, 50 percent of what we see and hear ... and
80 percent of what we personally experience," she says. "This becomes especially interesting
when you think about ... mapping virtual elements into the physical world."
In Eble's own experience, this theory about memory has held true: She still remembers
every virtual item she interacted with during her first experience with a VR system. "My brain now
remembers that space with the virtual elements I placed in it," she says.
"As a UX designer, that makes the experience-creation even more exciting and crucial," she adds.
Adults, says Eble, also seem better able to immerse into VR worlds while maintaining the basic
rules of physicality — a grown man or woman will be able to stand in one area and use a controller
to manipulate their way through a virtual environment, while a child might take off running around
the room. The child's brain in this instance is "fully transported" to the VR environment. Lenovo is
working at the forefront of this issue, too, designing tech such as the Lenovo Mirage Solo VR, a
relatively affordable device at $400, which opens up the world of virtual classroom instruction like
Another topic that was brought up when the subject of VR comes in, Human Connection.
Do you ever heard the term “VR (Virtual Reality) Chat”? Like the title suggest, people can create
conversations in the Virtual World. The catch in this is that you can create casual conversations
anonymously. It remove any awkwardness that might come between two persons. People can
freely express themselves. Peter Rubins a VR expert supports this claim. In the published article:
“Why the real promise of virtual reality is to change human connection.” “It’s very difficult to mask
who you are in virtual reality. It’s your mannerisms. It’s the way your body moves. In VR, you can
be “anonymous,” you can have a username that is different, yet you can still be yourself, with your
voice, the way you talk, the way you move, someone is really spending time with you. So you
couple that kind of casual intimacy just with the sort of confidence that that lightweight degree of
anonymity affords you. The stakes are low. In VR, it doesn’t feel as fraught as walking up to
someone at a party and making small talk, but you bring with you the true personality from your
real life into here. With anything that’s text-based, it’s easy to make yourself be something that
you’re not — that was the great dream of the internet. But when it’s just you, this unmediated
experience with someone else, there’s this incredible middle ground between the comfort of
knowing it’s low stakes and the fact that you are giving someone a window into who you really
are, without it being artificially accelerated in things like chat rooms and IM and Tinder. It’s not
like having this great text chain and meeting up and all of sudden you have to be just as witty as
you were. You already know what they sound like, how they react to things, you already know
they stand, how big their space bubble is, so all these things accumulate into a real and holistic
understanding of another person.” As what he had stated the Virtual World created the middle
ground between being you, without knowing it was you. Simply because of your anonymous
status. People being people, thought it was a counter effective measurement for social anxiety.
Thinking that you may be able to express you as yourself but not really show what you look like,
and that mask can create anxiety for our looks. But that was wrong. Virtual World serve as a
training ground for socialization. Peter Rubins debunk this notion saying that – “Well, it’s unlikely
that the first time I put on a headset I no longer have social anxiety. But it’s the same thing as
immersion therapy: you realize that nothing happens, and maybe there was something that you
were like, that was cool, I want to see what that’s like. This goes back to what some of VR’s
therapeutic applications are, and that is stuff like immersion therapy for PTSD and phobias. It’s a
way to amass real-world trial and error in a fraction of the time. I heard again and again, “It can
be difficult in real life, but I feel like I found a community here.” As said again and again, that
Virtual Reality is a training ground. It’s not like you can cure anxiety in a single sitting, but it’s a
hard long process and that is the potential of Virtual Reality. Virtual Reality can bring us closer
together, if you treated it right. As many other things, yes, virtual reality can also have its
downsides but then again, it is based on how people use it. Some may still have doubt on how
can virtual reality can be a bridge to other people. Another question that is answered by Peter
Rubins – ““Presence” has been around for a long time. It’s short for “telepresence” and it’s meant
different things, but it’s basically this phenomenon that happens when VR is good enough that
your brain relaxes into it, and the illusion becomes the prevailing reality.
Jaron Lanier, who famously popularized the term “virtual reality” and was one of the early pioneers
of VR as a consumer idea, called it “the conversion moment,” or when people start believing in
the virtual reality world they’re in. Your rational brain always knows that stuff is outside the
headset, but the reptilian brain doesn’t. That unlocks everything we talk about in the book.
There’s another level called “hand presence.” It’s the way we move our hands and head in
conversations with other people, which has a host of other sub textual meanings. And then there’s
social presence, which is when other people are around, and you see them and feel seen by
them. The nature of being in a space with someone and sharing an experience with them unlocks
Empathy is about understanding and comprehending another person’s experience, but intimacy
is about emotion and that is the thing that just started getting unlocked in the past year or two.
The first thing people think of for VR is video games, but that’s not the thing that gives VR its
transformative potential. Games are a diversion, but emotional moments become memories,
which is a fascinating thing.” In short, the virtual world can touch human emotion, it can trigger
certain memories that will bring up on how we feel in real life. Like discussed earlier on how Virtual
Reality can trick your brain, Virtual Reality was only was an illusion, but our brain was deceived
because our memories in the real world are, like as it always was: real. And that memories
happens to be triggered by Virtual Reality. Our brains are working on the virtual world according
on what we expect in the Real World. That is why Virtual Reality has a great impact on human
emotions, which is why it is a great tool for medical and psychological purposes. Another
interesting thing to point out, is that our brains treat Virtual World memories as a real memories.
Peter Rubins again, shares his point of view on this matter, on how our brains treat virtual reality
memories like real memories. – “There was a study where German researchers found that people
perform better on memory tests on things they saw on VR versus a 2D screen. Not only that, but
it takes them a tiny bit longer to answer, and it takes them a tiny bit longer to answer because that
is consistent with where those memories are stored and how they’re accessing them. They’re
accessing them as things they participated in, not as things they saw.
I have memories of shared experiences in VR. I could tell you where in real life I was when I put
on the headset, but my true memory when I think back to it is of where I was in VR, who I was
with as they were in VR. It’s just entirely different experientially.” It was really interesting how our
brains works right? In our dreams we are participating in our own story but we are having trouble
remembering it, but as the time goes by we grows older we have trouble remembering which is
real and a dream, same with our memories on Virtual Reality our brain have difficulties
differentiating real life and the virtual world. It’s fun to think that if we are the main character in our
story, we always remember it. Because humans were built to collect of information in their
Another topic that can be brought out of Virtual Reality is Escapism, after all Virtual Reality
is literally an escape to the real world. In the article of theatlantic discussed on how Virtual Reality
is used as an escapism and whether it is good or a bad thing. “In Silicon Valley, in 1985, a ragtag
band of programmers began exploring the concept of virtual reality from a tiny cottage in Palo
Alto. Spearheaded by the 24- year-old Jaron Lanier, VPL Research helped make VR a buzzword
in the mid-to-late 80s and earned substantial investment, before filing for bankruptcy at the
decade’s end. Despite mass media interest from publications like Scientific American and Wired,
the technology wasn’t there—or it was too expensive—and the audience was a tad too niche.
Save for some fruits of its early research, purchased in sum by Sun Microsystems, VPL’s sole
Thirty years have passed since then, and the landscape has finally shifted in virtual reality’s favor.
Last month, Microsoft revealed Project HoloLens, a headset that creates high-definition
holograms, which has been secretly under development since around 2010, according to Wired.
Its thick, black lenses use an advanced depth camera, sensors, and several processing units to
process thousands of bouncing light particles, in order to project holographic models on the
kitchen counter, or take the wearer on a hyperrealistic trip to Mars. Google has invested $542
million in the augmented-reality startup Magic Leap, while Sony and Samsung are both
developing virtual-reality headsets, according to The Verge. Much was made of Facebook's $2
billion purchase of VR Kickstarter darling Oculus Rift last March, as Mark Zuckerberg made it
clear that the company was playing the long game: “One day, we believe this kind of immersive,
augmented reality will become a part of daily life for billions of people.” All signs point to a future
filled with virtual reality, and according to Zuckerberg et al, the potential applications are beyond
count: One could have breakfast at the Louvre beside the Winged Victory of Samothrace, followed
by a lunchtime spelunk through Thailand’s water caves. Of course there are deeply immersive
video games–the linchpin of the modern VR movement—and various movies in production for
these devices, while Barcelona's BeAnotherLab has created an empathy application for the
Oculus Rift that allows users to swap genders. (Inevitably, a sex toy company is also developing
If virtual reality becomes a part of people’s day-to-day lives, more and more people may
prefer to spend a majority of their time in virtual spaces. As the futurist Ray Kurzweil predicted,
somewhat hyperbolically, in 2003, “By the 2030s, virtual reality be totally realistic and compelling
and we will spend most of our time in virtual environments ... We will all become virtual humans.”
In theory, such escapism is nothing new—as critics of increased TV, Internet, and smartphone
usage will tell you —but as VR technology continues to blossom, the worlds that they generate
will become increasingly realistic, as Kurzweil explained, creating a greater potential for overuse.
This technological paradigm shift brings a level of immersion unlike any that has come before it,
and the handwringing has already begun. Early doomsday predictions aside, can virtual escapism
when researchers first began examining the connection between media consumption and life
define the term. “In its core,” he wrote, “escapism means that most people have, due to
unsatisfying life circumstances, again and again cause to ‘leave’ the reality in which they live in a
cognitive and emotional way.” While discussing this concept in her book Choice and Preference
in Media Use, Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick noted that “as people cannot truly ‘leave’ reality, the
concept of escapism appears to lack precision.” By that definition, virtual reality is a game
changer. With VR, it is possible that instead of simply escaping reality by focusing on a TV show,
for example, people may choose to replace an unhappy reality with a better, virtual one.
The idea of a life lived online, or outside of regular society, is largely seen as an unhealthy.
There have been some reports of self-imposed social isolation that illustrate the negative side of
withdrawal. Since the 1990s, the term hikikomori has been used to describe the estimated
500,000 to one million Japanese citizens who refuse to leave their homes. According to Dr.
Takahiro Kato, a psychiatrist working at a hikikomori support center in Fukuoka, Japan, many
addicted to the Internet.” Then there are the infamous World of Warcraft players who lose
themselves in their massive online universe. In 2004, Zhang Xiaoyi, a 13-year-old from China,
reportedly committed suicide after playing WoW for 36 consecutive hours, in order to “join the
heroes of the game he worshipped.” In 2009, a three-year-old girl from New Mexico tragically
passed away from malnutrition and dehydration; on the day of her death, her mother was said to
have spent 15 hours playing the game. Former Warcraft player Ryan van Cleave explained to
The Guardian in 2011 that “living inside World of Warcraft seemed preferable to the drudgery of
everyday life” when he had played 60 hours a week. Groups like WOWaholics Anonymous have
been created to help former players like van Cleave who became too invested in the game.
Although these are extreme examples, they share a common root with lesser forms of
escapism—escapism gone too far—is the effects it has on the essential fabric of living,” he wrote
in This Virtual Life, “the individual in the context of family, friends, and social commitments.” Evans
connects his definition to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which ranks love and a sense
of belonging just after basic physiological and safety needs. Critics like Sherry Turkle often point
to how screen-saturation has negatively affected the way we fulfill those needs, while others like
David Carr have explored how virtual reality might only exacerbate the problem. Ignoring the fact
that VR’s future applications also include the potential to connect with real human beings around
the world—“this is really a new communication platform,” Zuckerberg noted—it is not impossible
to find love and belonging online, let alone on an immersive 3-D platform. According to Jim
Blascovich and Jeremy Bailensen, “The Internet and virtual realities easily satisfy such social
needs and drives—sometimes [they are] so satisfying that addicted users will withdraw physically
from society.” Blascovich, a psychology professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara,
and Bailensen, of Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, examined the
consequences of a VR-centric future in their 2011 book Infinite Reality, noting that as virtual-
reality platforms become mainstream and affordable, the pull of spending more time in virtual
reality may prove hard to resist. “We did predict this might happen,” Blascovich says. “The
proliferation of affordable [VR] will dramatically increase the size of the population for whom more
highly immersive perceptual and psychological experiences are available.” Blascovich is careful
to note, however, that these immersive escapes are not necessarily a bad thing. “A virtual second
life can replace the ‘real life’ of some individuals, but this can be good or bad,” he says. “Who is
to say that a virtual life that is better than one’s physical life is a bad thing?” If someone is able to
fulfill their basic human needs in an immersive virtual world, who is to say that they shouldn’t?
According to Dr. Elias Aboujaoude, a Stanford psychiatrist and author of Virtually You,
The Dangerous Powers of the E-Personality, immersive 3-D will only be the latest manifestation
of technology’s heavy role in our social lives and well-being. “To some degree, this has already
happened with the Internet and social media,” Aboujaoude says, “where we can have a ‘full life’
[online] that can be quite removed from our own.” It is possible, however, that virtual reality may
drastically change a person’s social and emotional needs over time. “We may stop ‘needing’ or
craving real social interactions because they may become foreign to us,” Aboujaoude explains.
“It doesn’t mean that they can’t make our lives better; it means that we, as a culture, are no longer
aware of them and of their positive effects on our lives, because we are so immersed in virtual life
and have been for some time.” He compares this change to the one experienced by digital natives,
whose perception of a healthy social life has been shaped by platforms like Facebook and Gchat.
VR’s advanced, immersive capabilities might bring more severe cases of social isolation to the
public’s attention. Aboujaoude notes that people who report much more fulfillment from virtual
scenarios often have underlying conditions, such as untreated social anxiety, and those cases
should not be taken lightly. It is not, however, the reason why all people choose to immerse
themselves in other worlds— whether it’s through a book, a TV show, or a 3-D video game.
In Escapism, Yi-Fu Tuan writes about society’s feelings on the titular subject:
“Escapism has a somewhat negative meaning in our society and perhaps in all societies. It
suggests an inability to face facts—the real world.” Nevertheless, all people do it. As Evans noted,
“As escapism appears to be a natural mechanism, the mind must have need for it.” Those
dissatisfied with the banality of their day-to-day life may find pleasure in the immersion of a fantasy
world; others unable to find fulfilling relationships may seek solace in Japan’s otome games, first-
person visual novels that simulate romantic relationships. The more life-like virtual environments
become, Aboujaoude says, the more attractive they will be. “The appeal of these environments is
not so much that they help us totally escape reality. Rather, it is that they make us believe that
we can recreate and change our own.” In that way, rather than forcing a mass rejection of society,
a drastic shift—one that may entirely redefine social needs—may cause unease. But amid all the
warnings, for many bored and lonely souls, the promise of a virtual escape is not unsettling, but
exciting. For any who have longed to spend any amount of time in their favorite fantastical world—
from Middle Earth to Westeros, Hyrule to Kanto—VR offers the opportunity. “VR is a rapidly
developing technology,”
Evans concludes, “both functional and escapist, and potentially offers a wondrous parallel
As long as this article gets, it boils down to people being an addict to a world they think
that would fulfill their needs. It might be emotionally, psychological or social. Maybe escapism
may be good once in a while but as the saying goes, “Everything that is too much or too little can
affect us negatively, and therefore we always need find a balance in our body and minds.”
Escapism can tap on the potential of a person’s creativity. Then again, to create
something, requires a strict self-discipline. Because how can we freely express ourselves without
knowing how to do it. It always been a proven fact that we humans need to always face our real
life issues bravely, face it as much as we can, we might never know but real life is not really a
negative world. It just a matter of perspective. People need to learn how to take their perspective
in the balance of negative and positive. Learn from the experiences that we feel negatively and
try to build a positive future around it. Because optimism cannot exist without pessimism. And
pessimism can make us grow stronger. Because we only learn from negativity, as it lesson that
will always stuck in our heads. It’s not always positive things we need. Sometimes positive things
comes from negativity, we just need to explore how to unlock it, and we can reach a “REAL”
fulfillment.