Virtual, augmented, and mixed reality - what are we talking about? Video games, apps, marketing tools... New virtual simulation technologies are on everyone's lips today, and their applications seem to know no boundaries. And yet, when it comes to the distinction between virtual, augmented, and mixed reality, well... let's be honest, we're not so sure about that question.
From training sessions for medical students to eye diagnostics for patients, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) glasses are no longer a rarity in medicine. Health authorities are increasingly giving the go-ahead for various new application areas for the glasses, and investors are also showing interest in the new market. Between 2021 and 2026, it is expected to grow by 35% annually and thus swell to more than US$40 billion by the end of this period. But to what extent can VR glasses be used in medicine?
Virtual reality is already being used in many industries. VR technology makes it possible to simulate surgeries and virtually work with patients' fears. More and more new applications are finding VR and AR in medicine, and we can look forward to how they will affect our healthcare system in the future. Could virtual reality revolutionize medicine? Will our visit to the doctor or hospital stay look completely different shortly than today?
Mark Zuckerberg's vision of the Metaverse should get around: People should therefore now be able to try out the hardware for it in classic stores to get a taste for it. The first "meta store" will soon open in California. Facebook was the past, the Metaverse is the present - that's Mark Zuckerberg's plan. That's one of the reasons why he renamed his company from Facebook Inc. to Meta last fall. His plan puts everything on one card and is even getting his employees pretty riled up. The report in Business Insider says the CEO is literally obsessed with the idea of his Metaverse and its realization.
Sony recently filed a patent for technology used in the PlayStation VR2 system. The new technology combines gaze tracking and machine learning. It could revolutionize VR gaming. Is this gaze-tracking technology the future of virtual reality? The PlayStation VR2 is a virtual reality project from Sony. It is a virtual reality headset that Sony believes should usher in the next generation of virtual reality. A patent describing the new technology used in VR2 is now pending.
Immersive virtual reality devices have existed for a long time. Still, their application was mainly limited to the gaming sector throughout most of their history. Virtual reality (VR) and its even more breathtaking alternative, augmented reality (AR), have slowly made their way into the medical field for several years. But only 2021 made a breakthrough and released a flood of AR and VR into the sector.
These improvements will allow hand movements to be tracked without a controller. The new concept of using computer vision and machine learning will allegedly improve the accuracy of recognizing overlapping or moving hands and certain gestures. Meta was the first company to introduce the controller's hand tracking feature in its original Quest in late 2019, which remained a "pilot" option until late 2020. Developers began allowing the new feature to be used in their apps.
Innovative developments and scientific solutions are constantly providing us with more and more opportunities to creatively shape a new dynamic form of business and transform existing ones. VR technologies are not just influencing the shaping of an industry or a research field. They can affect all spheres of modern society, from medicine to spaceflight.