A simulated experience, or virtual reality (VR), might resemble or be entirely unrelated to the real world. Applications of virtual reality include leisure (especially video games), instruction (as in medical or military training), and commerce (such as virtual meetings). Other different forms of VR-style technologies include augmented reality and mixed reality, sometimes known as extended reality or XR, however definitions are always evolving since the sector is still in its infancy.
To provide lifelike visuals, sounds, and other sensations that mimic a user’s physical presence in a virtual world, current standard virtual reality systems either use virtual reality headsets or multi-projected environments.
A user can see around the virtual world, move around in it, and interact with virtual features or objects while utilizing virtual reality technology. The impression can also be produced by specially built rooms with numerous large screens, although it is most frequently produced by VR headsets that have a head-mounted display with a small screen in front of the eyes. Virtual reality normally includes audio and visual feedback, but haptic technology may also enable additional types of sensory and force feedback.
Video games, 3D movies, dark rides, and social virtual worlds are some of the entertainment applications where virtual reality is most frequently used. In the beginning to middle of the 1990s, video game firms first introduced consumer virtual reality headsets.
A new wave of application development was sparked by the introduction of next-generation commercial tethered headsets by Oculus (Rift), HTC (Vive), and Sony (PlayStation VR) in the 2010s.
Virtual reality is a practical tool for studying and simulating interactions in a controlled environment in the social sciences and psychology.
As a therapeutic intervention, it is possible to use it. The case of virtual reality exposure treatment (VRET), a type of exposure therapy used to treat anxiety disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and phobias, as an example.
