Week Four Entry: Virtual Reality / Software-Hardware

Virtual reality is to be able to use computers and other hardware devices and softwares to create and generate an alternate world that could be simulating real time events, so being able to create an application that would behave in a specific way or manner to cover the users needs are important, but for each target audience there is a different approach,
for example while i was doing my final year project i came to understand that the first three years of my coarse i was learning the tools to produce an output, it was like getting used to the hammer and saw and the other tools, and in the final year project it was when the students decided what kind of outputs they were seeking to achieve, some used there skills to come up with applications simulating real time events that happened before in history, some used the applications for architectural visualization purposes and the majority used to create Video games whether they were pointless or informative like kids games.

So coming back to the point where the applications were created to meet the users requirements depends at the end on the target audience and the technologies available today.
Softwares today with high end computers have come a long way offering system performance that can produce photo realistic outputs to meet the users needs, the hardwares on the other hand has developed to immerse the user in the virtual world, the basic joystick for example started of with the arrow keys and two buttons only, todays playstation 3 joystick is not only wireless but has much more buttons and motion sensing technology, which detects the movement of the joystick, the system is called six-axis.





Other hardware devices are created to meet specific applications created for the user, for example the steering wheel unit by Logitech G27 which gives the user a full on experience feed back from the steering wheel which makes the drive very realistic, simulating the weight shift within the vehicle while driving, users say once they get used to driving using the steering unit they build a new feel and sense of driving that they no longer only depend on the visuals from the screen but from the feedback they get from the steering wheel too.

Another Hardware created to meet the applications requirements is the Socom Bundle, this package includes a sharpshooter gun that comes with a Playstation move navigation controller and the Move motion controller and a Camera that detects the movements of the move motion controller. The new game Socom comes with the package, it is Playstation Move compatible, the game is about U.S. Navy seals in war zones carrying out missions.
Users say once they get familiar with the equipment it feels more exciting, you get to aim the gun like how you would normally use a gun, and use the navigator to walk and navigate within the game.


There are many hardware devices out there that have been created to match the users input requirement, and both hardwares and softwares will continue developing to reach the point where the users are so immersed in the virtual world that they would totally forget the real world.