Use your photo studio to do virtual reality (2/2)

The concept of virtual reality was implicitly outlined by René Descartes who, in his Discourse on the Method, evoked the hypothesis that the testimonies of his senses could be nothing but a series of illusions.

Virtual reality: Sensorama, ancestor of Oculus

Closer to home, the first virtual reality (VR) experiences were born with computing, more precisely in 1962. Date when Sensorama, the ancestor of Oculus, was released. This device made it possible to be immersed visually and aurally in a real scene filmed beforehand.

Since then, VR has found its way into all industries, from production workshops to video game glasses. In which areas did it establish itself the most quickly?

Oculus (pictured) is a Descendant of Sensorama

Navigating human tissue

Now, using a visualization technique called “virtual nano-scopy,” cell biologists can navigate biological tissue. They can also zoom in on a portion of these tissues at the subcellular level.

Researchers at the University of Leiden Medical Center in the Netherlands developed this technique. They assembled thousands of images provided by electron microscopes. From these images, they obtained unique high-resolution ones.

Thanks to the zebrafish embryo, a fully formed vertebrate organism that is small enough to be examined under an electron microscope, scientists were able to experiment with this technique. This is done by taking panoramic shots and zooming in on more than 26,000 images of the embryo (1.5 mm long). All with a resolution of 16 million pixels per inch.

The magic mirror Virtual Reality version

The e-commerce perspective is different but increasingly borrows from this precision. Buying online requires a lot of imagination to project yourself into the clothes you want to acquire. “Magic Mirror” allows this online visualization thanks to an avatar in 3D. It was created on the basis of digitized real individuals, on which the buyer adjusts his own measurements.

Les physical shops can also benefit from the advantages of this “magic mirror” in the same way as e-shops. So, customers save time by trying out the raiment virtually in front of an LCD screen, even if they are not in physical stock.

An evolution over 20 years

An evolution Twenty years ago, to take advantage of VR, you had to put on a huge helmet over your head. A helmet to enter a pixelated semi-3D world. This world gives video game enthusiasts an immersive experience, without meeting their expectations.

Since 2013, some of the most influential companies in the world have invested in VR. They triggered A wave of interest for these technologies. Wave that has also affected their possible applications in fields such as video games or even education.

Social networks are starting

In March 2014, Facebook initiated this tidal wave by buying Oculus VR for $2 billion, a California-based company. This company is behind Oculus Rift, a VR headset. Its distribution is limited to video game designers and movie studios. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, then described his vision. For example, he wanted VR to make it possible “to watch a tennis match from the stands, to study in class with students and a teacher, or to see a doctor, just by putting on glasses from home.”

A few days later, Sony presented a competing headset, Project Morpheus, an expansion for the Playstation 4. And Samsung is working on its own VR headset, “Gear VR.” Many companies and start-ups also want to have their share of the immersive VR market.

Samsung Gear VR headset

When is VR going to change our behaviors?

AppliedVR works on a range of applications related to behavior change and interacts with organizations about applications for the health, wellness and medicine.

For example, the international insurance and risk management company Travelers Insurance is developing an industrial safety solution to reduce factory accidents. “One reason this solution has potential is that it can break the laws of physics,” explains D. Sackman.

“Using VR, you can go around a warehouse, identify risk areas and help colleagues. This increases empathy, sensitivity, and team spirit, and reduces the number of potential accidents. The use of this technology is changing the way we think about safety in the workplace.”

New horizons of use

For David Sackman, the company's CEO, behavioral therapy is one of the areas where VR will be most beneficial. “We use VR to deepen our understanding of the subconscious and emotions in a variety of contexts,” he explains. “Beyond gaming, it's the field of behavior change that can benefit the most from this technology.”

In addition, virtual reality is being tested in hospitals to allow pre-admission patients to virtually visit treatment rooms. This approach makes it possible to prepare patients for surgery, by introducing them to the operating room, the resuscitation room and the rooms, which can reduce the stress associated with the fear of the unknown.

The VR playground

Games, medicine, education, construction, construction, mass distribution or even mechanical industries, VR will interfere in all our fields of activity.

The “construction of “new worlds” of VR allows humans to broaden their horizons or to plunge them into the infinitely small. The best known applications are video games that provide a unique user experience.

Mobile phones and virtual reality

In retail, the hustle and bustle is at its peak, and traditional retailers are competing in ingenuity to allow us to consume thanks to VR. As part of a partnership, eBay and Myer are now offering 15,000 “shopticles” for free. The system is based on a mobile phone that fits into glasses and allows users to navigate through the Myer product gallery. Purchases can be made through eBay.

Soon, we'll just as easily be able to slide a lens sold by Amazon over our pupil, command Siri to show us the new Vuitton bag collection and type our bank code on a PayPal virtual keyboard. We will then have the opportunity to see thousands of articles scroll before your eyes.

Only the leather on our sofa will be real, and “Vente-Privée” will have become an endless shopping mall, available at the blink of an eye.

In summary:

• VR has found its way into all industries, from production workshops to video game glasses.
• VR performance makes it possible to reach a resolution of 16 million pixels per inch.
• Physical stores can also benefit from the advantages of VR.
• VR is going to change our behaviors.
• VR is going to interfere in all our areas of activity.

• The first part of our article on Virtual reality.
• The importance of visuals for e-commerce
• Photo tips: framing and composition
• The four fundamentals for reduce cart abandonment
• PackshotCreator User Stories
• Interview with founding by PackshotCreator

• Our solutions for 3D at the Photokina show