Blogpost #8: Houston, We Have A Problem

Some time in the near future, we probably would send unmanned exploration probes to outer space. Controlled by a few pilots here on earth using VR. Currently, NASA is developing ways to achieve this and as of now, it looks promising.

As the farther reaches of the solar system becomes inhospitable for human life, scientists are resorting to unmanned probes to explore our galaxy. While some are already out there like Voyager 1 who has earned the record as the farthest unmanned probe sent out by NASA.

An article at SlashGear.com entitled "Oculus Rift and NASA Bring Virtual Reality To Mars With New Simulator" highlights NASA's new virtual reality Mars simulator. It lets users walk on the surface of Mars using Oculus Rift and Virtuix Omni VR treadmill.

"NASA is using this technology to test out what it might be like for humans to visit Mars. Obviously, all of this testing with virtual reality is still in its early stages, and there are a lot of things that NASA still wants to add, like various sensors, and of course the feeling of weightlessness in space, but this is quite a good start."

Hopefully NASA would continue developing this wonderful idea so that it may eventually be released commercially. Like what I have said in my previous blog post, simulators are one of the best genres VR can go.

Another project NASA is currently working on is a VR training suit. An article at Motherboard.com entitled "NASA's New Virtual Reality Training Suit Will Bring Space to Earth" featured this tech. It uses a VR headset, a spacesuit, and a low gravity chamber to simulate the space environment.

"Virtual reality has been a staple of astronaut training for a while now, but the pieces have never been fully put together to create a true space analogue. Instead, astronauts in training wear a spacesuit in a low gravity simulator that looks like it's, well, at the NASA Johnson Space Center, or pop on virtual reality goggles that makes it seem like they're walking on Mars while they're wearing gym shorts."

Astronauts usually simulate low gravity by submerging underwater with their space suits. However, it doesn't fully simulate the environment out in space. That's where VR comes in. VR can simulate possibly every scenario a man could think of making astronauts more prepared more than ever.

When Niel Armstrong first set foot on the moon, he said "This is one small step for man, and one giant leap for mankind." A few decades later and we are still making big leaps for mankind.










References:

Slash Gear - "Oculus Rift and NASA bring virtual reality to Mars with new simulator"
http://www.slashgear.com/oculus-rift-and-nasa-bring-virtual-reality-to-mars-with-new-simulator-06292849/

Motherboard.com - "NASA's New Virtual Reality Training Suit Will Bring Space to Earth"
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/nasas-new-virtual-reality-training-suit-will-bring-space-to-earth-ndx1

Blogpost #7: VR in Engineering

Designing complex structures requires attention to detail as architects and engineers makes a design for a project. Checking for design flaws on a sheet of paper is not the most effective way as it doesn't simulate the real-world. Today, engineers are using CAD (Computer-Aided Design) to create a virtual model of their design. They can test it's structural integrity and a number of other things. But what if you could go inside your model to personally check for faults?

Virtual reality has spread even in with the architects and engineers. Creating a VR CAD environment is probably one of the best applications in this industry. In fact, this has already been done by IC.IDO.

This article that I have read by John Hayes entitled "Immersive Virtual Reality" talks about his trip to an IC.IDO demo facility in Paris, France. There are only less than 100 of these environments in the world and most of them are in use for the automobile industry. The demo that was shown to Hayes was a BMW car on a assembly line. The demo took place in a dark room with a wall dedicated for projecting images of the 3D model. The image being projected was 3D and they are wearing 3D glasses for the virtual reality experience. It also has a heavily modified Wii Remote to interact with the virtual world.

One of the things that impress Hayes was the part where they disassembled the car much like in CAD. 

"Because there is a full 3D CAD model powering the demo, we were able to section the car in any direction to further investigate collision points.  The demo had some analysis built in, showing strain points on hoses and even on the virtual factory workers who have to reach to perform certain tasks."

The VR environment can also track your head movement. So when Hayes tried to go to the underside of the car, the VR environment knows he his crouching and applied the appropriate response in the virtual world.

In another side of the world, Ford is using an almost similar application of VR. Ford is using Oculus Rift and Autodesk (CAD) to have a more practical design perspective of their cars. Elizabeth Baron, virtual reality and advanced visualization technical specialist of Ford, said:

"What we’re looking for is the perceived quality of vehicles, as a customer would see them. We want to be able to see the cars and our designs, and experience them before we have actually produced them."

It could actually save them more money by eliminating as much design flaws as possible. Recalling already sold automobiles is a very costly error for an automobile company. Not to mention providing compensations to owners of faulty cars.

The debate on whether VR could be practically applied on all (or most) industries is probably reaching it's conclusion. As the grey areas or uncertainties starts to fade, it's clear that VR is not a fad and will be used by industry professionals.







References:

Engineering.com - "Immersive Virtual Reality"
http://www.engineering.com/DesignerEdge/DesignerEdgeArticles/ArticleID/5015/Immersive-Virtual-Reality.aspx

Forbes - "Ford, Where Virtual Reality Is Already Manufacturing Reality"
http://www.forbes.com/sites/leoking/2014/05/03/ford-where-virtual-reality-is-already-manufacturing-reality/

Blogpost #6: Lights, Camera, Link Start!

The entertainment industry may be considered the home of virtual reality. For one, it will be easier for VR to spread and be commercialized. Second, the popularization of VR would mean TV stations or even movie production studios would start to develop VR TV series or VR movies as they need to address the increasing market of VR. Lastly, VR's "wow factor" is just too good to ignore.

Fortunately for us, it is already starting. Though most are still experimenting or in early development, some studios are releasing a preview of their work and the public loves them.

Remember Pacific Rim? This article entitled "Guillermo Del Toro Redesigns ‘Pacific Rim’ For Virtual Reality" at TheWrap.com talks about the demo of Legendary Picture's Pacific Rim re-made for VR at Comic-Con 2014. The movie demo was made using Unreal Engine 4 and the very same assets used by Industrial Light & Magic to create the film. While Legendary Pictures is boldly exploring the different ways of using VR in their movies, Guillermo Del Toro isn't exactly jumping in the bandwagon.

Del Toro said "it’s great for a single user," he said. He later added "movies that are designed specifically as a ride."

What Del Toro probably meant (or maybe he didn't realize) is that traditional film making techniques may not work with the VR. Movies usually jumps from one scene to another. But in VR, storytelling would be different. Also, scenes are best appreciated in VR when it's in first person view. So most of the movie scenes should be in first person.

Another way of using VR in the entertainment industry is through concerts. Imagine wanting to go on a concert of your favorite band, but the tickets are sold out because the venue is full. VR could take you to the event as long as the venue has a 3D 360-degree technology.

This article at PSFK.com entitled "3 Ways Virtual Reality Will Soon Impact Live Entertainment" provides us an insight at how it may work. In the article, it said:

"Virtual reality doesn’t physically take you to an event, but it mentally brings you there. Across today’s popular entertainment venues, there are only so many front row seats at a sporting event or concert, and these tickets are continuously increasing in price. With
virtual reality technology, more fans can have that front row experience."

Like I said earlier, even if you won't be physically at the venue, you will be there through VR. Although the only downside to this is that you are in a fixed position and can't move around the venue at all. They may have multiple points to enter in VR just like switching from one camera to the next to somehow solve this problem. But it's still a pretty cool idea.

Virtual Reality's home is the entertainment industry. And the entertainment industry benefits hugely from this. They are meant for each other so to say and they will probably be until a new game changer pops out of nowhere.

Blogpost #5: Welcome To The Virtual Academy

Are you tired of the usual classroom setup? Do you want to apply what you've learned but are afraid to make mistakes? Maybe VR could help you with that.

We already know that VR can train soldiers and pilots. Now imagine if we put VR in classrooms to aid students with their education. Fortunately for us, it's already in the works as there are programs and/or applications being developed.

The standard classroom setup may not be effective to most students. There are students who prefer to learn hands-on through trial and error, while others prefer to study the theories first before doing hands-on learning.

An article on HypergridBusiness.com entitled "5 ways virtual reality will change education" enumerated the possibilities of VR being used to educate us. The author stated:

"Education hasn’t changed for years in terms of teaching approaches and techniques applied. Although we are seeing some innovative variability in this area. Today millennials feel pretty comfortable with online education, doing research on the Internet, resorting to instructional videos on YouTube and distance learning powered by video technology. Obviously, virtual reality is next."

Taking online courses on websites such as edX and Coursera are quite popular nowadays as it offers self-pacing where you study at your own pace. These courses are sometimes provided by professors of various universities. They also verify the content of the course and offer certificates for completing the course.

The only problem with online courses is that, you only watch a video recording of a professor. There is no interaction at all. Virtual Reality may solve this problem. But it needs to evolve more to be able to respond to different queries by the student.

In another article by Education Week entitled "Oculus Rift Fueling New Vision for Virtual Reality in K-12," The author, Benjamin Herold, interviewed Mathieu Marunczyn. Marunczyn was one of the first K-12 teachers to use VR to teach students. His students has a more "imaginative response" and he is happy with the results.

"Everything takes on a massive scale. It just provokes and promotes a very imaginative response [from students], and ultimately that's what I want to see."

What makes VR effective is that besides the fact that VR is a visual aid, the images in the VR are interactive. They are not static images.VR environments can also take you to places you could never go. Fancy taking a tour inside our brain? InMind VR can take give you a peek inside our brain.

Obviously VR was first meant for gaming. But the applications for this technology spans across industries. So much so that it is now being used to control the Mars probe. But that's a different topic for another day.






References:

HyperGrid Business - "5 Ways Virtual Reality Will Change Education"
http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/2014/09/5-ways-virtual-reality-will-change-education/

Education Week - "Oculus Rift Fueling New Vision for Virtual Reality in K-12"
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/08/27/02oculus.h34.html

Blogpost #4: Semper Fidelis Ad Virtual Reality

The military has always had the most advanced technology a country could offer. Specially in the United States where they allocated $711 billion on their military back in 2011. The technological advances the military has eventually finds its way to commercial releases and marketing people sell them as "high end" tech.

This time it's different. It's the commercial (or soon to be commercial) release tech that finds its way in military applications. The modern VR is being used in the military today to train their men for either combat or equipment.

Take this article from Motherboard.com for example entitled "New Military Jets Are So Powerful, Pilots Must Be Trained in Virtual Reality." According to General Mike Hostage, "The fifth generation brought us capabilities and lethalities that are straining my abilities at Red Flag to produce that same realistic combat environment. I can't turn on every bell and whistle on my new fifth-generation platforms because a) they're too destructive, and b) I don't want the bad guys to know what I’m able to do."

Putting your latest technology on display for the whole world to see isn't a good idea for the military. It would compromise them such as other countries could develop countermeasures to their technology. Their solution to this is to train pilots in VR more than their live training. This way, they could control the environment of the training, plus they are behind closed doors so no one would see what those planes are really capable of.

Other than pilots, soldiers are being trained too using VR. The official web site of the US Army, Army.mil, published an article entitled "Virtual Reality Used To Train Soldiers in New Training Simulator" wherein soldiers using VR to train are featured.

The first-ever simulated training facility can be found at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. They use their so-called "The Dismounted Soldier Training System" to train squads for actual combat. The training area is about 10x10 feet but the soldiers won't move around while in training. Each soldier stands on a module pad so they can move while staying in place.

"With a wide variety of environments, and the ability to insert specific entities into the scenarios, the options for training opportunities are virtually limitless; rehearsals for missions or live-fire exercises are just a couple of examples. Currently, the programmed training environments include mountainous, wooded, and desert. These are intended to simulate places like Afghanistan and Iraq, but are not limited to only these specific scenarios."

Soldiers won't have to leave the base to accustom themselves to different situations as they can, or will, simulate every battlefield known to man. However, it is still vital for them to train in the real world as there is still distinct differences between the real world and the virtual world. I also believe that "nothing can prepare you for war."

Simulators and VR has really gone a long way. You can say that both are meant for each other. With military technology and funding, VR may reach it's full potential. It may not be impossible that in the near future, bootcamps will be replaced with virtual bootcamps. We never know, but it's always possible.







References:

The Washington Post - "America's Staggering Defense Budget, In Charts"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/01/07/everything-chuck-hagel-needs-to-know-about-the-defense-budget-in-charts/ 

Motherboard - "New Military Jets Are So Powerful, Pilots Must Be Trained in Virtual Reality"
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/new-military-jets-are-so-powerful-pilots-must-be-trained-in-virtual-reality

The Official Homepage of the United States Army - "Virtual Reality Used To Train Soldiers in New Training Simulator"
http://www.army.mil/article/84453/

Blogpost #3: Medical Applications of VR

Aside from gaming, VR can also be applied to other fields. In this topic, we're taking a look at how Virtual Reality is being used in the field of medicine.

Medical science has found an unusual alternative to curing people in the form of VR. From simple therapies to surgical training, VR is indeed helping us not only to have fun, but also to save lives. This is where VR and simulators go hand in hand.

In an article published by the Huffington Post titled "Six Ways Virtual Reality Is Already Changing The World (No Facebook Required)," medical students have found a way to better train themselves in their own specialized surgery training.

"Medical students don't have very many chances at the "error" part of trial-and-error learning. It's a big jump from operating on a human in theory to making the first cut on the operating table. Virtual reality makes "practice makes perfect" more practical."

Since you are dealing with live humans during operation, you can't really have an error during the procedure. However, medical students don't have anything to practice on either to further hone their skills. Thanks to VR they can make mistakes without ever going to jail for medical malpractice.

Surgeons testing out the new virtual reality surgeon simulator

VR is also being used in therapies for treating PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder), Phantom Pain (pain experienced mostly by amputees), and other conditions that need therapy.

The Wall Street Journal wrote the article "Virtual Reality Therapy Shows New Benefits" focusing on soldiers with PTSD. One patient told the Wall Street Journal about his usual actions before he took the therapy. He said "I was angry, I was stressed. I tried a lot of things, but when I tried virtual reality it was like a toxic release."

One way of curing a trauma is by reliving the events that made the trauma happen. In the real world, doing this could be dangerous for everyone around you. But in VR, you can vent out as much as you like without worrying about someone getting hurt. You could also call it a stress reliever since your actions in the virtual world won't have any consequences in the real world.

VR is already on its way to treating other kinds of conditions. It could probably become the best method in curing traumas or become the best method in practicing medicine. It could probably be used in testing out drugs in the near future.

References:

Huffington Post "Six Ways Virtual Reality Is Already Changing The World (No Facebook Required)"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/28/virtual-reality-uses-medicine-autism-ptsd-burn-amputee-victims_n_5045111.html

The Wall Street Journal "Virtual Reality Shows New Benefits"

http://www.wsj.com/articles/virtual-reality-therapy-shows-new-benefits-1413841124 

Blogpost #2: Gaming Like You Have Never Seen Before!

We have all played different types of games. From first-person shooters, to open world sandbox where you literally build your own world. Most of these games have "Wowed" gamers and could possibly go down in history as the most successful games. But, add a VR in to the mix and everything seems to become way better. So why is VR a game changer for the industry?

Immersion is the name of the game. According to Wikipedia, it is the perception of being physically present in a non physical world. We all know how immense games' worlds are. Especially first person open world sandbox games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim or Fallout: New Vegas or even Grand Theft Auto Games. By going in to the world of any of those games, it changes or improves your gaming experience a lot.

The video demonstrates how the Oculus Rift successfully makes

everyone believe they are inside the virtual world.

 An article written by CNN titled "Virtual Reality: The Next Frontier In Gaming" highlighted how games take advantage of the VR platform. One of the games they tried is Alien: Isolation. According to them "If you failed to elude your enemies in the "Alien" game, you ended up with a tail spike right through your chest. And yes, you could look down and see it as it happened. Eww."

That is disgusting! With ingenuity like this, more and more people would be willing to buy VR. It will also be a breath of fresh air for the usual "monitor experience." Sure, we do like the eye-candies like AMD's TressFX or Nvidia's HBAO+ (Horizon Based Ambient Occlusion) and they look good on our monitors. But that's what limits it. A first person game cannot be a true first person in a monitor.

However, there will also be limitations to the current VR technology. Ian Sherr of CNet.com wrote this article in relation to the current limitations of VR. In the article, James Iliff and his team at Survios are trying to make the player's actions in the real world mirror the one in the virtual world.

"But there was a hitch. In a typical video game, characters often traverse large distances in mere minutes. Walking at a normal pace to get through a game would take forever, and require too much room."

Indeed it is. In Skyrim alone, you could walk miles of terrain to get from one town to the other. Mirroring that in the real world would not only be tiring, but also costly. Also, no one has a closed environment or room with miles or kilometers of space. So Survios needs to find a way to overcome this dilemma.

It's only a matter of time though before developers start to overcome these limitations. Technology is evolving faster today than it was 10 years ago. Regardless though, you will still get the best gaming experience with a VR.






References:

CNN.com "Virtual Reality: The Next Frontier in Gaming"
http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/16/tech/gaming-gadgets/virtual-reality-e3/

CNet.com "How Do You Make A Good Virtual Reality Game? Oculus Developers Meet To Find Out"
http://www.cnet.com/news/how-do-you-make-a-good-virtual-reality-game-oculus-developers-gather-to-find-out/

Wikipedia.org "Immersion (virtual reality)"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immersion_%28virtual_reality%29