The VR marketplace continues to develop, but still at a slower than expected pace, if we go by the hype phase of this innovation. However, the technical developments and hurdles that need to be dealt with are truly substantive.
But there is no reason to doubt that at some point within say, the next five years, we will have crossed the Rubicon into ubiquitous VR for “the masses”. (BTW, “The Next Five Years” seems to be a reassuring shorthand way of stating that we have some grip on the future…notwithstanding the non-linear aspects of change.)
There would seem to be two main processes that “need work”. First is the form factor: bulky and heavy peripherals on one’s head need a rethink towards light and unobtrusive and not much different in annoyance than, say, headphones, which are still themselves getting smaller and lighter etc. Think swimming goggles perhaps.
The other factor is the need for speed. The massive amount of pixel processing in real-time that VR requires needs yet more improvements in graphics and CPU processing. Just as 4K resolution is gradually superseding HD resolution in the video world because of the existence of better and faster signal processing, there will be continued advances that will better support VR in the years to come.
In the meantime, it remains unclear how coming developments in AR will affect development of VR, and how both might be re-conceived if we can have some sort of neural input directly into the sensory pathways of the brain. Which probably isn’t within the next five years. For now, here’s a comparison between Oculus Rift and Oculus Go, products which one can buy now.
[gview file=”https://publicservicesalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Oculus-Go-vs-Oculus-Rift-should-you-switch-to-the-standalone-VR-headset-TechRadar.pdf”]