Immersive technologies. Technologies that allow you to create a virtual world for the user or make a mix of the virtual world and reality.
Welcome to Wonderland!
It's time to remember Alice from Lewis Carroll's book. It's very easy to be in Wonderland now. Do you want a complete immersion? VR or virtual reality will help you out. This is an illusory world completely simulated using modern technology, which includes not only 3D graphics or 360 scenes, but also sound, tactile sensations and even smells. This effect can be achieved using specialized devices (for example, virtual reality helmets). At the next stage of technology development, it is expected that the possibility of full immersion in the virtual world will appear to a level where it will no longer be possible to distinguish visualization from reality.
It should be noted that VR equipment is becoming more and more affordable for ordinary users. For example, Oculus VR headsets currently start at $ 500, which you can afford if you want.
Follow the white rabbit!
You don't want to be completely in Wonderland, but do you dream of seeing a white rabbit who looks at his watch, howls and dives into the nearest sewer manhole for lack of a hole? Yes please. Here AR or augmented reality can help you. With it, we continue to see the environment, but with the help of special equipment, such as glasses, we add non-existent, virtual elements to it. For augmented reality, in addition to glasses, heads-up displays (indicators on the windshield of a car), special helmets (HMD) and even just smartphones are also used.
Augmented reality glasses are not yet common gadgets, but Apple Glass is expected to appear in 2021 or 2022, which could radically change the situation. Experts predict the success of this development.
Entertainment? Not only!
Of course, immersive technology has a great future in the entertainment sector, but even more so in education and medicine. Apart from them there are architecture, engineering, construction, design and retail. But this is all just for the moment. The situation is changing, virtual reality is more and more included in our life, and its possibilities are truly endless.
Immersive technologies in teaching
According to the state roadmap for the development of virtual and augmented reality technologies: “The introduction of VR / AR in the educational segment will provide accessible tools for users and supplement training programs with interactive visual VR / AR content in the amount of up to 30% of all educational materials. With the development of a marketplace for educational projects, it is possible for Russian companies to receive 15% of the global VR education market. "
Already now, simulation centers are successfully operating in many cities to train medical personnel, in which skills in the field of surgery, resuscitation and intensive care, obstetrics and gynecology, nursing, patient care and much more are being practiced in virtual reality. In addition to Moscow and St. Petersburg, there are such centers in Kursk, Ryazan, Krasnoyarsk, Kirov, Omsk, Tomsk and other cities.
Simulation technologies using VR are needed where mistakes in the course of training on real objects can lead to emergency and high financial costs. With the help of these technologies, students can control a virtual model of any technological device.
VR / AR in medicine
Virtual reality is gradually being introduced and used for the rehabilitation of patients who have undergone various diseases. For example, at the Pirogov Center, VR solutions are used to recover patients who have suffered craniocerebral and spinal injuries, as well as strokes. Unfortunately, medical developments require mandatory registration and certification, which complicates their implementation.
One of the few VR-rehabilitation complexes that have a medical registration is the Russian complex "Devirta-Delfi". It has four modules: restoration of movement of large joints and fine motor skills, as well as anti-pain programs and occupational therapy (restoration of everyday skills).
Another developer of such technologies, the FEFU Medical Center, is currently conducting clinical trials of a complex for the rehabilitation of patients after a stroke. It is expected that the solution will increase the recovery efficiency of patients by more than 25% and reduce the time of functional rehabilitation by 30%.
Fight against phobias, fears and other psychological ailments are also promising areas of VR technology in medicine. AR technology can also assist in surgeries, for example by giving surgeons the illusion of X-ray vision.
VR / AR in retail, construction and architecture
So far not as developed as the previous two directions, however, successes in these areas are impressive.
VR / AR tools in retail are primarily aimed at providing the client with the opportunity to “try on” the product on himself or in his interior. For example, the IKEA Place app uses a smartphone to place pieces of furniture in the space of a room. Also, immersive technologies help to navigate the assortment, reduce costs and automate business processes, as well as motivate consumers to buy using digital visualization.
Virtual prototyping in construction and architecture allows you to test the ergonomics of buildings, check their reliability, and also brainstorm and demonstrate projects.
Perspectives
We are in the early stages of introducing VR / AR technologies into everyday life, but the pace of development is high. The coronavirus epidemic also played a significant role in this. In the next few years, significant advances are expected in the diffusion of technologies both in the household sphere and in such industries as medicine, education, trade, construction and others.