Learning Virtual Reality

Chapter 1. Introduction

Virtual reality is a medium with tremendous potential. The ability to be transported to other places, to be fully immersed in experiences, and to feel like you’re really there—present—opens up previously unimagined ways to interact and communicate. Until recently, virtual reality was out of reach for the average consumer due to cost and other factors. However, advances in the technology over the last few years have set the stage for a mass-market revolution that could be as influential as the introduction of television, the Internet, or the smartphone.

Virtual reality—VR for short—comprises a collection of technologies: 3D displays, motion tracking hardware,  input devices,  software frameworks, and development tools.  While consumer-grade VR hardware is young and evolving, a handful of platforms have emerged as go-to choices, including the Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, and Google Cardboard. Each delivers a different level of VR experience, at a different price point, with varying degrees of in-your-hands portability.

Software to create and display consumer virtual reality is also coming together rapidly. The Unity3D and Unreal game engines, popular for making desktop and mobile games, have become tools of choice for native VR development. And the Web is not far behind: WebGL and 3D JavaScript frameworks like Three.js and Babylon.js are providing a path for creating open source, browser-based virtual reality experiences for desktop and mobile operating ...