Virtual Reality: The Essential Guide to Our Simulated Future

Virtual Reality, identified by the acronym RV, is a state-of-the-art technology that has actually been used for decades. Hence, we do not have to identify it as a futuristic technology, but rather it is part of the present and, of course, the future.
Below I will detail what Virtual Reality is and what it consists of, and of course, in addition to listing different examples and what are the advantages it offers, I will point out the differences between Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality.


We could define VR as an immersive virtual three-dimensional recreation of an environment that allows us to have the feeling of actually being within it. State-of-the-art computer technology developed by sophisticated software and interfaces is used to generate this recreation. In order to enjoy it, we need to wear virtual reality glasses or helmets. The objective is to be the protagonist of a fictional world or to be part of it.


Virtual Reality requires glasses and a high-end computer that is prepared for VR. It is also possible to exchange the computer for a mobile phone, but the experience is less immersive.
The Samsung Gear VR and Windows Mixed Reality from Microsoft are an example of Virtual Reality glasses on smartphones.
For use with a computer, the most recommended glasses are the Octulus Rift and HTC Vive. Let's remember that they need a PC compatible with Virtual Reality.

The game consoles also allow Virtual Reality, and for those who only play with a console and not with a PC, you have the PlayStation VR at your disposal.


History of Virtual Reality

The most exciting thing about Virtual Reality is that we have to look for its beginnings decades ago. In the middle of the s. XX there were visionaries who understood that this type of recreation could arouse interest among people. Finding yourself wrapped in another environment, coming to perceive aromas and even movement, are not contemporary ideas.

One of the first machines that managed to transmit all these sensations was "Sensorama", created in the middle of the last century, which had a seat from where you could watch 3D movies, was capable of emitting odors and even allowed you to feel like the seat  it moved and vibrated.

In the 1960s, a MIT team developed a Virtual Reality "helmet" attached to a computer. Remember that in those days computers were huge and heavy and the helmet was hanging from the ceiling, so they put the nickname "Sword of Damocles".


This technology is used in multiple sectors, perhaps being the field of video games the best known.  There the RV has undergone a great evolution, allowing it to be expanded to other areas that were previously unthinkable, such as the sports world.  Currently, Virtual Reality allows you to develop specific training sessions focused on high competition, one of them being cycling, by offering you to change the environments and difficulties with which you train very easily.

GuyOther fields where VR has a long history have allowed the development of high-precision techniques, such as in medicine, education, the military, industry, art or the aeronautics sector.


It serves as training for doctors. It enables multiple repetitions of a surgery to avoid mistakes.  In Physiotherapy it can be used so that exercises whose treatment is long and repetitive are carried out in a playful way with the RV.

In the treatment of phobias, fears, and even in post-traumatic stress disorders, Virtual Reality allows the patient to be put, gently and under control, in the environment that affects them. In the same way, it allows overcoming addictions by putting people  in situations where they are offered the addictive object and training in their rejection.  The RV allows to measure the response to that situation.
It is also feasible to talk about Virtual Reality as an alternative to anesthesia in painful operations (burns) or to deal with "phantom pain" (loss of extremities) helping patients to be distracted during these moments.


Examples of Virtual Reality Applied To Education
Virtual Reality gives the possibility of "traveling" without moving from class to any time and anywhere ... even within the human body, making teaching richer and much more fun and entertaining.
Likewise, education is not limited to transmitting and learning knowledge. It is also about instilling values (immersive education) that, thanks to Virtual Reality, can be fostered in a very positive way, such as empathy (that students can feel related to other social groups).
In the same way, it can be used for job orientation.  With VR, students can see with their own eyes what the daily work of a doctor, an archaeologist, a firefighter or any other profession is like to get an idea of their professional future.


Using Virtual Reality simulators, soldiers are trained in different needs, offering a fusion between the real and virtual world that increases the perception of realism.
The VR simulators currently used in the military field are:

Flight simulators: Although they have existed for a long time, the current ones are more effective thanks to the improvements made with Virtual Reality.

Combat Simulators: Training soldiers in techniques and skills on the battlefield.

Mapping the battlefield: Using the data collected by drones from a war zone, 3D maps can be made so that soldiers have knowledge of the terrain before breaking into it.

Health training: Will allow the training of doctors in possible cases of emergency.

Water Vehicle Simulators: They are beginning to be used for reinforcement of soldiers in submarines without the need to be underwater


The best known use of Virtual Reality applicable to the Industry (and to many other fields) is that of virtual training. This allows workers to be trained in maintenance tasks or knowledge of the processes that are carried out, as well as being familiar with the environment.
Likewise, training in Occupational Risk Prevention will be essential. It will allow simulations of emergencies (fires, explosions) or accidents that may occur in the workplace, such as cuts, falls, blows..
In the automotive sector, Virtual Reality has been a real revolution, since it allows a virtual final vision of the vehicle and knows how it will function with virtually no material expenditure.


Examples of Virtual Reality Applied To Art
Although it is true that art and new technologies have not always gotten along well, currently there are several artists who are beginning to use Virtual Reality as material to transmit their work. An example of them is Anish Kapoor. His 2018 play "Into Yourself, Fall" is an RV journey into our own body.
Google has developed a painting application for Virtual Reality called Tilt Brush that allows you to paint in 3D anywhere as if it were on a canvas, giving you the choice of a large number of drawing materials and paints.


In the aeronautical sector, Virtual Reality is an “old acquaintance”. It all started with flight simulators, real hulks where pilots could train takeoffs and landings as many times as necessary. Now all you need is a VR headset, a computer, and a simulation program. This new technology allows training anywhere, as well as reducing training costs, since it allows easy reconfiguration for different aircraft models.
Likewise, Virtual Reality will allow the customization and design of the interior of the ship (both in commercial aircraft and private jets) without having to have it in front. In this way, it is not necessary to transfer a real plane to a fairground with the consequent savings that this implies.


Advantages & Disadvantages of Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality, as its name suggests, is a current reality, but obviously, like all innovative technology, it has its benefits and drawbacks.

1. Immersive training without injury to third parties in the fields of medicine, aviation, security and public order.

2. Manipulation and analysis of three-dimensional objects of any size and from any angle.

3. It allows learning activities and concepts in an easier and faster way by using sight, hearing and touch.

4. It offers virtual environments to people who are unable to leave home, creating spaces for social interaction.



1. The cost of this technology (hardware) is still high.  Creating a virtual reality system can cost around $ 20,000.

2. In certain cases, a large and unobstructed physical space is necessary.

3. Most of the VR material is created in English, which is a learning problem for many students.

4. "Get hooked" on the virtual world.  Ability to prefer interactions in the fictional world than in the real world.

5. The price of the devices to enjoy the Virtual Reality of upper-middle range is high.


Without a doubt, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are technologies that are often confused or mixed quite frequently. If, as we have previously mentioned, in VR you get an immersive experience, that is, you fully immerse yourself in a virtual environment through glasses, in RA the environment in which you are is real, but it serves as a platform to insert  images and objects with which to recreate a scene.

There are many examples applied to Augmented Reality, being one of the most famous for its wide spread that of Nintendo's Pokemon Go, a game that far exceeded 50 million users.


Virtual Reality has a wide range of applications, and one of these variations is the so-called Mixed Reality. It is about being able to insert objects, characters, and scenes that are fictitious in a real environment. This technology will allow us to insert elements into our lives that are practically impossible to differentiate by humans.

Mixed Reality is also characterized by interacting with real objects within a virtual world, being immersed in that virtual world or reproducing virtual elements in the real world. This will require the use of a closed helmet with a screen over the eyes where you can see the real or the virtual.


Virtual Reality Movies
As expected, cinema has not remained distant from Virtual Reality, creating successful science fiction films based on this technology.  Some of them are remembered among the wide public, such as "Minority Report", "The Matrix" or more recently "Ready Player One", although we should not forget that one of the forerunners was TRON back in 1982. In them we can see the scope that  Virtual Reality can come to have in our lives.


What will Virtual Reality be like in the Future?
We have commented that VR is the present, but it must be added that it is still in a moment of technological development and expansion. For this, large companies are investing huge amounts of money in order to integrate it into all areas of our society. According to estimates provided by IDC Research, the estimated investment in RV and RA for 2022 will exceed 15,000 million euros.

Given these figures, it is not difficult to deduce that sectors related to leisure, tourism and industry will undergo a complete transformation in the coming years. They are even carrying out projects where Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality unite their technologies.


Virtually any technology has a wide margin for improvement. We must remember that VR is still in a moment of experimentation and research, and that as such it continues to generate problems that must be given solutions.