You’ll probably never actually make it to Mars, swim with sharks, run with the dinosaurs, or even sing on stage with the Beatles. However, if virtual reality (VR) lives up to its promise, you could potentially do all of this and more without ever leaving the comfort of your home.
Unlike our actual or “real” reality, virtual reality allows users to explore and interact within a three-dimensional, computer-generated environment. Once inside this environment, users can perform normal actions, like moving around or touching objects, and utilize other features that are found in this fabricated artificial world. This term stems from the words “virtual” which is defined as near and “reality” which references the state or quality of having existence and real-world experiences. In virtual reality, our brain and all of our senses are involved in sensory perception that can adjust our grasp on reality. Thus, our perception of reality can change when our brain is fed fabricated information.
But how does virtual reality actually work? VR requires several devices such as a headset, a computer or smartphone or another machine to create a digital environment, and a motion-tracking device in some cases. Through this headset, the brain receives information from the device and processes different two-dimensional images from each eye into a single object of three dimensions. Users then view two side by side stereoscopic images or photos through a stereoscope, which gives them a sense of depth and immersion in the digital environment. Virtual reality also incorporates head and eye tracking. The head-tracking in VR headsets the movements of your head to sides and angles, whereas some eye-tracking systems use technology to follow the direction of your eyes inside a virtual environment. Both systems combine to further produce a realistic environment.
So maybe the next time you’re daydreaming in classes about adventures you’ll never be able to embark, you’ll remember that nothing is impossible. With virtual reality, you can make those exact crazy dreams come to a reality.