OVERVIEW OF VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) AND AUGMENTED REALITY (AR)

OVERVIEW OF VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) AND AUGMENTED REALITY (AR)

When looking at the industries that are coming we find there are three main technologies that are related but different:

1. Augmented Reality (AR) is the technology of imposing computer generated items over the real world to create the augmented reality.
2. Extended Reality (XR) is the technology that combines virtual and real environments as well as human and machine interactions to create an extended reality
3. Virtual Reality (VR) is the technology through a headset where the person is immersed in a virtual world, therefore having an experience in a virtual environment. VR is the most powerful storytelling medium to take the historically passive viewer and make them a participant that engages with the story and use more of their senses.

VR is a disruptive technology which, although it has been labeled as an extension of storytelling in film or an advance to the film viewing experience, such as 3D, the reality is that VR is a completely different thing. 3D is an effect and VR is its own media. VR does not replace anything. New medium, new rules.  It is a new industry, not an extension of the film industry. In VR the main difference is that you build the world to tell the story and then the viewer interacts with it, gets immersed in it. VR is an experience that allows the viewer to be a part of it. You enter a world and become a part of the narrative. In fact it is the most immersive form of storytelling. Going to the cinema is passive, you watch a film but you cannot interact with the film if you were to choose to do so.

The 5 big tech companies: Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Netflix are spending a combined amount of around 30 billion dollars a year in the development of VR in the belief that there will be a paradigm shift within the next 10 to 15 years and they have a need to position themselves to take advantage of this soon to be developed industry.

There aren’t many business models, however when the dots are connected the most likely outcome in order to make money is paying for going to a virtual destination. In other words, buying a ticket to experience VR with very high end headsets.

Currently the industry's leading VR devices are:

• HTC Vive
• Oculus Rift
• Playstation VR
• Samsung Gear
• Google Cardboard

If you were to ask who is currently making money in the VR industry, the answer is the headset manufacturers. Oculus for example has sold 4 million headsets. However it is fair to say that nowadays nobody is really making money in VR right now. It is an industry in which a lot of people are doing things right now, however most will fail due to the costs, since it is very difficult and expensive to get in. However, there is a lot of interest for the industry to take off and as such some governments are getting behind it. For example, Montreal and Vancouver has very good tax breaks for the research and development of VR.

One of the major problems the industry is facing, especially with regards to VR content intended for home consumption, is the bandwidth. Because poorly made VR can make people sick with nausea, the content must be done properly. When content is being developed, it must keep human balance in mind as if not it can be a problem. With “out of home” VR there are external trackers that allows the viewer to move around without feeling nauseous. Also in the VR lens, the peripheral needs to be aligned with the human vision. Besides that, it is very difficult to pull of narrative in 360°. Although there is an appetite from the audience we need the game of thrones of VR. The content driver.