5 Types Of Virtual Reality. Which One to Try? (+ Applications)

It’s human nature to seek solace in a fantasy world to avoid real-life problems. Throughout history, various forms of art, such as paintings, books, and videos, have provided us with an escape from reality.

Today we have entered an era where we can create our own reality, called virtual reality, with the help of technology. It allows us to create, experience, and interact with the digital world of our own design.

But not every virtual reality is the same. There are different types of virtual reality that have different immersion levels, applications, and pros and cons.

In this article, we will tell you about the five main kinds of virtual reality and how they are used in different fields. Let's get started.

What Is Virtual Reality?

Virtual reality is a computer-generated 3D realm where sensors create and control what you can see, hear, and touch. It is a broad domain that integrates computer technology with human sciences.

Virtual reality works by using computer models to create algorithms that produce interactive virtual environments. These environments are then displayed on a device, such as a headset or a screen that the user wears or looks at.

The device also has sensors that detect the user’s movements and adjust the view on the device accordingly. This gives the user the illusion of being there, also known as telepresence.

The way we collaborate, learn, get entertained, and conduct business is being rapidly reshaped by virtual reality technology. It is one of the emerging technologies with a market size anticipated to grow to a staggering $113 billion in the next 10 years.

Types of Virtual Reality

1. Non-immersive Virtual Reality

Non-immersive is the earliest and most widely used type of virtual reality. Almost all of us have experienced it, but we didn’t realize it’s a type of VR technology.

In non-immersive VR, users can only see and control specific character movements within the virtual world but are not immersed in it. Simply put, it’s like a window to the virtual world.

All traditional 2D games played on a computer and video game console offer a non-immersive virtual experience. They allow users to interact with the virtual environment by controlling the movements of their game characters.

You can participate in the virtual world but can’t experience anything happening out there. That’s why it’s called non-immersive VR.

Applications

1. Google Arts & Culture lets people virtually tour museums around the world with the help of non-immersive VR.
2. Non-immersive VR is used to guide injured people in exercising, thus helping in their recovery. The VR applications can also track the movements and progress of patients and provide them with feedback.
3. Real estate companies offer customers 360-degree tours of properties using non-immersive VR.

Pros

• Cheap and easy to use.
• Low risk of motion sickness, fatigue, and eye problems.
• Easily accessible to anyone with a computer or mobile phone.

Cons

• Lacks immersion, realism, and emotion compared to immersive VR.
• Can be affected by external factors, such as noise, light, or interruptions, that can disrupt the user’s experience.

2. Fully Immersive Virtual Reality

This is by far the most advanced and engaging form of VR, which cuts off users from their physical surroundings and immerses them fully in the digital world.

Fully immersive VR aims to stimulate as many human senses as possible to provide users with the most realistic virtual experience.

To experience this, special equipment, including head-mounted displays (HMDs), exoskeletons, gloves, and body sensors, are required.

The HMD screen typically displays a separate image for each eye to give the impression of 3D. External tracking systems are used to track the movements of users and replicate them in the virtual world.

An example of fully immersive VR is virtual gaming zones like Sandbox VR. They transport users to the virtual gaming world, where they have to play the game like they would be playing in the real world.

Applications

1. VR technology stands out as a powerful tool for learning and training.
   It is used to train surgeons, fire brigades, and military soldiers in an efficient, risk-free, and participatory learning environment.
2. It allows engineers to visualize and walk through their prototypes and designs in a digital environment before building them.
3. VR can simulate realistic audiences and environments for users to practice their public speaking and presentation skills.
4. Exposure therapy through fully-immersive VR allows patients to face their fears in a safe environment. It is used to treat phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder, OCD, and traumatic brain injuries.

Pros

• Offers a high immersion level, which leads to an engaging experience.
• Makes mundane tasks like exercising and language learning more engaging.
• Provides a safe and controlled environment for users to explore and interact with.
• Create scenarios that may be difficult or impossible to experience in the real world.

Cons

• Buying hardware like VR headsets and body sensors can be expensive for users.
• Overuse of fully immersive VR can lead to fatigue and motion sickness.
• Very little content is currently available for fully immersive VR experiences.

3. Semi-Immersive Virtual Reality

Semi-immersive VR is a blend of non-immersive VR and fully-immersive VR. It provides users with an enhanced experience of the 3D virtual world, but the interaction is strictly visual.

This means the users can see and move around in the 3D world, but they won’t be able to touch or feel anything physically.

To experience semi-immersive VR, a computer screen or a VR headset is used. The VR headset covers the user’s field of view and shows a 3D image that changes with the user’s head movement.

Semi-immersive VR can also use sound, smell, and vibration to make the virtual world more realistic, but physical interactions are limited.

Input devices, like handheld controllers, are typically used by the users to move around the virtual space and interact with virtual objects.

Applications

1. It is used in car and flight simulators to create an accurate virtual scenario of real-world problems that drivers face.
2. Research shows that it can help children with learning disorders improve their cognitive and problem-solving abilities.
3. Businesses like real estate, hotels, and resorts can attract more customers by allowing users to take a semi-immersive virtual tour.
4. Users can explore different locations, such as historic sites, through applications like Google Earth VR, which offer semi-immersive VR tours.

Pros

• The semi-immersive virtual reality system is easier to set up and maintain.
• It is cheaper and more accessible than fully-immersive VR.
• Safe to use as users are partially aware of their surroundings.
• Semi-immersive VR is among the best educational technologies for increasing attention and engagement in classrooms.

Cons

• The experience is strictly visual, so the users do not feel realistic interactions.
• Semi-immersive VR systems can have problems with multi-user applications.

4. Augmented Reality

Augmented reality is the technique of displaying digital objects in the real world to enhance one’s experience. These digital objects can only be viewed via a screen, AR glasses, or headsets.

Additional information and graphics can be superimposed onto the real world by using AR technology. Usually, your device's camera captures the real world, and then AR technology adds virtual elements to it.

For example, Instagram and Snapchat filters allow users to add virtual objects like flowers, mustaches, and hats to their photos and videos.

Google Maps Live View is another example. It uses the back camera to find your location and then superimposes arrows and directions you’re supposed to take over the route.

Augmented reality was previously limited to mobile applications. However, AR technologies like smart glasses and no-screen laptops have now been introduced.

Microsoft (HoloLens) has introduced voice-automated smart glasses which display information directly from the user’s field of view. You can send text, capture the moments, make calls, and much more with a voice command.

The Spacetop no-screen laptops launched by The Sightful company allow users to see their screen in the air in front of their eyes by putting the AR goggles on.

Applications

1. Retail and advertising industry uses AR technology for virtual shopping. Customers could explore the products and overlay digital clothes and accessories directly on their bodies before making a purchase.
2. Automotive industry uses AR for Head-up Displays (projections on the windshield of cars, planes, fighter jets, etc.). This allows the drivers to see information like speed, safety alerts, distance, and elevation without taking their eyes off their route.
3. Architects can use AR technology to construct and formulate their ideas in the real world before starting projects.

Pros

• AR technology is easier to access and use.
• Displayed data improves our perception and interaction with the real world.
• Voice-automated AR devices like smart glasses offer hands-free virtual interaction.
• A valuable tool for visualization and immersive story-telling in the real world.

Cons

• AR applications require access to user data, raising privacy concerns.
• AR technology often hides real-world views, which can lead to accidents.

5. Collaborative VR

Collaborative VR is a technology that enables users to share and interact with a virtual space simultaneously, regardless of their location. It is like coming together in a meeting but in a virtual space as a virtual entity.

Users can create online rooms for meeting and working together using collaborative VR software. These rooms can have various themes, such as a virtual museum or a planet in outer space.

Users can also invite others to join their rooms and interact with them as 3D avatars that can be customized to anything they want.

Some VR games, such as Free Fire and PUBG, are also examples of collaborative VR. They allow gamers from different places to form teams and play together.

Applications

1. Virtual meeting platforms like MeetinVR allow people to conduct business meetings, conferences, training sessions, and workshops in virtual meeting rooms.
2. Collaborative VR allows designers and engineers to work in a virtual environment and create digital 3D models of their projects. This speeds up the process of improving and altering the designs.
3. Public VR platforms like RecRoom, VRChat, and Spatial allow users to interact with each other as 3D avatars. They can play games, attend virtual events, and invite people to their self-designed reality.

Pros

• Keep the remote participants more connected and engaged in the meeting.
• Saves time and money that would otherwise be spent on commuting.
• Helps users to overcome social anxiety and stage fear by making them interact with people in a digital setting.

Cons

• Requires complex hardware and software which may not be accessible to everyone.
• Technical issues like latency, synchronization problems, and cyber attacks can disrupt collaboration.

Explore Further

• Top 10 New Technology Trends for 2023
• Artificial Intelligence Statistics to Blow Your Mind
• What Is a Virtual Machine and How Does It Work?
• 16 Types of Technology Platforms (+ Examples)

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