Five breakthroughs in the field of augmented and virtual reality that we are waiting for

Convergence accelerates change ... everything and everywhere. Exponential technologies collide with each other, reinventing products, services and industries. Today we will talk about virtual and augmented reality. Today, the most prominent tech-giants are very briskly jumping onto the VR / AR stage, promoting their own product lines. Microsoft - HoloLens, Facebook - Oculus, Amazon - Sumerian, Google - Cardboard. Even Apple plans to release a headset by 2021.

And as the falling prices meetWith exponential advances in VR / AR hardware, these new technologies emerge from the market of the first users and enter the homes of most consumers.

Philip Rosedale - one of the leading creatorsmodern virtual worlds. After creating a virtual civilization of Second Life in 2013, in which there are almost 1 million active users now, Philip co-founded High Fidelity, which explores the future of the new generation of shared virtual reality.

He predicts the development of five trends in the next five years, which will replace the current and give rise to new directions. So, what awaits us in VR / AR until 2024?

“If you think you understand what's happening with technology today, you don't understand,” says Philip. “We haven’t landed a plane with all these new devices yet.”

Transition from PC to individual virtual reality (VR) mobile devices

Historically, devicesvirtual reality relied on PC connections, usually using wires and clunky equipment that limited the field of motion of the user. However, since VR is entering the stage of dematerialization, we will soon witness the rapid growth of an autonomous and highly mobile economy virtual reality experience.

Oculus Go, leading offline mobileThe VR device on the market only needs a mobile application for setting up and can be transferred anywhere with Wi-Fi. The headset is inexpensive: a 32 GB device costs $ 200 and uses a shared ecosystem of applications with the Samsung Gear VR. Although Google Daydream also represents a separate VR device, it does require a mobile phone in the dock, unlike the built-in Oculus Go screen.

In the field of augmented reality, a separate device from Microsoft and Lenovo - HoloLens 2 - has become a leader in the provision of an “untethered” experience.

Freedom of headsets from heavy restrictionsequipment will make VR / AR an interactive and transportable environment that can be connected anytime and anywhere. In a few years, perhaps we will all be wearing light VR glasses in order to go into virtual reality when such an opportunity falls.

Wide-angle augmented reality displays

Microsoft HoloLens 2 - the leading headset inaugmented reality, both in comfort and in display quality. The biggest problem with the previous version was the limited rectangular field of view (FOV).

However, thanks to the use of laser technologyto create a display on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) - read more, this is very interesting - HoloLens 2 can position waveguides in front of the user's eyes, directing them with mirrors. Subsequent magnification of images can be achieved by shifting the angles of these mirrors. Combined with a resolution of 47 pixels per degree, HoloLens 2 doubles the FOV compared to the previous version. Microsoft expects to release its headset before the end of this year with a price tag of $ 3,500, first focusing on business, and only then on consumers.

Magic Leap provides similar FOV, but with morelower resolution than HoloLens 2. Meta 2 boasts an even wider 90-degree FOV, but requires a cable connection. The race for achieving a natural 120-degree horizontal FOV continues.

“The technology of expanding the field of view will make these devices more comfortable to use and will provide you with more than just a small box through which to look,” explains Rosedale.

Mapping the real world to create "mirror worlds"

"Mirror Worlds" are alternative dimensions.our reality that can cover physical space. When you sit in the office, the floor below you can turn into a calm lake, and each table can become a sailing boat. In the classroom, mirror worlds can turn pencils into magic wands, and tables into touch screens.

Pokémon Go provides an introductory view of the concept of the mirror world and its enormous potential for bringing people together.

To create such mirror worlds, headsetsAR must understand the architecture of the surrounding world. Rozdale predicts that the accuracy of scanning devices will rapidly improve over the next five years, making such alternative measurements possible.

Mobile devices with 5G will reduce the delay to an imperceptible level.

Verizon has already launched the 5G network in Minneapolis and Chicago, compatible with Moto Z3. Sprint plans to release its own 5G in May. Samsung, LG, Huawei and ZTE announced new devices with 5G.

“5G will be released this year and will materially affectmy job will seem like you are talking to someone else face to face. 5G is very important, because at the present time cellular devices give out too much delay, so you don’t feel that you are talking to someone face to face on such devices. ”

To work seamlessly from anywhere in the world, individual VR / AR devices will require a powerful 5G network.

Built-in tracking of eye movements and facial expressions

Companies like Pupil Labs and Tobiiprovide hardware and software enhancements to track eye movements to VR / AR headsets. This technology allows rendering only in the field of view, providing a high resolution of a single scene only in the visible area and maintaining a low resolution in the periphery area. This allows you to save computing power.

As HoloLens 2 showed, eye tracking is alsocan be used to identify users and adjust the lens width to ensure convenient, individual perception for each person.

According to Rosedale, “the fundamental possibilityfor VR and AR is to improve human communication. ” He notes that modern VR / AR headsets are missing out on many subtle but important aspects of communication. Eye movements and micro-expressions provide valuable information about the emotions and desires of the user.

In combination with software fordetecting emotions, such as Affectiva, VR / AR devices could soon begin to transfer much more richly textured and expressive interactions between two people, overcoming physical boundaries and even language barriers.

When these promising trends will begintransform the market, VR / AR will undoubtedly revolutionize our lives. Perhaps to the extent that our virtual worlds become as important and enriching as our physical world.

VR / AR is good for education nextgenerations. They will expand learning opportunities by incorporating social, emotional and creative components, let you tell stories and model on the fly. Traveling at other times, manipulating the insides of the cell or even designing a new city will become the daily phenomena of tomorrow's classrooms.

Buyers will be able to choose apartments aftervirtual tours on them. Corporate offices will turn into spaces that exist only in “mirror worlds”. In the health sector, the accuracy of remote diagnostics will increase, and surgeons will have access to digital media during vital procedures.

Ten years later, VR and AR are virtual andaugmented reality will open up limitless applications for new and converging industries. And since virtual worlds merge with AI, 3D printing, computer advances, and other things, our experience in dealing with this will all grow in depth and scale. Get ready!

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