Oculus Rift

Oculus Rift

An Oculus Rift is a head-mounted display manufactured by Oculus VR. It is a specially designed virtual reality display that makes use of state-of-the-art display systems, optics and refresh rates to provide a high level of visual fidelity and an immersive, wide field of view. It has an advanced display technology combined with a low latency tracking system to give a lifelike experience to the wearer.

How does it work?

The Rift has two Pentile OLED displays, 1080×1200 resolution per eye, a 90 Hz refresh rate, and 110° field of view.It has integrated headphones that provide a 3D audio effect and rotational and positional tracking. The positional tracking system, called "Constellation", is performed by a USB stationary infrared sensor that picks up light that is emitted by IR LEDs that are integrated into the head-mounted display. The sensor normally sits on the user's desk. This creates 3D space, allowing for the user to use the Rift while sitting, standing, walking, or even jumping around the same room

Advantages Of Oculus Rift

1. One Size Doesn’t Fit All

One of the important things to remember with virtual reality is that, although this technology may be more expensive than traditional eLearning, there are plenty of different options to suit the budget of organizations who are determined to embrace virtual reality. The Google Cardboard headset costs £15 each, whilst the more advanced headsets such as Oculus Rift are on the market for around £500. Of course the smartphone purchase must also be taking into consideration but, depending on the size of your organization and how you wish you carry out the learning experience, there is likely to be an option to fit your budget.

2. Immersive Learning

In the industry we constantly strive to create an engaging and exciting learning journey for employees. The nature of virtual reality means that this experience is probably one of the best examples of creating a fun and effective learning environment, which has shaken up the Learning and Development industry. In addition, research shows most of the population learn best kinaesthetically, meaning virtual reality is a great option for this type of learner.

3. We All Make Mistakes

One of the charming advantages of using virtual reality technology is that end-users can learn without worrying about making mistakes. Too often when completing eLearning in the workplace, employees can be conscious and pressurized to ensure they pass courses first-time. However, completing learning through a virtual reality headset creates a separate virtual entity for users, creating a safe environment where they can comfortably learn at their own pace.

Disadvantages of oculus rift

1. Integration

Currently, virtual reality technology seems to be a disconnected solution as it’s likely to be too costly implement all organizational learning into a 3D experience. Therefore, careful consideration would need to be taken to integrate virtual reality into the other learning that your organization offers – whether it’s eLearning on computers and mobile devices or offline training such as classroom activities. This is not impossible, but strategic thought is required to ensure the excitement of virtual reality doesn’t detract from the importance of other learning options.

2. Costly Investment

Despite there being a variety of headsets and phones to meet different budgets, there’s no denying that investing in virtual reality technology is going to be a costly choice; particularly organizations with large numbers of employees. This is likely to mean that organizations will decide on investing in small numbers of devices to share amongst employees. Although a seemingly cost-effective strategy, restricting the availability of resources limits the flexibility of employees are used to being able to access learning anytime, anyplace with mobile and tablet devices.

3. Breathing Space

It’s safe to say you won’t want to complete your virtual reality learning at your desk for the risk of bumping into colleagues and falling over office chairs. So employers will need to find a suitable space on the premises to allow users to have personal space to comfortably complete learning. This moves Learning and Development back towards traditional classroom training which eLearning was designed to move away from in the first place and restricts the freedom of the learner. What’s more, although most of the UK’s primary learning style is said to be kinaesthetic, not all learners share this and so may find other methods of learning more effective.

Conclusion:

The world of virtual reality technology is a fun and exciting one which throws up many alternative ways of learning for discussion. However, the current implementation and creation costs means that this option isn’t feasible for the majority of Learning and Development budgets in the UK. Still, most organizations in the eLearning industry are excited for the developments and look forward to seeing how it can contribute to Learning and Development in the future.

Applications of Oculus Rift:

Virtual tourism: When Google Street View debuted in 2007, it amazed everybody. It was the natural next step after satellite map technology, and the Oculus Rift will drive that evolution one step further. Rather than simple street views, imagine virtual recreations of entire Earth locations. Imagine being able to explore those locations in real-time down to the finest details.

Patient care: It can be a real pain for incapacitated or unstable patients to constantly travel back and forth to doctors and therapists. At first, the Oculus Rift could provide a way for doctors and patients to meet regularly for sessions, but as the tech advances, it could even allow for remote examinations.

Classrooms: While online courses are nothing new, they still have a long way to go before they’ll be seen as equal to live classrooms. The Oculus Rift might be the key to providing a “better” environment for remote learners. Combined with the aforementioned virtual tourism, classrooms could embark on high-tech field trips to foreign lands for a fraction of the cost.

Creative exploration: The Rift opens up dozens of new ways for children to explore creative education. Educational Minecraft is gaining ground as a viable teaching tool, currently utilized in 40+ countries. How much would the experience be improved if children were equipped with these devices and allowed to explore in true hands-on fashion?

Medicine: Modern surgery simulations are actually quite sophisticated already; in fact, they’re so sophisticated that the field doesn’t actually need a device like the Oculus Rift. However, the Rift’s price tag (~$350 USD) is extremely appealing, especially as a tool for showing student surgeons the perspective of a surgery-in-progress.

Military: Here’s another application for soldiers which hinges on an issue that’s been a hot topic for the past decade: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Treatment involves a complex mixture of counseling and therapy but the Oculus Rift has proven useful for accelerating the recovery process.

Architecture:  A lot of resources are expended when designing and prototyping buildings, but the Oculus Rift allows architects to build and explore their creations in a virtual environment without the need for any physical resources. As it turns out, this can be extremely convenient.

Modeling: Virtual sculpting is another way in which the Rift provides an outlet for creative exploration. As the above video shows, the virtual environment allows for a unique approach to 3D modeling, which has implications for digital art (though it probably won’t catch on until precision and workflow are improved).