book

Virtual reality (VR) technology is evolving rapidly, making it undesirable to define VR in terms of specific devices that may fall out of favor in a year or two. In this book, we are concerned with fundamental principles that are less sensitive to particular technologies and therefore survive the test of time.

The current generation of VR systems was brought about by advances in display, sensing, and computing technology from the smartphone industry. From Palmer Luckey’s 2012 Oculus Rift design to building a viewing case for smart phones [122,243,311], the world has quickly changed as VR headsets are mass produced and placed onto the heads of millions of people.

Staring at rectangles How did we arrive to VR as it exists today? We start with a history that predates what most people would consider to be VR, but includes many aspects crucial to VR that have been among us for tens of thousands of years.

Which headset is better? Which VR experience is more comfortable over a long period of time? How much field of view is enough? What is the most appropriate interaction mechanism? Engineers and developers want to know the answers to these kinds of questions; however, it should be clear at this point that these are difficult to answer because of the way that human physiology and perception operate and interact with engineered systems.

Our bodies were not designed for VR. By applying artificial stimulation to the senses, we are disrupting the operation of biological mechanisms that have taken hundreds of millions of years to evolve in a natural environment.