VIRTUAL REALITY

What is virtual reality?

Virtual reality (VR) means experiencing things through our computers that don't really
exist. For the simple purpose I'm going to define it as:

A believable, interactive 3D computer-created world that we can explore so we feel we

really are there, both mentally and physically.

Types of virtual reality

"Virtual reality" has often been used as a marketing buzzword for compelling,
interactive video games or even 3D movies and television programs, none of which
really count as VR because they don't immerse we either fully or partially in a virtual
world. Search for "virtual reality" in we cellphone app store and we'll find hundreds of
hits, even though a tiny cellphone screen could never get anywhere near producing
the convincing experience of VR. Nevertheless, things like interactive games and
computer simulations would certainly meet parts of our definition up above, so there's
clearly more than one approach to building virtual worlds—and more than one flavor
of virtual reality. Here are a few of the bigger variations.

 Fully immersive

 Non immersive

 Collaborative

 Web- based

 Augmented reality

What equipment do we need for virtual reality?

 Head-mounted displays (HMDs)
 Immersive rooms
 Datagloves
 Wands

Applications of virtual reality

 Education
 Scientific visualization
 Medicine
 Industrial design and architecture
 Industrial design and architecture

Pros and cons of virtual reality

Like any technology, virtual reality has both good and bad points .
The promise of VR has loomed large over the world of computing for at least the last
quarter century—but remains largely unfulfilled. While science, architecture,
medicine, and the military all rely on VR technology in different ways, mainstream
adoption remains virtually non-existent; we're not routinely using VR the way we use
computers, smartphones, or the Internet. 
Critics always raise the risk that people may be seduced by alternative realities to the
point of neglecting their real-world lives—but that criticism has been leveled at
everything from radio and TV to computer games and the Internet.