At this moment if feels inevitable - we finally have the technology which will allow us to emerge ourselves in Virtual Realities at home and enjoy Augmented Reality in the outside world. There are already many games supporting Oculus Rift, even though it hasn’t been officially released yet. With the latest generation of graphics cards, NVidia is optimizing its hardware for VR - trying to optimize performance and reduce latency, which has been one of the main issues with Virtual Reality. Projects like Google Cardboard (http://cardboard.withgoogle.
With widespread Augmented and Virtual reality around the corner, more and more engineers and scientists are starting to think about their possible applications. I came across a short paper describing a very interesting implementation of Augmented Reality (AR). Most of AR-related projects try to enhance user's experience by adding some extra elements or information to the world seen by the user. This project is different - it tries to limit user's vision in various ways, enabling the user to experience her/his surrounding in a way in which a person with visual impairments would do:
http://eelke.com/files/pubs/
I would like to invite you to discuss the following topics:
- Which industries will be affected by the increasing popularity of Augmented and Virtual Reality?
- What are the main limitations of AR and VR in their current state?
- Are there any existing or currently developed AR or VR projects which you are excited about?
If you're into computer games, here's a video of a new space adventure game (Elite: Dangerous) played with Oculus Rift:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNgKm8AfWhY&t=31m5s
It's a long movie, but the first two minutes are really interesting.
Interesting fact: both hardware and software were financed by Kickstarter campaigns.
- Which industries will be affected by the increasing popularity of Augmented and Virtual Reality?
ReplyDeleteIn the short run the most affected industries will be entertainment (movies and games), there are already 3D-ish movie projections and TV displays. In the long run most industries will be affected, including medical, bank, school, party and event visits. However for that to become popular they will have to offer more than just audio-visual experience, something more relevant to "Matrix".
- What are the main limitations of AR and VR in their current state?
Currently the main limitations are the size of the devices and the quality of display. Also there are aspects like seeing
your own body parts or some movements that can't be sensed by the helmet alone like moving forward/backward or to the sides (this needs additional equipment like xbox's kinect camera). As previewed in the video you linked there are problems with representation of your own hands, the movement is made only after the user moves the controllers. Also a major problem is that you can't see the real environment around you and because you are performing physical movements you might accidentally fall, break something or lose the controller position. There are problems with immersion too, auditory and visual stimuli might be present but taste, smell and touch feeling is not.
- Are there any existing or currently developed AR or VR projects which you are excited about?
Actually I've been waiting for the commercial version of Oculus Rift for some time now, gradually losing hope though... might give a try to Google Cardboard. Facebook took over OR so they might find a nice application for it. We shall see.
Hi Michail, thanks for your comments. I also believe that we need a bit more than just audio-visual experience, but I hope it will happen soon enough.
DeleteHere’s a preview of another interesting project - Virtualizer, which tries to tackle some of the problems you mentioned. Although it seems that the test subject doesn’t appreciate the enhanced experience:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBpFx-ixBiM
Horror fans can download this game from developer’s website: http://www.fallenplanetstudios.com
There are rumours of a public beta of Oculus Rift around April 2015, I hope they’re true.
First of all, I need to emphasize that for me it is one of the most interesting posts published during our seminar, although I am not specializing in it.
ReplyDeleteI haven`t noticed description between the virtual and augmented reality. In my opinion it should have been stated at first, because there might be contributors who are not familiar with it. So, Łukasz give me a chance to explain it and if it is necessary correct my description.
Virtual Reality - it is a movie, picture(s) generated by a computer that is very similar to the real world.
Augmented Reality - it is a real world seen by the camera, then put into a computing program and riched by markers representing some objects or behaviors.
Hi Robert,
DeleteThank you! You're right - not everyone knows the difference between Augmented and Virtual Reality. Thanks for writing an explanation. So to sum up:
- Augmented Reality: think The Terminator (enhanced vision)
- Virtual Reality: think Tron / The Lawnmower Man
Q1. Which industries will be affected by the increasing popularity of Augmented and Virtual Reality?
ReplyDeleteAs far as I know the games industry is the place where the VR, AR are applied the most. I think it will not be changed and the games industry will remain the most affected by the technology.
Q3. Are there any existing or currently developed AR or VR projects which you are excited about?
ReplyDeleteI am not going to be a very topical. I took part in a scientific project which had been completed in 2009. The project was accomplished by the Main School of Fire Service and Polish Japanese Institute of Computer Technology. One of the project assumptions was to built a serous game based on AR to train firefighters. There where many troubles but the most important was that the simple game that had been created. It was the first time where AR was adopted as a teaching method for firefighters. You can see the results here http://czytelnia.cnbop.pl/czytelnia/27/295.
All in all, AR and VR could be adopted into emergency services staff training process as a simulators, couldn`t be?
I think I heard about this project!
DeleteYes, it definitely could. It's becoming very cheap and easy to create virtual environments (with game/3d engines like Unity or UDK) which can be easily integrated with VR hardware.
Here's another video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQX1uqBtWt0&t=1m20s
Q2. What are the main limitations of AR and VR in their current state?
ReplyDeleteI`m not familiar with current state of AR, VR but to the best of my knowledge the markers system is very important - I can remember it used to be in 2009. If the markers are moving there are troubles with the stability of images analysis in a graphic module and as a consequence with the output signal in HMD (Head Mounted Display). Łukasz, am I right?
Luckily we have much better hardware now, equipped with gyros, accelerometers, etc. out of the box. So for most Virtual Reality projects you don't really need any markers. I have posted two youtube videos in my comments - they're both worth watching, as they show the state of current Virtual Reality.
DeleteFor Augmented Reality, markers are often necessary, and the problems you mentioned are still valid - especially when you want to add 3D elements. But if you only use your AR to find John Connor, you don't need any markers and everything looks great.
- Which industries will be affected by the increasing popularity of Augmented and Virtual Reality?
ReplyDeleteI think this is great invention but unfortunately most of research will result in producing astonishing games.
As mentioned before I forecast appearance of another Second Life application in internet but this time including VR.
And I hope that new simulators will be resurrected through the VR. I can recall any recent flight simulators
- What are the main limitations of AR and VR in their current state?
I'm not following that technology. As far as remember in the past was discussion that VR is very destructive for human eyes, but probably there was other reasons for abandonment of this product for years.
- Are there any existing or currently developed AR or VR projects which you are excited about?
Unfortunately I'm not following progress of this VR.
Thanks for your reply. When I googled for 'VR flight simulators', I found 'Birdly'. Probably not the kind of simulator you had in mind (it's a bird simulator - makes you feel like a bird, you can flap your wings etc.), but looks interesting.
Delete- Which industries will be affected by the increasing popularity of Augmented and Virtual Reality?
ReplyDeleteI think that most affected industries will be companies related to the entertainment like movies industries and companies creating computer games but maybe in the future such glasses will be applied in medicine. Certainly the military will also be use it if they not use it already for drone pilots
- What are the main limitations of AR and VR in their current state?
I think that Main limitation of such glasses is their size problems with refresh rate and display quality. Also I read somewhere that use them too long can lead to headaches
- Are there any existing or currently developed AR or VR projects which you are excited about?
To be honest I don't excited this. I waiting patiently until someone will released the final version and see at what price.
Thanks for your answers. I don't really mind the size and weight of those devices, but the latency is still making me dizzy. But I easily get motion sick, so probably most people should be fine!
DeleteWhich industries will be affected by the increasing popularity of Augmented and Virtual Reality?
ReplyDeleteAt first the most impacted industries will be the ones that already try to benefit from Augmented and Virtual Reality, i.e. movie & gaming industries and wearable gadgets. The next step in my opinion will be customer services (e.g. bank branches) and business presentations (e.g. architects presenting their designs).
What are the main limitations of AR and VR in their current state?
Currently all AR & VR implementations suffer from too big size and generally lack of comfort for the user. Until these devices become really non-disturbing, there is little chance for it to conquer most consumers.
Are there any existing or currently developed AR or VR projects which you are excited about?
Although I am not a gamer, I am very exited about enhancing the experience from computer/console games. Games industry has already taken over movies, mainly because visually it is a similar experience and in games you have the control over the action. When VR comes into play, games experience will be taken to entirely new level.
Thanks for the answers. Console games will hopefully start using VR in the near future, Sony is claiming that their VR system (project Morpheus) will be released quite soon.
Delete1. Which industries will be affected by the increasing popularity of Augmented and Virtual Reality?
ReplyDeleteWhat I'd like to see is some completely new industries which would be made possible using this technology, for example the onset of industries related to the concept of telepresence. Of course, the usual applications such as entertainment and medical fields are exciting too. The solution presented in the article could help with web design suited for visually impaired people.
The car industry is another obvious target for this technology. Here's a demonstration of a "transparent" bonnet / hood idea for off-roading:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7j1daOk72c
2. What are the main limitations of AR and VR in their current state?
The main limitations are the electronic components and cost. But apparently there have been substantial improvements in these areas recently. For a convincing VR experience you need low latency input sensors and screens that cover as much of the field of vision as possible with high resolution, high frame rate and little distortion. Any unwanted artifact will tend to break the illusion of fooling your senses. The fact that so many companies are working on prototypes indicates that consumer level devices are coming soon.
3. Are there any existing or currently developed AR or VR projects which you are excited about?
I'd like to see what's possible when this technology is used in conjunction with flying drones. I don't know of any particular projects here, but I'm sure it's being worked on, or played with for fun.
Thanks for your answers, some very good points! I also hope that this will introduce new services and maybe even industries. Telepresense is a great example with so many possible aplications. It can also greatly improve the quality of life for so many people, I've seen an interesting project which helped disabled people attend schools and socialize with other students.
Delete- Which industries will be affected by the increasing popularity of Augmented and Virtual Reality?
ReplyDeleteGame, Movies, Animations, Porn... but also, many others!
For example, Immersion - Polish company uses Oculus Rift to present virtual models of hotels and planned architecture projects.
- What are the main limitations of AR and VR in their current state?
Quality and performance and computers in terms of mobility. Oculus Rift i. e. needs high computing power to render high quality video. I dream of oculus rift with embedded computing unit that is able to render graphics, so you could move around without any cables.
- Are there any existing or currently developed AR or VR projects which you are excited about?
Games and simulations. I dream about walking around some medieval city and learn using VR. Using VR in education is amazing and also takes place even on our polish ground - Fab Lab Łódź starts with a project that connects kids with oculus Rift
Hi, thanks for your comment. I think Samsung Gear VR is very close to what you described in your answer to second question (Oculus Rift with embedded computing unit, without cables). Oculus Mobile SDK is already available, the hardware should be out this month.
DeleteI never heard about this Fab Lab project - thanks!
- Which industries will be affected by the increasing popularity of Augmented and Virtual Reality?
ReplyDeleteA:/> Indeed most aspects of the classical education are likely to get affected. Gaming, movie ...
- What are the main limitations of AR and VR in their current state?
A:/> IMHO one of the pressing issues is that in today's computing, we still need lots of resources to process the images yet the results are very limited.
- Are there any existing or currently developed AR or VR projects which you are excited about?
A:/> I do enjoy spending time on my PS4 and looking forward to see something handy from Sony though.
Thanks for your answers. I'm also waiting for Sony's VR and I really hope that PS4 can handle VR.
Delete1//- Which industries will be affected by the increasing popularity of Augmented and Virtual Reality?
ReplyDeletethe augmented reality based apps are used in the healthcare industry for various applications, like surgical pre-operation assessment, medical simulation, minimally invasive surgery and rehabilitation. Meanwhile, virtual reality based apps are also pretty common in the healthcare industry, like fully immersive 3D simulation experience for doctors, nurses, as a diagnostics tool, in surgery, phobia treatments, PTSD, autism treatments and dentistry.
e.g for other industries affected by the increasing popularity of Augmented and Virtual Reality:
Agriculture, Automotive, Automation & Instrumentation, Chemicals and Materials, Energy and Power, Electronics, Food & Beverages, Information Technology
3//Are there any existing or currently developed AR or VR projects which you are excited about?
ReplyDeleteI'd like this technology but I like play football on PLAYStation. for me it good when I used only.