I’ve been enjoying my Oculus Rift that I purchased in late 2017, and I’ve especially spending a lot of time playing Beat Saber. At the time that I purchased it, it was the most robust VR (virtual reality) headset available. I use it with my husband’s desktop (forcing him to upgrade his graphics card–he was thrilled to have the excuse). Nowadays, it’s not an antique, but it’s on its way there, with the advent of newer, non-wired headsets like the Quest.
VR technology is no longer emerging, but it’s definitely evolving. There’s a lot of very interesting things going on in the VR space; here’s just a few.
- Breathe, focus, headset: The women turning to VR in labor [CNN Business] ” The experience, she recently told CNN Business, was surreal. She never forgot she was in labor, but the VR visuals and the disembodied voice helped her calm down and shift attention away from her pain. Nearly three years later, Martucci is pregnant with her third child, due in October. She’s already spoken to her doctor about how she’d like to use VR again. “
- My peek inside a secret VR headset shows a more social virtual reality [CNET] ” XRSpace is building something many others have attempted and failed: Making virtual reality truly social — and accessible to even nontechies. “
- Newly Launched Virtuosi® Virtual Reality Educational Platform Will Transform Learning for Life Sciences Workforce [Yahoo Finance] ” Virtuosi is composed of digital technical courses, VR interactive experiences, knowledge assessments, curricula management, and reporting. Virtuosi is the only platform of its kind in the life sciences employee education field.
- Scientists Study Whether Virtual Reality Can Prevent Cognitive Decline, Dementia [Voice of America] ” For three days a week, Wayne Garcia has been getting an unconventional workout. He starts by putting on a virtual reality (VR) headset. He then gets on a specially designed exercise bike and starts peddling. He is taking part in a study at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine to see if a dose of VR can help prevent age-related cognitive decline and dementia. “
From the Ohio Web Library:
- “I Can See It!” Math Understanding Through Virtual Reality ( Putman, S., & Id-Deen, L. (2019). “I Can See It!” Math Understanding Through Virtual Reality. Educational Leadership, 76(5), 36. )
- Virtual Reality: Augmenting the Acute Pain Experience in Children ( Diaz-Hennessey, S., & O’Shea, E. R. (2019). Virtual Reality: Augmenting the Acute Pain Experience in Children. Pediatric Nursing, 45(3), 122–127. )
- “We’ve got postal workers to love virtual reality” ( JEFFERY, R. (2019). “We’ve got postal workers to love virtual reality.” People Management, 24–25. )
