A3

Tyler Buchbinder

Professor Roundtree

Art and Technology

1 March 2018

21st Century Technology: The Virtual Reality Headset

            In the last three years, three different mass market virtual reality headsets have been introduced: The Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR. This form of technology combines several other technologies that have been introduced in the past: computer technology with processors capable of running the millions of calculations necessary to run these devices; high-definition display technology used in televisions and computer monitors; and motion sensing software (The Economist, 2015).

            Computers began seeing rapid growth in the 1980s, when they first became mainstream. This led to countless new improvements with each passing year, and the inevitable result was faster computers. VR requires processors that would not have been able to exist ten years ago, as there are vast amounts of calculations necessary to adequately run these machines.

            Televisions became mainstream in the 1950s, and high-definition screens became available in the 2000s. A VR headset essentially uses two high-definition screens within the headset, with one for each eye. This fidelity is necessary to simulate a plausible experience one might have in VR. Without advancements in this area, VR headsets would not be possible.

            The third area of technology that makes VR possible is motion sensing capabilities. While this technology would have existed to some extent in the 1990s, it became popularized in the 2000s in numerous video game consoles such as the Nintendo Wii. VR needs motion sensors, because when one looks to the left or right, the device needs to register this information and display what the user sees. This must be as exact as possible, or it can lead to the user becoming disoriented. Thus, VR headsets represent the culmination of these three technologies, at least to the point where they are advanced enough to make the device available for mainstream users. Future VR headsets will only improve in each of these areas.

References

The Economist. (2015). How virtual reality works. Accessible online at http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2015/09/economist-explains