The application status of virtual reality technology - Dr. Liu Yun

2021-01-22

Virtual Reality (VR) technology is a kind of computer simulation technology, it can generate a simulated environment, users can be immersed in the environment, there is a feeling of immersive. Virtual reality technology is multi-sensory, users can not only have visual experience, but also auditory, touch, smell and other aspects of the perception. In the virtual environment, users can freely control the virtual objects and obtain corresponding feedback from the environment.

The realization of virtual reality system is to use the computer to render and process the image, and then use the CPU/GPU to achieve the graphical output of the application, and display the output graphic data to the user through the display terminal. In addition, various sensors need to be added to recognize the user's eye position, gestures and so on. In a virtual reality system, the user's eyes are presented with an odd number of frames and an even number of frames, and the difference in the images creates a three-dimensional sensation for the user. Stereo is to adjust the volume of the left and right channels so that the user has an immersive effect. So far, virtual reality technology has been used in medicine, education, entertainment and other fields.

1. Medical

In the practice of medical field, virtual human model can be established through virtual reality technology. Medical students can not only understand the structure of human body more intuitively, but also carry out surgery practice on virtual human body. In a realistic virtual reality system, some operations that cannot be repeated in reality can be repeated to get rid of the constraints of specimens and other factors and greatly reduce the experimental cost. For a surgeon, when faced with more complex cases, the risk of surgery is larger, if you can through the virtual reality technology, modeling of the patient's surgical site on, the surgeon can be repeated surgery simulation before the surgery, so as to reduce the risk of surgery, and improve the success rate of surgery.

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Figure 1. Virtual reality medical technology

2. Education

In the field of education, virtual reality technology can be used to generate virtual training bases. Generate new equipment and scenes at any time according to the requirements of the teaching content. Because virtual reality has the characteristics of immersion and man-machine interaction, students can devote themselves to the training. Students can practice skills repeatedly until they master them, such as car driving skills, combat skills, instrument maintenance skills and so on. Virtual reality technology can also be applied in the virtual campus, in the virtual environment to establish a more complete function of the three-dimensional visual classroom, as a distance education platform. Compared with ordinary online education, the classroom created by virtual reality technology can make students feel more serious in class and improve their concentration.

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Figure 2 User experiencing driving simulation technology

3. The entertainment

With the continuous iteration and upgrading of PC hardware, the quality of computer games is also constantly rising, and game manufacturers are trying to give users a more realistic experience. At present, virtual reality technology in the game market more and more attention. Electronic games have been developing towards 3D games since they came into being. The games using virtual reality technology will bring users immersive experience and make them have immersive sense of reality. The virtual environment created by virtual reality technology can bring new travel experience to users. People's life in the past and the world in the future can be simulated in the virtual environment. People can enjoy the beautiful scenery such as the vast snow-capped mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the seaside of Hawaii without leaving home. In addition, some inconvenient collections in the museum can also be displayed to visitors by using virtual reality technology, providing visitors with the opportunity to view cultural relics at close range. "Zero Point" is the first film to be shot using virtual reality. Viewers watch the film through a virtual reality headset display, which gives viewers a 360-degree view, making it more immersive than a 3D film. In addition, the use of virtual reality technology can also enable users to experience the live atmosphere of football matches and concerts without leaving home.

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Figure 3. Users experiencing VR shooting games

4. Other applications

The traditional emergency rehearsal needs a lot of manpower, material and financial input, and the cost is very high. The virtual reality technology simulates the accident site can reduce the waste of resources, do not cause injuries, can be repeated drills, so as to improve the user's disaster response ability. In addition, in the construction field, virtual reality technology also has its place. Using virtual reality technology, designers can more visually see their work during the design process, so that they can make more accurate modifications.

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Figure 4 Fire extinguishing exercises using VR technology

At present, the development of virtual reality technology still faces many challenges. The existing technology can not fully integrate users into the virtual environment, many virtual devices need to be connected to the computer through cables, which greatly limits the range of activities of users; Virtual reality devices are mostly tracked through the head, and lack of tracking of other parts of the body, so many actions cannot be simulated in the virtual environment. In the use of the camera in the virtual reality scene, the movement of the camera brings different focus, which will make the user feel dizzy and easy to produce a sense of fatigue. However, with the continuous upgrading of hardware, virtual reality technology will be more and more perfect, and will gradually integrate into People's Daily life.