We have seen people writing about dissertation help, how artificial intelligence is important for us? And many more. Still, there are very few people who write or speak about Virtual and Augmented Reality.
They sound similar, and as technology advances, they begin to blend. However, they are two distinct concepts with qualities that distinguish one from the other.
DEFINE VIRTUAL REALITY
- INTRODUCTION:
The useage of computing technologies to build a simulated environment is called virtual reality (VR). In comparison to typical user interfaces, virtual reality puts the user in an experience. Users are involved and can engage with 3D worlds rather than viewing a device, just like a big-screen TV or a projector. The computer guards this artificial world by replicating all possible senses, including vision, touch, hearing, and smell. It will give you the feeling that you are physically a part of that place, and you can also move around it, but this is only possible with good quality VR headsets.
- VR HEADSETS AND OTHERS:
VR headsets completely change your vision, giving you the illusion of being somewhere else. When worn, the HTC Vive Cosmos, Valve Index, Oculus Quest, PlayStation VR headsets, and other headsets will take you to a new world. However, you might believe you’re blindfolded if you put them on when they’re switched off.
But when these headsets are turned on, the lenses refract the LCD or OLED displays inside, filling your visual field with whatever is presented. It could be a game, a 6D movie, or simply the virtual area created by the platforms’ user interfaces. So visually, the headgear takes you to where it wants you to go; basically, the real environment gets replaced by a virtual one.
Six-degrees-of-freedom, known as 6DOF motion tracking, is used in tethered VR headsets like the Index and PS VR and standalone VR headsets like the Quest 2. External cameras or sensors (for the Index and PS VR) or outward-facing cameras provide this technology (for Quest 2). It implies that the headsets identify the direction you’re facing and any movement you make in those directions, along with 6DOF motion controllers, which allow you to move about in a virtual area with virtual hands. Although this area is usually only a few square meters, it is far more immersive than simply standing still and staring in different directions. But make sure you don’t trip over any cables connecting the headset to your computer or gaming system.
DEFINE AUGMENTED REALITY
- INTRODUCTION:
Rather than replacing your eye-view, augmented reality enhances it. AR systems, such as Microsoft’s HoloLens and other enterprise-level “smart glasses,” are transparent, allowing you to see everything in the same place you are standing were wearing a pair of thin sunglasses.
The technology allows you to walk around freely while projecting visuals over anything you’re looking. AR apps and games, such as Pokémon Go, use your phone’s camera to detect your surroundings and overlay extra details on top of it on the screen, broadening the concept to smartphones.
- MORE ABOUT IT:
AR displays can range from basic data overlays that show the time to holograms hovering in the middle of a room. On top of what the camera is gazing at, Pokémon Go displays a Pokémon onto your screen. Meanwhile, smart glasses allow you to virtually place floating app windows and 3D decor all around you.
Whenever it comes to landscape architecture, AR technology offers a huge edge over VR technology: visual immersion. AR applications only appear on the screen of your smartphone or tablet, and even the HoloLens can only display images in a tiny space in front of your eyes. Still, virtual reality tends to cover and displaces your field of view. It’s not especially interesting and engaging when a hologram disappears completely once it moves out of a rectangle in the center of your vision, or when you have to stare at a portion of screen while trying to pretend that the item on that screen is in front of you.3DOF can work quite well with basic AR that displays limited details over what you’re looking. On the other hand, most AR apps require 6DOF in some form, which tracks your physical position so that the program can display visuals in 3D space inconsistent positions. It is why the HoloLens has a stereoscopic camera and powerful pattern recognition to identify its location at all times. Also, this is why more modern, AR-focused devices measure depth with several rear-facing cameras.
The options for augmented reality are practically endless. For years, phone-based AR software has recognized surroundings and provided additional information about what it sees, such as real-time text translation or pop-up ratings and reviews as you look at a place. Dedicated AR headsets, such as Microsoft’s HoloLens, can go much further, allowing you to realistically position different programs as floating windows all around you. They effectively turn your computer into a modular, multi-monitor configuration. Unfortunately, till now, AR is only available on cellphones, and it lacks the vision-augmentation capabilities of enterprise-level AR screens. As a result, until a consumer AR headset is released, AR will remain relatively limited.
WHAT IS THE MAJOR BETWEEN VISUAL REALITY AND AUGMENTED REALITY?
Despite their comparable designs, virtual reality and augmented reality perform two very different things in different manners. VR takes you away from reality for a while; it sends you to another world. AR augments reality by superimposing data on top of what you’re already experiencing. They’re both great technologies that haven’t caught on with consumers yet, but they have much potentials. They have the potential to dramatically transform how we use computers in the future, but whether one or both will succeed is currently unknown.
HOW AR AND VR CAN BENEFIT EDUCATION?
Virtual reality in education includes the opportunity to encourage students’ creativity and spark their imaginations, in addition to offering immersive learning experiences. It can help in encouraging them to pursue new intellectual pursuits. In education, AR and VR can aid students who are having difficulty grasping challenging academic subjects. Geometry students, for example, can use AR to examine 3D geometrical shapes from many perspectives; they can turn a shape to see it from various angles and then even see it from the inside. A virtual reality-based trip to another country can introduce students to societies other than their own, or university students or dissertation writers can take a virtual tour of any historic place or event before writing about it.
Growing research suggests that using AR and VR in education and combining the two technologies to create mixed-reality can help students achieve better results.
RESOURCES AND TIPS ON HOW TO USE AUGMENTED REALITY AND VIRTUAL REALITY IN EDUCATION
Institutions don’t need a lot of money to bring AR and VR into the classroom. Resources, ranging from low-cost viewers such as Google Cardboard to premium technology connected to smartphones, can be obtained without costing an arm and leg. For example, teachers can use apps like 360Cities, which enable the students to go to places like Tokyo for a cheap or no cost. Another software, TimeLooper, allows students to travel to historical settings, such as World Wars. In addition, teachers can create lessons and activities using VR and AR technologies using immersive VR Education and Nearpod.
- THE ROOM SHOULD BE SPACIOUS
Students must utilize virtual reality equipment securely to get the benefits of virtual reality in learning. Virtual reality users frequently spin or walk around aimlessly, unaware of their surroundings. A blunder could result in injury. The rooms must be spacious and safe for students, and they should be at least 6-feet distance from one another and any classroom objects. Use VR content that students can access from their desks whenever possible.
- IN THE CLASSROOM, MONITOR AND MODERATE THE USE OF VIRTUAL REALITY
According to research on the psychological effects of virtual reality on kids, it should be utilized in schools only in moderation and under close supervision. According to the study’s conclusions, youngsters who overused virtual reality had false memories of visiting a location they never visited.
- WHEN SHOULD YOU USE VIRTUAL REALITY IN THE CLASSROOM?
Virtual reality may bring academic subjects to life, providing students with new insights and perspectives. However, virtual reality will never be able to completely replace human interaction. Because learning is ultimately a social experience, virtual reality is best used to enhance traditional learning methods.
How can teachers incorporate virtual reality into the classroom? It is dependent on the topic. For example, because linguistics is such an abstract subject, using VR to teach it in the classroom may not make sense. On the other hand, VR could be useful for visual topics, such as allowing students to learn about a historical event. Also, they can even go to historic places via them and visit these places from inside as well. This experience will leave a stronger impact on the mind of students about the place or history than story-telling. Learning geometric shapes, historic events, and country tours can also help students engage more during traditional learning.