![Oculus-Rift-CV1-Headset-Back](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Oculus-Rift-CV1-Headset-Back.jpg)
A virtual reality headset (or VR headset) is a head-mounted device that provides
virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
for the wearer. VR headsets are widely used with VR
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s but they are also used in other applications, including simulators and trainers. VR headsets typically include a
stereoscopic
Stereoscopy (also called stereoscopics, or stereo imaging) is a technique for creating or enhancing the depth perception, illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word ''stereoscopy'' derives . Any stere ...
display (providing separate images for each eye), stereo sound, and sensors like
accelerometer
An accelerometer is a tool that measures proper acceleration. Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change of velocity) of a body in its own instantaneous rest frame; this is different from coordinate acceleration, which is accele ...
s and
gyroscope
A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος ''gŷros'', "round" and σκοπέω ''skopéō'', "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rota ...
s for tracking the
pose
Human positions refer to the different physical configurations that the human body can take.
There are several synonyms that refer to human positioning, often used interchangeably, but having specific nuances of meaning.
*''Position'' is a gen ...
of the user's head to match the orientation of the virtual camera with the user's eye positions in the real world.
Some VR headsets also have
eye-tracking sensors and
gaming controller
A game controller, gaming controller, or simply controller, is an input device used with video games or entertainment systems to provide input to a video game, typically to control an object or character in the game. Before the seventh generation ...
s. The VR glasses use a technology called head-tracking, which changes the field of vision as a person turns their head. The technology may not be perfect, as there is latency if the head moves too fast. Still, it does offer an immersive experience.
History
The
Sega VR
The Sega VR is a unreleased virtual reality headset developed by Sega in the early 1990s. Planned as a add-on peripheral for the Sega Genesis and only publicly showcased at a number of trade shows and expositions, its release was postponed and l ...
, announced in 1991 and seen in early 1993 at the Winter
CES, was never released for consoles, but was utilized for the
Sega
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
VR-1 motion simulator
arcade attraction in 1994. Another early VR headset, the
Forte VFX1, was announced at CES in 1994. The VFX-1 has stereoscopic displays, 3-axis head-tracking, and stereo headphones.
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
, another pioneer, released the
Glasstron
The Sony Glasstron was a family of portable head-mounted displays, first released in 1996 with the model PLM-50. The products included two LCD screens and two earphones for video and audio respectively. These products are no longer manufactured n ...
in 1997, which has an optional positional sensor, allowing the wearer to view the surroundings, with the perspective moving as the user's head moves, giving a deep sense of immersion. These VR headsets gave
''MechWarrior 2'' players a new visual perspective of seeing the battlefield from inside the cockpit of their craft. However, these early headsets failed commercially due to their limited technology,
and they were described by
John Carmack
John D. Carmack II (born August 20, 1970) is an American computer programmer and video game developer. He co-founded the video game company id Software and was the lead programmer of its 1990s games ''Commander Keen'', ''Wolfenstein 3D'', ''Doo ...
as like "looking through toilet paper tubes".
In 2012, a
crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
campaign began for a VR headset known as
Oculus Rift
Oculus Rift is a discontinued line of virtual reality headsets developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, a division of Meta Platforms, released on March 28, 2016.
In 2012 Oculus initiated a Kickstarter campaign to fund the Rift's development, af ...
; the project was led by several prominent video game developers, including Carmack
who later became the company's
CTO. In March 2014, the project's parent company
Oculus VR
Reality Labs is a business of Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook Inc.) that produces virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) hardware and software, including virtual reality headsets such as Quest, and online platforms such as Horizon W ...
was acquired by
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
for $2 billion.
The final consumer-oriented release of Oculus Rift began shipping on 28 March 2016.
In March 2014, Sony demonstrated a prototype headset for
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
, which was later named
PlayStation VR
The PlayStation VR (PS VR, known by its code name Project Morpheus during development) is a virtual reality headset developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, which was released in October 2016.
It is fully functional with the PlayStation 4 an ...
. In 2014,
Valve
A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...
demonstrated some headset prototypes,
which led to a partnership with
HTC
HTC Corporation ( zh, t=宏達國際電子股份有限公司, s=宏达国际电子股份有限公司, p=Hóngdá Guójì Diànzǐ Gǔfèn Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī, first=t) or High Tech Computer Corporation, (literally ''Hongda International Electron ...
to produce the
Vive
Vive may refer to:
* Vive, Viva, a Romance language expression
* ''Vive'' (José José album), 1974
* ''Vive'' (Lucía Méndez album), 2004
*Vive (a cappella group), a cappella group from England, United Kingdom
*ViVe Televisión, a state-owned Ve ...
, which focuses on "room scale" VR environments that users can naturally navigate within and interact with.
The Vive was released in April 2016 and PlayStation VR in October 2016.
Virtual reality headsets and viewers have also been designed for
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s. Unlike headsets with integrated displays, these units are essentially enclosures which a smartphone can be inserted into. VR content is viewed from the screen of the device itself through lenses acting as a
stereoscope
A stereoscope is a device for viewing a stereoscopic pair of separate images, depicting left-eye and right-eye views of the same scene, as a single three-dimensional image.
A typical stereoscope provides each eye with a lens that makes the ima ...
, rather than using dedicated internal displays. Google released a series of specifications and associated
DIY
"Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...
kits for virtual reality viewers known as
Google Cardboard
Google Cardboard is a discontinued virtual reality (VR) platform developed by Google. Named for its fold-out cardboard viewer into which a smartphone is inserted, the platform was intended as a low-cost system to encourage interest and developme ...
; these viewers are capable of being constructed using low-cost materials (and a smartphone with a gyroscope), such as cardboard (hence the naming).
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (, sometimes shortened to SEC and stylized as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean multinational corporation, multinational electronics corporation headquartered in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, South Korea. It is the pinnacle of ...
partnered with Oculus VR to co-develop the
Samsung Gear VR
The Samsung Gear VR is a virtual reality headset developed by Samsung Electronics, in collaboration with Oculus VR, and manufactured by Samsung. The headset was released on November 27, 2015.
When in use, a compatible Samsung Galaxy device acts ...
(which is only compatible with recent
Samsung Galaxy
Samsung Galaxy (, stylised as SΛMSUNG Galaxy since 2015 (except Japan where it omits the Samsung branding), previously stylised as Samsung GALAXY; abbreviated as SG) is a series of computing and mobile computing devices that are designed, ...
devices), while
LG Electronics
LG Electronics Inc. () is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South Korea. LG Electronics is a part of LG Corporation, the fourth largest '' chaebol'' in South Korea, and often considered a ...
developed a headset with dedicated displays for its
LG G5
The LG G5 is an Android smartphone developed by LG Electronics as part of the LG G series. It was announced during Mobile World Congress as the successor to the 2015 LG G4. The G5 is distinguished from its predecessors by its aluminum chassis and ...
smartphone known as LG 360 VR.
Asian hardware manufacturers like Xion and Kolke have developed inexpensive virtual reality headsets. In 2017, Chinese company
Tencent
Tencent Holdings Ltd. () is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue. It is also the w ...
announced it was preparing to launch its virtual reality headset that year.
In 2019, Oculus and PlayStation VR dominated the VR headset market.
In June 2019, Valve released their own headset, the
Valve Index
The Valve Index is a consumer virtual reality headset created and manufactured by Valve. Announced on April 30, 2019, the headset was released on June 28 of the same year. The Index is a second-generation headset and the first to be manufacture ...
, without a partnership with HTC.
Constraints
Latency requirements
Virtual reality headsets have significantly higher requirements for
latency—the time it takes from a change in input to have a visual effect—than ordinary video games. If the system is too sluggish to react to head movement, then it can cause the user to experience
virtual reality sickness
Virtual reality sickness, or VR sickness occurs when exposure to a virtual environment causes symptoms that are similar to motion sickness symptoms. The most common symptoms are general discomfort, eye strain, headache, stomach awareness, nausea, ...
, a kind of motion sickness.
According to a Valve engineer, the ideal latency would be 7-15
millisecond
A millisecond (from '' milli-'' and second; symbol: ms) is a unit of time in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one thousandth (0.001 or 10−3 or 1/1000) of a second and to 1000 microseconds.
A unit of 10 milliseconds may be called ...
s.
The
graphics processing unit
A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobi ...
(GPU) also needs to be powerful enough to render the required amount of frames. Oculus cited the limited processing power of
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
and PlayStation 4 as the reason why they targeted the
PC gaming
A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade cabinet, arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more divers ...
market with their first devices.
Foveated rendering
Foveated rendering is a rendering technique which uses an eye tracker integrated with a virtual reality headset to reduce the rendering workload by greatly reducing the image quality in the peripheral vision (outside of the zone gazed by the fovea ...
is a new technique to reduce the rendering workload. It uses
eye tracking
Eye tracking is the process of measuring either the point of gaze (where one is looking) or the motion of an eye relative to the head. An eye tracker is a device for measuring eye positions and eye movement. Eye trackers are used in research ...
hardware to determine at what point the user is looking and reduces rendering resolution farther from the user's gaze. This can be unnoticeable to the user because human
peripheral vision
Peripheral vision, or ''indirect vision'', is vision as it occurs outside the point of fixation, i.e. away from the center of gaze or, when viewed at large angles, in (or out of) the "corner of one's eye". The vast majority of the area in the ...
is far less sensitive than the
fovea
Fovea () (Latin for "pit"; plural foveae ) is a term in anatomy. It refers to a pit or depression in a structure.
Human anatomy
*Fovea centralis of the retina
* Fovea buccalis or Dimple
* Fovea of the femoral head
* Trochlear fovea of the fr ...
.
Resolution and display quality
There are different optics and visual qualities that will affect how the individual perceives the image quality and how they experience the virtual world. The image clarity depends on the display resolution, optic quality, refresh rate, and the field of view.
Because virtual reality headsets stretch a single display across a wide
field of view
The field of view (FoV) is the extent of the observable world that is seen at any given moment. In the case of optical instruments or sensors it is a solid angle through which a detector is sensitive to electromagnetic radiation.
Humans a ...
(up to 110° for some devices according to manufacturers), the magnification factor makes flaws in display technology much more apparent. One issue is the so-called
screen-door effect
The screen-door effect (SDE) is a visual artifact of displays, where the fine lines separating pixels (or subpixels) become visible in the displayed image. This can be seen in digital projector images and regular displays under magnification or a ...
, where the gaps between rows and columns of
pixel
In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device.
In most digital display devices, pixels are the smal ...
s become visible, kind of like looking through a
screen door
A screen door can refer to a hinged storm door (cold climates) or hinged screen door (warm climates) covering an exterior door, or a screened sliding door used with sliding glass doors. In any case, the screen door incorporates screen mesh to blo ...
. This was especially noticeable in earlier prototypes and development kits,
which had lower
resolution
Resolution(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate
* Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body
* New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual mak ...
s than the retail versions.
Lenses
![Sample_screen_capture_of_Oculus_rift_development_kit_2_screen_buffer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Sample_screen_capture_of_Oculus_rift_development_kit_2_screen_buffer.jpg)
The
lenses
A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...
of the headset are responsible for mapping the up-close display to a wide field of view,
while also providing a more comfortable distant point of
focus
Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to:
Arts
* Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film
*''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore
* ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...
. One challenge with this is providing consistency of focus: because eyes are free to turn within the headset, it is important to avoid having to refocus to prevent
eye strain
Eye strain, also known as asthenopia (from Greek ''a-sthen-opia'', grc, ἀσθενωπία, ), is a common eye condition that manifests through non-specific symptoms such as fatigue, pain in or around the eyes, blurred vision, headache, and ...
.
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships."
The design allows the c ...
es are commonly used in virtual reality headsets due to their compactness and lightweight structure.
The lenses do not use multiple pieces of material in their lenses like other lenses, but the lens will be broken down into sections, allowing the individual to have a wider range of view. The issue seen with the lens consists of seeing the ridges of the lenses when the headset is not properly aligned on the head.
The lenses introduce
distortion
In signal processing, distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of a signal. In communications and electronics it means the alteration of the waveform of an information-bearing signal, such as an audio signal ...
and
chromatic aberration
In optics, chromatic aberration (CA), also called chromatic distortion and spherochromatism, is a failure of a lens to focus all colors to the same point. It is caused by dispersion: the refractive index of the lens elements varies with the wave ...
, which are typically corrected in
software
Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work.
At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...
.
The lenses can also be adjusted dynamically to account for a user's eyeglass prescription so that the user can use the headset without corrective eyeglasses.
Controllers
Motion capture was used by
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
's
Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
game console by having the player use a controller to interact with the game of their choice, often being sports games. Soon after the release of Nintendo's Wii,
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
's
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
received a full body reading system called
Kinect
Kinect is a line of motion sensing input devices produced by Microsoft and first released in 2010. The devices generally contain RGB cameras, and infrared projectors and detectors that map depth through either structured light or time of flig ...
compatible with
Valve's modding system. Later, Sony released a similar motion capture device for their
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
named the
PlayStation Move
is a motion game controller developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Initially released in 2010 for use with the PlayStation 3 home video game console, its compatibility was later expanded to its successor, the PlayStation 4 in 2013, its Pla ...
. These gaming devices use motion capture to control
avatars
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance ...
within a game, where the player's movements are copied by the avatar to complete the game. This means that the player is not truly engaged in the virtual reality world.
Uses in various fields
Medical training and Diagnostics
Virtual reality headsets are being currently used as a means to train medical students for
surgery
Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...
. It allows them to perform essential procedures in a virtual, controlled environment. Students perform surgeries on virtual patients, which allows them to acquire the skills needed to perform surgeries on real patients. It also allows the students to revisit the surgeries from the perspective of the lead
surgeon
In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...
.
Traditionally, students had to participate in surgeries and often they would miss essential parts. Now, with the use of VR headsets, students can watch surgical procedures from the perspective of the lead surgeon without missing essential parts. Students can also pause, rewind, and fast forward surgeries. They also can perfect their techniques in a real-time simulation in a risk-free environment.
Besides for training purposes, augmented reality headsets are also already being used for
image-guided surgery Image-guided surgery (IGS) is any surgical procedure where the surgeon uses tracked surgical instruments in conjunction with preoperative or intraoperative images in order to directly or indirectly guide the procedure. Image guided surgery systems u ...
.
Recently vitrtual headset mounted Iphone has been used to capture high quality videos and images of retina. https://www.e-tjo.org/text.asp?0/0/0/0/355559
Military training
Virtual reality headsets have been used by the
United States Armed Forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
. It is a particularly useful tool for training military personnel without putting them in harm's way.
The virtual reality headset allows the military personnel to interact with virtual reality people to make it feel real. They can talk to one another and do varying actions to make the virtual reality world feel like they are actually in that situation. There are also disadvantages and advantages when military personnel use the headset. The disadvantage is the headset is made for an indoor area, with a cool environment, and away from any heat, so when military personnel has just the headset on, no military equipment, it is not like their basic training. The advantages consist of repeating the situations multiple times and the cost of having the headset is less, due to no military equipment being needed.
Criticism
Virtual reality headsets have been linked to rising cases of
rash
A rash is a change of the human skin which affects its color, appearance, or texture.
A rash may be localized in one part of the body, or affect all the skin. Rashes may cause the skin to change color, itch, become warm, bumpy, chapped, dry, cr ...
es,
swelling,
burning
Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combusti ...
,
itch
Itch (also known as pruritus) is a sensation that causes the desire or reflex to scratch. Itch has resisted many attempts to be classified as any one type of sensory experience. Itch has many similarities to pain, and while both are unpleasant ...
ing,
hives
Hives, also known as urticaria, is a kind of skin rash with red, raised, itchy bumps. Hives may burn or sting. The patches of rash may appear on different body parts, with variable duration from minutes to days, and does not leave any long-lasti ...
, and bumps.
On 27 July 2021, the
US Consumer Product Safety Commission
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC, CPSC, or commission) is an independent agency of the United States government. The CPSC seeks to promote the safety of consumer products by addressing “unreasonable risks” of inj ...
(CPSC) and
Health Canada
Health Canada (HC; french: Santé Canada, SC)Health Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Health (). is the Structure of the Canadian federal government#Departments, with subsidiary unit ...
have coordinated a recall of Facebook's
Oculus Quest 2
Meta Quest 2 (initially sold as Oculus Quest 2) is a virtual reality (VR) headset developed by Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook, Inc.). It was unveiled on September 16, 2020 and released on October 13.
As with its predecessor, the Oculus Que ...
after 5,716 reports of facial skin irritation were reported with 45 cases requiring medical attention. Despite complaints issued by consumers such as swollen
painful itchy eyes being reported as early as October 2020, the recall only occurred in July 2021.
Facebook did not halt Oculus sales immediately citing data that only "0.01% of people using Quest 2" had serious allergic reactions and
dermatological
Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medical ...
and
toxicological
Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating expos ...
reports came out negative for contaminants that could be causing the swollen painful rashes upon skin contact. Facebook doesn't know the origin of this reaction and instead they sent a free silicone cover to cover the allergic user's faces.
Over four million Oculus head sets have been recalled.
Facebook's VR headsets also was banned from Germany in September 2020 after it faced criticism from the German Federal Cartel Office (
Bundeskartellamt) for requiring its users to have valid Facebook accounts before covering their head with the Oculus. Germany has one of the world's leading antitrust agencies and Facebook's ruling raised concerns of regulation and antitrust monopolies.
See also
*
Augmented reality headset
Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...
*
List of virtual reality headsets
This is a list of virtual reality headsets, which are head-mounted displays used to present virtual reality environments.
There are two primary categories of VR devices:
* Standalone devices that have all necessary components to provide virtual ...
References
External links
{{Sim racing
Computer peripherals
American inventions
1994 introductions