By: Brooke Nichols
Virtual reality is improved and better than
ever and its transforming the gaming world, colleges, businesses and much more.
Goggles fitted with sensors that have three-dimensional image or environment to
be interacted in a real or physical way by a person using special equipment.
Ripley High School Student
Luke Fitzsimons has the VR goggle and says “I love the goggles, I bought them
to advance my gaming experience and put me more into the game because I like
being on my computer a lot so why not make it better.”
Being invented in
1968, by Ivan Sutherland, with the help of a student Bob Sproul, created what is
widely considered the first Virtual Reality system. It was a less advanced version
of what we have today it use to be a head piece with glasses attached that the
user pulls in front of their eyes. It has changed dramatically through the years
though from 1968-2016. With improvements and changes to the VR system from the original
machine itself such as its now a transitional headset, uses phones, the viewing
quality is HD, the sound and much more.
Some of the
companies that sell the VR are Oculus Rift, Sony, Google, Samsung, Microsoft,
Qualcomm, and many more. The prices
can range from $900-$2,000 there is a pricing difference because the lower
prices just get’s you the bare minimum of what you need. And the more you pay for
the VR system the better quality it will be. Also not all items that are needed
to run the VR is included some things are sold separately.
Many businesses and colleges are using VR
systems like, the University of Michigan’s football team will be breaking new
ground this fall with VR. As the first collegiate athletic department to use
the VR for practice, recruiting, and also fan interaction. VR is beginning to
gain acknowledgement in college and professional sports, and Michigan becomes
the first school to embrace this upcoming technology. In order to provide an
almost real life experience like running out of the tunnel, playing the game,
the whole nine yards of the gaming experience.
While 12 team mates are learning the new way
of recruitment on VR in 2015, defensive tackle Maurie Hurst Jr. takes his turn,
and when he takes off the headset, he seems overwhelmed.
He said, shaking his head. "And I
thought Google Maps was cool."
Chesson said "I thought it would be
like Viewfinders, like when you were a little kid.” "When you pull down
the lever and then click the picture would change. What I just watched, that's
mind-blowing stuff. You can feel the energy. It's like you're right
there."
Not just schools and football team but the British
Army Recruitment is getting ahead of the curve with using VR to show men and
women what its like to be in the battle field, be in the tanks/trucks, and much
more. It shows you what you are enlisting for so that you can be ready before
you take that big leap into enlisting.
Not
yet widely used by schools yet but this being such a great learning experience
hopefully later on more High Schools and sports teams will jump on the use of
VR as a learning tool and much more in the classrooms.