Virtual Reality Technologies of 2024

Breakthrough in virtual reality: What is new in VR in 2024?

Look around – the future is already here. Place your hand on the pulse of the virtual world, and this rhythm will drum out a triumphant march of progress.

Now, without the poetic flourishes: Virtual reality technology remains a top priority for investors in scientific progress. This year is no exception. Curious about what’s new in VR in 2024? Find out in our article.

Cloud-based VR

The integration of VR and AR with cloud computing offers significant advantages. Users no longer need to invest in expensive hardware; a standard VR headset or AR-enabled device is sufficient to deliver a high-quality experience. This accessibility allows more individuals and businesses to adopt these technologies for purposes such as education and healthcare without being deterred by high costs. Additionally, cloud infrastructure ensures scalability, enabling it to support numerous users and complex environments simultaneously without delays. This convergence of cloud and network computing is transformative, democratizing immersive experiences and driving innovation across various sectors.

• Cloud-based VR and AR (Virtual and Augmented Reality) utilize the capabilities of cloud computing to render immersive technologies more feasible and cost-effective.
• Remote Computation: To perform computationally intensive tasks, these are put through the paces on high-performance remote servers (e.g., AWS or Azure).
• Data Transmission via 5G: The processed data is transmitted in ultra-fast inter-network high-speed low-latency five-G networks in real time providing real-time interactivity.
• Cloud-Based Services: Common computational resources allow the emergence of rendering and interactive features that were only possible with very specialized hardware. 

This could also be a major breakthrough for esports, particularly for fans. Imagine virtual stands and spectator lounges where fans can interact with one another and watch matches. Consider the potential impact, using League of Legends as an example. A cloud-based service could offer features like spectator lobbies, dedicated rooms for viewing League of Legends team stats, and premium front-row seating for the most devoted fans. The scale of such events can be both awe-inspiring and immersive, delivering a sense of presence comparable to attending the event in person.

Haptic Feedback

Haptic Feedback and Multisensory Integration in virtual reality (VR) have progressed considerably in enabling users to physically interact with virtual environments that could not have been conceived before. These developments are conducive to immersion by providing a realistic feeling of touch, force, and temperature.

Realistic Textures and Forces are contemporary haptic systems that rely on devices such as gloves, vests, and hand controllers to simulate object touch in VR. For example, Meta’s Haptic Gloves reproduce the sensation of textures, weight, and friction and allow the target to feel the touch of a virtual sword or the softness of cloth and clothes in a design application.

HaptX Gloves employ microfluidic actuators to produce tactile sensations such as that of rubber stretch or a jagged rock edge. The continued development of haptic feedback and multisensory technologies promises a future where virtual experiences rival, and in some cases surpass, the richness of real-world interactions

Education

Virtual reality is changing education by designing immersive, interactive, and relational learning environments. These innovations render abstract or obscure concepts concrete, which leads to a better understanding of many areas.

Students can, for example, virtually walk around historic sites such as the Roman Colosseum, the Great Wall of China, or the Pyramids of Giza. They are able to see these places in their true form, providing a richer experience than reading or viewing text.

Tools such as TimeLooper can be used by the students to “see” historical events, like the signing of the Declaration of Independence or medieval urban life as if they were there.

An interesting case in point is provided by NASA, in which VR has helped in the investigation of stellar parallaxes. NASA researchers simulated the movements of 4 million stars in the local vicinity of the Milky Way Galaxy in a 3D virtual reality simulation. This volumetric VR representation enabled them to view more clearly the movement and clustering of stars, which was very difficult with conventional observation techniques.

Medicine

In medical science, VR is changing neuroscience and treatment simulations. For example, VR has been used to model human brain responses to stimuli in virtual mazes. These experiments allow neuroscientists to investigate (the dynamics of) spatial navigation and social attention which was very hard before to be replicated using real-life situations.

The ability of VR to construct controlled, repeatable, and reproducible test environments allows scientists to study brain function in a precisely targetted and ethical-free manner compared to conventional animal studies.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): VR is being used to treat PTSD by immersing patients in controlled environments where they can confront and process traumatic memories. Programs like “Bravemind” use exposure therapy to gradually desensitize patients to their triggers, offering an effective alternative to traditional methods.

Conclusion 

Through the application of VR to healthcare and therapy, clinicians are delivering patients more personalized, more engaging therapies, and more advantageous ones, supported by an increasing amount of evidence as it is applied across arenas. Additionally, VR is making strides in medical education. Physicians and surgeons are utilizing virtual spaces to hone complex procedures, or to reproduce medical pathologies, permitting safer and more efficient training without involving live patients.

With the increasing combination of VR, artificial intelligence (AI), and augmented reality (AR), personalized education and gamified learning experiences will continue to expand. Through gamification, interactivity, and ubiquity, VR creates a paradigm shift in education and how information is delivered.

There are still roadblocks to overcome, including dealing with motion sickness, maintaining a high level of data privacy protection, and bringing VR to a wider audience. But the developments of 2024 promise a bright and increasingly connected future for VR.