Image: Pixalbay
We are now in the middle of a technological revolution! There are a variety of gadgets and toys that are changing the way we approach the online world. From the search engine to the online casino space, immersion is the focus now. Creating a more immersive experience online seems to be in preparation for the transition into the virtual world. Immersion technology is evolving at a rapid rate. Breakthroughs in augmented and virtual reality are setting the stepping stones for a new online world.
It is extremely hard to keep up with the trends with so much immersive technology to track. It can get overwhelming while looking at omnidirectional treadmills to haptic technology and drone tech. Get all your toys in your own time; the focus here is how the online world is changing with immersion.
Contents
What’s The Whole Immersion Craze
The user experience is the most important factor with any online platform. When it comes to all the new technology we see, and some of us use to create newer levels of immersion, it is often forgotten that explanations for the differences between all the augmented, virtual and mixed reality technology are necessary. It is a fairly new booming industry in the tech world which means not everyone is as clued up.
The entire point of creating immersion in the online world is not as simple as making content come alive. The premise of allowing a person to travel to an alternate reality through immersion content is truly inspiring. This level of immersion is not as easily achieved in the online world because they have to factor in creating an entirely virtual environment worthy of getting lost in, whereas the movie industry relies on the environment set by their sound, shot choice, actors standard and then finally but most importantly the location where their content is viewed.
The cinema is their ideal location with the low lights, gigantic screen, and loud surround sound that is perfect for movie sound. The virtual world has to work from the ground up, with their users often having devices at home which is to their disadvantage. When a user is at home, it is far harder to take them away from reality, completely creating an immersive experience. It is not considered being fully immersed if you are aware of your true surroundings.
Virtual Reality
This scene is probably the most known technology when immersion is brought up. Virtual reality is most commonly found with wearable gaming consoles that are mainly head-mounted devices that have headphones built-in for a more natural experience. Another popular way of enjoying virtual reality today is with the use of smartphone virtual reality boxes that turn your phone’s screen into a head-mounted virtual reality device capable of enjoying content shot with a 360-degree camera.
YouTube has a dedicated “VR” category where you can browse through countless 360- degree videos. There is also a lot of interactive virtual reality-based content you can now do more than just consume, as with the aid of virtual reality, you can now participate too! Of course, nothing new to the virtual reality gamers out there who have been participating in virtual reality for a couple of years now, but the participation factor is now being introduced into our applications that support virtual reality, further upping the user experience. Controllers are currently necessary to go about completing the more complex tasks. However, it does seem that in the future, this will no longer be needed.
Augmented Reality
This is the technology that brings the virtual world to the real one. This is an interesting way to create an immersive experience as it adds a layer to our own reality with artificial content. Using simply our smartphones, we are now able to benefit from augmented reality, from emulating tools like rulers to simply catching some Pokémon on the bus home from school. This technology is the one that immerses us deeper into our own reality creating vast opportunities in the business and medical world.
Unfortunately, the majority of us will spend time using technology to entertain ourselves. It is definitely worth your time to just check out what possibilities these new technologies can extend to you other than the virtual dinosaurs roaming and artificial toy cars driving around your living rooms getting stuck on the carpets. Try out a simple augmented reality tool that actually provides some use! There are even apps that can show you exactly what a piece of furniture or an appliance will look like in your home to its actual scale! Not only is this far more useful than the virtual pets and toy world, but you can save yourself money while having a lot of fun figuring out what to put on your Christmas list this year!
Mixed Reality
Image: Pixabay
In mixed reality, physical and digital objects coexist and interact in real-time in new environments and visualizations. Unlike virtual reality, mixed reality is not exclusively situated in either the physical or virtual world but combines both, which creates the ultimate immersion experience. Now we are getting to that Tony Stark tech, where you can play with graphs, view and interact with schematics, etc. This is the latest technology that will be transforming the online, industrial, and medical worlds. The mixed reality industry is a step towards the future as this is a level of immersion that was, until now, unattainable as the virtual world is finally spilling into the natural reality creating an immersive experience that users may not want to come out of.
Keep Ahead
It is so important that you stay up to date with the latest trends and inventions in all of these sectors. It may be pricey to enter now, but when these technologies become the new normal standard, it is guaranteed to become far more mainstream and accessible. Unfortunately, at this time, there are no real competitive prices, but we are hoping that will change soon!
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