A brief history of virtual reality development

Wen/winter Wright

VR technology in the early stages of development is a setback, ill-fated, but with the growing sophistication of VR technology, internet giants Facebook and Google into the VR application development war, the prospects of VR technology is becoming increasingly clear.

VR refers to the use of digital means to create a completely virtual environment, people wearing the HMD (head-mounted display) and other equipment can travel virtual world, through the desert and jungle, Feiyanzoubi, driving F1 car, a gun killed zombies and so on.

Today, many VR programs can make users feel more real and reduce the sensation of vertigo. In some VR environments, the user can be integrated into the body, if there are other "immersion", the feeling will be more obvious. VR fans call this feeling "a sense of being": fully integrated into it, rather than sitting there watching.

Re-energizing Life

In 2014, Facebook spent $2 billion on the acquisition of Kickstarter, the VR company Oculus, which started the crowdfunding platform. The high-profile acquisition has made VR once again the focus of the industry, but in fact, VR has been in existence for decades. VR films were once popular in the the early 1990s, but the picture quality was poor and the audience needed to wear bulky head-mounted displays, which greatly affected the viewing experience. Not only that, but another major flaw is that it can cause users to feel dizzy because the movement of the screen is slower than the actual movement of the user's head. However, as the VR experience becomes more real, the problem is being addressed gradually.

In 2003, Linden Labs, a San Francisco-based Linden Lab, launched the game "Second Life", a game that was Second by VR. As a pioneering platform, the virtual world of Second Life has its own currency for players to trade virtual goods and services and buy virtual assets. Companies such as Coca-Cola are spending money on the game, news outlets are reporting it, and even several countries have set up virtual embassies in the game.

After that, the development of VR was in trouble. In August 2009, the 16-year-old VR fan Palmer Luckey joined the 3D Media Enthusiast Network forum called Mtbs3d. After the forum founder Neil Schneider permission, Luckey in the "DIY Project" section to create their own forum, and netizens discuss how to use parts to make a simple hmd. 3 years later, Luckey's first Oculus prototype was a sensation in the VR world, and in less than two years, Facebook acquired Oculus.

Why do others fail, and Luckey succeed? Luckey attributed his success to a good time. When he was studying VR, he just caught up with the birth of a smartphone. Smartphones drive the popularity of VR parts such as sensors, gyroscopes and small screens, making them lighter and cheaper. At the same time, the success of Luckey also benefited from a number of technological breakthroughs, such as the technology to minimize the latency of the screen in response to the user's head movement.

There is also the view that Moore's law may be the true "hero" of Luckey's success. Jose Alvarez, head of the Huawei Media Lab strategy, said: "With the improvement of technology, every watt of computing power is also improving." This means that VR glasses and computer screens will become more quality and viewers can enjoy high-definition images. "This is the application of Moore's law in reality--every 18 months, the processing power doubles and the software becomes more advanced, which greatly improves the quality of the picture."

VR is not yet a consumer-grade product, and it is too early to predict what VR "killer app" is. Currently, it is mainly used in two major areas: media entertainment and health care.

Using the cliché word "subversive" to describe the application of VR in the entertainment industry is more appropriate. VR can truly revolutionize the entertainment industry, bringing unprecedented realism to virtual events such as concerts and games. Not only that, VR can also re-energize Mmorp (Massively multiplayer online role-playing games), "Second Life" and "World of Warcraft" are the best examples. Ten years ago, Mmorp had rage, but when smartphones replaced internet cafes as the main internet route for young people, Mmorp began to wane. Today, VR makes it reborn.

Alvarez said: "VR can provide higher resolution, faster data transfer speed and more powerful computing power for the game to create a near-real environment, so gradually for the game industry widely adopted." In addition, VR products are increasingly meeting the expectations of Hollywood and marketing campaigns. ”

The ability of VR to create a new world is what the film industry needs. Hollywood is aggressively opening up new frontiers in the film industry, the Los Angeles Times reported. First-line directors such as Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott are working with VR companies to develop film content. A production company called Cinemersia has produced a complete feature film, which was released in September 2015 at major theaters. Digi-capital, a consulting firm, expects VR to generate $30 billion in revenue 2020 years ago, with games and film revenues accounting for a large share.

VR also shows great potential in the medical field. Just as pilots use simulators to train driving skills in the cockpit, surgeons can also use VR for complex remote surgery. The virtual world is also very helpful in the treatment of traumatic sequelae: a controlled way to reproduce the stressful situations of the patient and help them overcome the stress and panic that the scene has caused them.

How to accelerate development?

So, how to promote the popularization of VR? VR players focus on how to make a tradeoff between quality and availability. Facebook and Google, the two largest VR advocates, have become different delegates.

Facebook stands for the "quality assured" side. They believe that the most important thing to do to popularize VR is to do whatever it takes to provide the best quality experience (that is, to reduce latency, improve resolution, etc.), regardless of whether a large audience is currently willing to pay for it. They point out that quality is particularly important because if one or two inferior applications occur in the early stages of VR development, it could make users feel that today's VR is not the same as the bad VR of the 1990s. But how much will it cost to get a "quality experience"? Oculus's Palmer Luckey expects the 2016 Rift head-mounted display to be priced at more than $1000.

The group, which is represented by Google, is on the other side, saying that the key to creating demand is to minimize the price of VR equipment and improve accessibility. Google has unveiled a foldable head-mounted display called cardboard, which only needs two lenses in front of the cardboard and is plugged into a mobile phone. The product is currently on the Internet for only $5, and Google says it has sold at least 1 million pieces. In May 2015, when Google released its second edition of Cardboard, Wired magazine praised it: "Google Cardboard opened the door to the VR world." Although Google has a long way to go to launch the best VR product, cardboard is well-known for its expectations: into the virtual world. After using this product, you will be sure to follow Google's other VR products. ”

Of course, the two sides, represented by Facebook and Google, do not hinder each other's development, but together form a market segment. The real question is, what kind of app will make VR a necessity? By virtualizing Facebook to make social media more social, Google can make maps and search features more intuitive, and users don't need to open a page when they use it. There is no doubt that all two companies want to be the home page of the VR Internet metaverse (a fictitious online VR space, now known as "virtual reality"). On the face of it, two companies are evenly matched, but Google may eventually win.

However, to achieve metaverse, there is still a big problem to be solved. Modern life is moving, light, and free, screen switching and task switching are commonplace, but VR requires users to stay indoors for a long time and wear bulky head-mounted displays that are completely isolated from the real world. For many people, it is more difficult to remain stationary and isolated for a long time. Can VR provide an attractive immersion experience that encourages users to slow down and focus on one thing at a sustained pace? Can people find quiet places, undisturbed by the outside world, and have reliable, high-quality, low-latency Internet access in this place? Maybe you can. Driverless cars can be a good choice.

(For more information about Huawei, please follow Huawei's developer community, Huawei's own open door: http://developer.huawei.com/cn/ict/, don't ask me what I call, others call me Lei Feng )

A brief history of virtual reality development