Virtual Reality Becomes Reality

3D tracking turns virtual reality into actual reality

Last week I had the good fortune to try out some of the latest developments in virtual reality utilising 3D tracking. And it’s gob-smacking.

I am not completely new to virtual reality (VR). I have a Samsung VR Gear, which works with my Samsung smart phone to provide a consumer VR experience. The phone clips into the VR Gear headset and becomes a virtual reality screen. The headset detects head movements which enables interaction with the virtual reality application. Other interaction comes from buttons on the headset, or a hand-held controller, similar to gaming devices such as X-Box or Playstation.

Some VR applications involve 360o views. A swivel chair is useful. But that’s about the extent of it. Forget about walking around, unless you enjoy tripping over the dining room chair and spilling scalding coffee on yourself.

That’s where 3D tracking comes in.

The very clever people at CerebralFix (www.cerebralfix.com), based at EPIC (Enterprise Precinct Innovation Centre) in Christchurch, New Zealand, invited me to come play with – ahh, I mean research – their 3D VR setup.

3D tracking in VR involves a room with a set of sensors which detect your full movement. So you move about freely in your VR environment. Controllers in each hand replicate actual hand movements. This elevates VR to a whole new level.

Applications include gaming, of course. Physically dodging the laser canons fired at you by alien spacecraft brings a new dimension to immersive gaming. But to me, the really exciting implications are on the potential for training.

Imagine a training programme where you learn how to lay out a foundation on a construction site, or operate an X-Ray (an actual working prototype from CerebralFix ), or handle an emergency situation in a confined space, or operate dangerous machinery. The possibilities are endless and there’s nothing like learning by doing. With 3D VR you can learn and do in a safe, controlled environment. And, let’s be honest, have fun. Perhaps a reward for successfully learning to safely operate a furnace would be some time dodging and zapping alien space ships.

There’s no doubt in my mind – the future in training will involve the commercial application of VR. And yes, it is totally immersive fun. But don’t take my word for it – the ultimate thumbs up came from my 12 year old son, who accompanied me and conducted his own ‘research’ - “Awesome dad. Why don’t you have a job making this stuff?”