I don’t like dreams or reality. I like when dreams become reality because that is my life
Jean Paul Gaultier
The History of the Future of Computing
It’s 2016. Soon, humans will be able to live in a world in which dreams can become part of everyday reality, all thanks to the reemergence and slow popularization of a class of technology that purports to challenge the way that we understand what is real and what is not. There are three distinct variants of this type of technological marvel: virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality. So it would be helpful to try to lay out the key differences.
Virtual Reality
The way to think of virtual reality (VR) (Figure 1-1) is as a medium that is 100% simulated and immersive. It’s a technology that emerged back in the 1950s with the “Sword of Damocles,” and is now back in the popular pschye after some false starts in the early 1990s. This reemergence is predominantly down to a single company—Oculus—and its Rift Developer Kit 1 (DK1) headset that successfully kick started (literally) the entire modern VR movement (Figure 1-2). Now, in 2016, there are many companies investing in the space, such as HTC, Samsung, LG, Sony, and many more, and with this, a raft of dedicated startups and investment that has only served to fuel interest. VR will likely become the optimal way that one experiences games and entertainment over the next decade or so.
Figure 1-1. Virtual reality—everything you see ...
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