Virtual Reality Equipment
VR headsets display computer-generated images and video to the user’s eyes. Some are tethered to gaming PCs for high-quality VR experiences; others are wireless.
Fully immersive VR immerses the user in a virtual 3D world with vision, sound and touch (or smell). It requires a headset and external hardware that tracks movement and position.
Headsets
The most important piece of VR equipment is the headset, a pair of goggles that sit over the user’s eyes. While some headsets are tethered to a computer to run games and apps, others are stand-alone units. Tethered headsets typically offer higher-resolution displays and more processing power, but are also harder to set up and more expensive.
A key feature of any VR headset is its immersion, which is largely determined by its field of view (FOV). The wider the FOV, the more realistic the virtual world appears. Another critical factor is latency, which refers to the delay between a user input, such as a gesture or head movement, and the response on the headset display. The lower the latency, the more comfortable and immersive the experience.
Lastly, headsets should be light and easy to use. If a headset is too heavy it will become uncomfortable after long periods of wear, and the weight can also cause nausea or motion sickness. The Meta Quest 2, for example, is virtual reality equipment one of the lightest headsets available and also includes a pair of lightweight controllers that make it easy to use.
Computers
VR equipment uses a powerful computer to generate and display 3D environments on a screen that mimic the user’s natural field of view. The computer also generates the sounds a person hears, and the audio must sync up with the user’s movement to create a realistic immersive experience.
Virtual reality has many applications that go beyond gaming. It is used to support sales, facilitate learning, simulate travel and communicate with colleagues remotely. It has also found its way into medicine, engineering, manufacturing and design. In addition, it is being embraced by the arts and tourism industries to bring awe-inspiring destinations like Machu Picchu or the Louvre into people’s homes.
Unlike standard monitors and phones, VR devices use a system called head-mounted displays (HMD) to track a user’s body movements. They are also tethered to a computer that processes and delivers the digital images to the HMD in real time. The computer must have a high frame rate and competitive latency to deliver a smooth VR experience.
HMDs also include sensors that detect the light reflected by the eyes. These sensors are combined with the skeletal tracker to synchronize and deliver the digital image to the brain. These sensors are used along with input trackers such as sensor-equipped gloves, joysticks and treadmills to provide user interaction. This helps to provide the sensation of immersion by triggering the body’s natural senses and emotions.
Sensors
Sensors are the heart of VR systems, converting input into signals that can be processed. They typically include components like photodiodes, amplifiers, and circuitry to transform and transmit data. They are often classified as active (which require an excitation or power signal to work) and passive (which work without any external signal).
There are several different kinds of sensors, but they all have the same basic functionality: they take in a physical input, turn it into an electric current, and then measure the amount of change in that current. Input signals may be a voltage, light, heat, or pressure. The more sensitivity a sensor has, the more precise its measurement will be.
The type of sensors used in a VR system will depend on the intended experience. For example, a headset that supports roomscale tracking will use base stations with sensors positioned around your play area. This is a more expensive and complex solution than inside-out tracking, which uses sensors on the headset itself.
Inside-out tracking is more popular because it provides a more responsive experience. It’s also less prone to drift over time, which can cause inaccurate readings. This is because the sensors are constantly analyzing their virtual reality equipment environment to detect changes in head position and hand movement. They can also identify obstacles and adjust their display to correct for parallax, making the virtual environment more realistic.
Controllers
A VR controller is a key piece of virtual reality equipment that allows you to interact with the environment. It typically has a touchpad, buttons, and triggers to simulate motion in the virtual world. Some include haptic feedback, which feels like the physical sensation of touching an object. The design of the controller can vary from one system to the next, but most are designed to be as intuitive as possible so that you can start playing quickly and easily.
There are two main types of controllers used with VR: motion controllers and game controllers. Motion controllers use sensors like accelerometers and gyroscopes to detect movement and orientation. They are often bundled with a joystick or other input options for gaming and interactive experiences. Game controllers are shaped like a traditional console gamepad and can be paired with PC VR headsets to offer more immersive gameplay.
Some VR systems offer a controller-less option such as the Leap Motion, which lets you control the computer by waving your hands. This technology is still in its early stages, however, and it’s likely that VR will require some kind of controller at least for the foreseeable future. Various companies are also working on technology that would enable users to control their VR environments with their feet using foot-tracking and haptic feedback.