Choices of Headsets

The market is currently saturated with many different Headset, that fit in just as many different budgets as the computer "Rig" itself.

Depending on the type of environment that you wish to project for the user, a display with different degrees of tracking precision, more or less pixels, and a wider or narrower Field of View can be chosen.

The three main headsets that we saw earlier are the Vive, Rift, and the brand new PiMax.

Essential components of the VR set-up

One of the first major hurdles will be to build the computer, or "Rig" that is used to power the demanding VR headset.

These high-tech displays require an enormous amount of graphical power to display properly, and more importantly at refresh rates that will not make the users feel dizzy or sick. To do so you will first need to pick out a CPU & a GPU

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

This is the brain of your Rig. It is the part that controls and oversees all the operations of your computer

It is highly recommended to utilize an i5 6600K, which will be able to generate enough fps to reduce the motion sickness which is caused by a stuttering image, as well as the unusual feeling one’s body must get acclimated to, due to moving in a manner that the brain interprets as disembodied.

Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)

This is the muscle of your Rig. It is the part which powers the images being displayed in your headset and on any monitor connected to your computer

Currently there are several models, and several more iterations of these, among which to choose from. The top choice which would be recommended is any of the several models of Nvidia GTX 1080Ti. This card come with many ports to which the VR headset can be attached.

What I Envision
for the Future

My ultimate goal is to hope that in the not too distant future VR is accepted as a valuable tool for any language learning setting. By showcasing that a more authentic setting can dramatically increase both learner motivation, and acquisition of language, then it should only be a matter of time before the true potential of these devices shines through. One day, every classroom will be equipped with some variation of a VR headset, and allow students to immerse themselves in worlds that they are free to explore while learning.

Here is a quick
preview of what the game looks like

Click to Play

Job Simulator puts you in the role of a brand new employee in a museum dedicated to old human jobs.

Pixel Density

The Vive and Rift have very little difference in terms of their screen resolution. They both use OLED technology, and have an approximate resolution of 2K (2160x1200).


They were forced to operate at reduced resolutions to attempt to run at a full 90 HZ (i.e. 90 pictures projected per second) to reduce the motion sickness that is felt by a majority of VR users, if they play for several uninterrupted hours. However, the PiMax boast close to twice that resolution, and is upscaled to twice that, meaning the final result is a close approximation of 8K, and users have reported that this completely resolves the “SDE” issue on the lower resolution headsets.

Tracking

Both the Vive and Rift share similar stats for their lenses, but they differ in one main area, the tracking technology. The Vive relies on two separate tracker boxes, which work by sending thousands of laser beams in all directions, and together they can coordinate the exact position of the headset and controllers.


This process has been named “Room scale”, as it in effect scales out the room to determine the play area. The precision is so good, that there are many demonstrations of people juggling with real world objects, while wearing the headset over their eyes, and “seeing” the virtual representation of said juggled object. The Rift, which was initially launched as a “sitting down” experience, has had a hard time selling the idea that Roomscale isn’t one of the greatest things about VR. The Rift is based on a single tracker, resulting in a lot of complaints about losing tracking, and being made disoriented, by the system trying to figure out where everything is situated.

Field Of View

The Vive and Rift share similar specifications for their lenses, and so have a similar 90 degree FOV, but the brand new PiMax has recently hit the market, and is an improvement over the other two in one other key area: Field Of View (FOV).


One downside to the amazing technological advances in VR was that fact that the screen area was so small that users reported that it felt like they were looking at the VR World through binoculars. The PiMax claims to fix this by using two comparatively massive screens for each eye, that opens up your view, and gets rid of “Binocular Effect” that hindered a full enjoyment of the VR experience, up until now.

Crafting
Our Experiences

VR gives us the opportunity to explore the world, what will you do with such an opportunity? Where would you go ? How High would you fly ?

Vanessa: Why don't you just fly everywhere? Isn't it faster?

Barry B. Benson: Flying is exhausting. Why don't you humans just run everywhere, isn't that faster?

-Bee Movie.

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