This year, virtual reality will finally come of age. The headsets won’t just be worn by gamers: this revolutionary technology is set to change everything. From booking a holiday to visiting the doctor, our lives are about to get a whole lot more virtual...
HOW VR WILL CHANGE… ENTERTAINMENT
Device makers are queuing up to produce VR headsets, principally for gaming. The frontrunner is Oculus Rift, which will go on sale in spring 2016. It attaches to a computer’s USB slot, and comes with wireless Oculus Touch controllers to track hand movements. It works with Xbox One, while a competitor, PlayStation VR, will soon be launched, too. Other high-tech headsets include HTC Vive, Avegant Glyph, Samsung Gear VR and the Microsoft HoloLens. On the simpler side, the Google Cardboard supports a smartphone in front of your eyes. After all, modern phones broadly contain the same tech used by VR headsets. Cue VR apps for phones that are accessible to all.
However, VR is not just about gaming. “Films, sporting fixtures, gigs and events will be so much more immersive…the next best thing to actually being there,” says David Haynes, a specialist in 3D mapping and VR. Oculus is owned by Facebook, which bought it for $2bn in 2014. But why did Facebook want it?
“Manchester United selling the best seat in the house to every one of its supporters around the world, who could watch at home as if they were inside Old Trafford, would be worth significantly more to them than the current TV deals,” says Haynes. Will we one day watch TV only on VR headsets? Think tigers stalking your sofa, film sets you can walk around and having a front row seat to a live music concert.
This story is from the April 2016 edition of BBC Knowledge (Asia Edition).
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 2016 edition of BBC Knowledge (Asia Edition).
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
World's First Malaria Vaccine
The World Health Organization’s director-general hails ‘historic moment’ as mass immunisation of African children begins
Is River Pollution Putting The Species In Jeopardy Again?
Ten years ago, it was jubilantly announced that o ers had returned to every county in England. But is river pollution putting the species in jeopardy again?
The Big Burnout
Long hours, low pay and a lack of appreciation — among other things — can make for a stressful workplace and lead to burnout. It’s something we should all be concerned about, because over half of the workforce reports feeling it
Putting Nature To Rights
More countries are enshrining the right to a clean environment into law. So if a company or government is impinging upon that right, you could take them to court
Mega Spaceship: Is It Possible For China To Build A Kilometre-Long Spacecraft?
Buoyed on by its successful Moon missions, China has launched a five-year study to investigate the possibility of building the biggest-ever spacecraft
Are We Getting Happier?
Enjoying more good days than bad? Feel like that bounce in your step’s getting bigger? HELEN RUSSELL looks into whether we’re all feeling more cheery…
“Unless the Japanese got the US off their backs in the Pacific, they believed they would face complete destruction”
Eighty years ago Japan’s surprise raid on Pearl Harbor forced the US offthe fence and into the Second World War. Ellie Cawthorne is making a new HistoryExtra podcast series about the attack, and she spoke to Christopher Harding about the long roots of Japan’s disastrous decision
Your Mysterious Brain
Science has mapped the surface of Mars and translated the code for life. By comparison, we know next to nothing about what’s between our ears. Over the next few pages, we ask leading scientists to answer some of the most important questions about our brains…
Why Do We Fall In Love?
Is it companionship, procreation or something more? DR ANNA MACHIN reveals what makes us so willing to become targets for Cupid’s arrow
Detecting the dead
Following personal tragedy, the creator of that most rational of literary figures, Sherlock Holmes, developed an obsession with spiritualism. Fiona Snailham and Anna Maria Barry explore the supernatural interests of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
