Social Media 2013

Teach ICT What is virtual reality? What is it? When many people think about the term 'virtual reality', they imagine a scene like the one on the right where somebody is wired up to a computer wearing an odd helmet and making weird movements in the air. However, there is a lot more to virtual reality and it has some incredibly practical uses, so read on. 'Virtual' reality means that the user is fully immersed in a world or artificial environment that the computer has generated. As you walk around the virtual world your view changes in line with what you would expect in real life. How does it work. There a number of systems but they have some common features that include:- 1. 2. 3. The other part is a powerful computer that can create the graphics and sound in 'real time'. How good is it now? It is good enough to physically affect someone in it. This shows that the VR is convincing enough to cause an effect. The graphics are "OK" but not realistic by any means. Is it a game? What are the downsides to VR? And the future?