VIRTUAL REALITY AS A TOOL FOR YOUTH WORK
AUTHOR: MOMENTUM WORLD | ÜBERSETZUNG: MARTINA LINGNAU
IS VR MORE THAN A PASSING CRAZE?
VR is an evolving technology, still in its infancy. Web-based services, education, cultural, entertain- ment and social tools are now near-universal. The further move towards VR and Augmented reality (AR) is logical – and is happening. Currently only the availability and cost of equipment is holding this back: but as we have learned, this is not a serious obstacle.
» Fully immersive VR is still more or less at the ex - perimental stage, but is what science fiction writers have envisaged: a created environment supported by technology which removes the user from almost all sensory connection with the real world. For both semi- and fully-immersive VR, the quality of the experience is closely related to the type of equip - ment used.
You only have to look at some statistics to understand that this technology is here to stay. Most people think of VR in the context of gaming. It is true that the games industry is driving development, but in fact already more than half of VR applications are not games-re- lated, and this trend is likely to continue. Most of the world’s leading brands have created some kind of VR or AR experience for their customers or staff. By the end of 2018 there were over 170 million regu - lar users of VR worldwide. This number is increasing exponentially.
EQUIPMENT – HEADSETS AND CAMERAS
TYPES OF VR
To get a basic immersive experience, you only need a simply “Google Cardboard” or similar headset, into which you can insert a mobile phone. The effect is, basically, to convert a non-immersive product into one which appears immersive. Headsets are cheap – usually 10 euro or less – and good value, because the experience is still interesting and fun. One disadvan - tage is that you cannot use them for more than a few minutes without feeling some nausea. For a more complete experience, a better-quality headset and a games console (e.g., PlayStation) is required. This will cost upwards of 300 euros and can be considered “entry-level” VR, though still semi-im - mersive. Above this comes a self-contained system such as the Oculus Quest, starting from around 450 euros. This delivers significantly better quality.
There are three basic forms of virtual reality:
» Non-immersive VR is exemplified by the typical computer game: the user is in front of a screen and can move around using a mouse or joystick. The VR experience is created mostly by their imagination, while they can see, feel and hear the real world around them. » Semi-immersive VR requires a headset through which the user views filmed or created content. A deeper level of engagement is possible, but the experience is still clearly artificial and the real world is not shut out. Yet even at this level, the mind will play extraordinary tricks on your perception.
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Contributions from practitioners
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