RECENTLY, a lot of developments have taken place in the gaming industry such as the Xbox One and the PS4. However, have you ever heard of ‘virtual reality headsets’ or more specifically the ‘Oculus Rift’? If you haven’t and are looking forward to knowing the next big technological gadget, then this article is for you!

So, what is the Oculus Rift? Basically, it is a much more advanced version of simple 3D glasses. In layman terms, it’s a device shaped like a big box that you wear on your head (like a helmet). So while playing video games, you are transported inside the virtual gaming world. Where you can run around, fight, swim and accomplish all the tasks which you normally do while playing video games, but the experience is much more enhanced through the oculus.

The ‘Oculus Rift’ makes you feel like you are inside the game, and that you are the character. So how does this oculus work? Well, it is quite simple; picture a set of ‘ski goggles’ in which a large cellphone screen has replaced the glass. The screen displays two images, side by side, one for each eye. A set of lenses, is placed on front of the screen, focusing and reshaping the picture for each eye so as to create a 3D effect. Another cool feature the ‘Oculus Rift’ offers is the ‘head tracking system.’

What it means to say is that you can look around freely inside a game by just turning your head around like you do in real life. This is made possible through tiny sensors inside the oculus that track our head motion. The result you get is the feeling of being inside a 3D virtual world.

Let’s come to the VR (virtual reality) headsets now. For garners, this could be the biggest leap forward the gaming industry has experienced ever since it tapped into the internet allowing multiplayer gaming. Almost anyone and any gaming genre can use these headsets.

However, the advantages go far beyond gaming. For example, there could be virtual tours of famous historic buildings in museums using these headsets; can be used while online shopping while providing you a high resolution 3D model of the item — a near in-store experience.

Cinemas and TV industry can also benefit from this device. For instance, imagine yourself being on board a sports car during a race or you being able to panning down your views around famous football stadiums during a football game. Sitting and watching a movie in a theatre with a VR headset would provide you with a great experience and a feeling as if you are in the movie and experiencing the movie in high detail.

Another great example of this device is that you can attend live concerts halfway across the globe from the comfort of your couch.

Surprisingly, VR headsets can also be used in medicine, specifically in the treatment of anxiety or phobia. Many studies have proven that virtual reality therapy is quite effective. For example, during the treatment, if a patient is being treated for phobia of height, he/she can easily avoid real sites with the imaginary/virtual ones.

One can only imagine how much benefit the ‘Oculus Rift’ provides and how much VR headsets will change our future. At the moment, the only working VR headset is the ‘Oculus Rift’ and it only works for the PC, but that is soon to change as other companies like Sony are producing VR headsets for different purposes and fields.