The so-called VR and AR, to be described in more easy-to-understand terms, are virtual reality and augmented reality.

Among them, virtual reality technology is a computer simulation system that can create and experience the virtual world, and colleagues are also an important direction for the future development of simulation technology, which is a collection of simulation technology and computer graphics, human-computer interface technology, multimedia technology, sensing technology, network technology and other technologies, and is a challenging cross-cutting technology frontier discipline and research field. Virtual reality technology mainly includes aspects such as simulated environments, perception, natural skills, and sensing devices. The simulated environment is a computer-generated, real-time dynamic three-dimensional photorealistic image. Perception means that the ideal VR should have the perception that all people have. In addition to the visual perception generated by computer graphics technology, there are also perceptions such as hearing, touch, force, movement, and even smell and taste, also known as polyperception. Natural skills refer to the rotation of the human head, eyes, gestures, or other human behaviors, and the computer processes the data that is adapted to the participants' movements, and responds to the user's input in real time, and feeds back to the user's five senses respectively. Sensing devices refer to three-dimensional interactive devices.

The virtual reality glasses that became more and more popular in later generations are the technology used, and the virtual online games that were once all the rage in online texts are actually an evolution of this technology.

Of course, before Zhou Fangyuan's rebirth, this technology had just developed to the level of entry, although there were already many so-called virtual reality game devices on the market at that time, but to be honest, there was still a big gap with the real expected virtual reality. Of course, the development of this technology is certainly not easy, after all, as early as 1963, there was already a sound dynamic simulation is the idea of virtual reality, after the emergence of such an idea, ten years of bonus, virtual reality began to sprout, the generation of virtual reality concept and the initial formation of the theory will not be basically perfected until 1989, as for the further improvement and application of the theory of virtual reality, it has been after the 21st century.

In the period before Zhou Fangyuan's rebirth, virtual reality technology began to make great strides, and those multinational companies began to accelerate their research and strive to seize this market in advance.

So, what exactly is this technology for?

Let's just put it this way, it's really useful.

Today, the theory has been perfected, just what can be imagined, virtual reality technology has great advantages in the fields of medicine, entertainment, military aerospace, interior design, real estate development, industrial simulation, emergency deduction, cultural relics and monuments, games, Web3D, roads and bridges, geography, education, studios, hydrogeology, maintenance, training, shipbuilding, automobile simulation, rail transit, energy field, biomechanics, rehabilitation training, digital earth and other fields. It can be said that virtual reality technology covers all aspects of human life and development, and whoever can log in first can occupy a great advantage.

The Yuanfang Science and Technology Research Institute has only started to research now, which is a little lagging behind, but it cannot be said to be completely lagging behind, after all, large foreign companies have not made much progress at present, and Andy's team is actually very capable in scientific research and innovation, and Zhou Fangyuan is willing to invest, so the prospects are promising.

But to be honest, including Zhou Fangyuan, he also knows that there is still a long way to go for virtual reality to truly become a mature technology, and among them, there are five huge obstacles that are difficult to overcome at present.

The first is that there is no way to really enter the virtual world

There was a famous joke in OculusRift development circles that whenever someone asked the user to stand up and walk, they usually didn't dare to move easily, because the OculusRift still had to be connected to the computing device by cable, which greatly limited the user's range of movement. Virtual reality rigs, including the OculusRift, continue to block communication between users and the virtual world. These devices cover the user's eyes, but only change the user's line of sight, but do not cover the entire range of the user's field of view. It's already awkward enough to use a mouse and keyboard, and any attempt to move over a wide range of areas will be constrained by various cables.

Some developers have also considered creating a room specifically for use with VR devices, but it doesn't seem like the problem will be solved so easily. Truly immersive experiences in the game include crouching, dodging, and even climbing, which currently do not provide a realistic and immersive experience for the user. While there are some third-party solutions, such as the VirtuixOmni treadmill, which allows players to safely simulate movement in a fixed space, these big guys are usually expensive and not a burden that the average gamer can afford.

Secondly, how to "input" is also a big problem.

Perhaps the bigger challenge of virtual reality is how to interact with the target in the virtual world, and the technology that can be seen in the future will only track the user's head, but not the rest of the body. For example, the player's hand movements cannot be truly simulated, and although there are some assistive devices, they are still too sluggish and do not match the desired effect at all. How to input virtual reality is a big problem for game developers and hardware manufacturers, although the Xbox controller can become a PC controller in the future, but there is still some experience in practical applications. Other controls, such as RazerHydra and the STEM system, promise a lot but still don't simulate the user's hands.

Third, there is a lack of unified standards.

Virtual reality technology is still in its infancy even before Zhou Fangyuan's rebirth, and there is no doubt that everyone has their own presentation methods for this platform, whether it is rough or beautiful, and the most important thing is the last few minutes. While many developers are passionate about virtual reality, there doesn't seem to be a single standard. As a brand new platform, it can only succeed if it arouses people's interest, including the actual experience. DVD movies, game consoles, and even YouTube will become ubiquitous just because many people are interested in them. Similarly, for virtual reality technology to be compelling, it must appeal to more than just professional enthusiasts. This is especially important for older or non-tech enthusiasts.

In addition, virtual reality games can easily make people feel tired.

Any game developer or film production company should understand how to use cameras differently in virtual reality scenes. Watching on the move and watching in silence are very different experiences. The accelerated movement of the camera will bring out a different focus, and if these are not used properly, they can cause the user to feel sick. Even if the lens moves too quickly, it will directly affect the user's vision temporarily. Some people are more sensitive and more prone to vertigo, and some studies have shown that women are generally more likely to experience discomfort with these devices than men. Therefore, how to alleviate the fatigue and discomfort of players is also an important research direction.

In the end, all the known virtual reality devices still look a bit silly.

This may seem superficial, but it's also important. Especially professional gaming equipment, it must not be very bulky and unnatural to wear. You must know that no matter what kind of virtual reality equipment is used for, users must pursue comfort when using it. This is very important, including smartphones, in terms of how ergonomics and the various postures of the human hand are used, and the same is true for virtual reality devices. But the problem is that until Zhou Fangyuan was reborn, all the virtual reality devices on the market looked very bulky, especially the big glasses, of course, testers and developers don't care, but ordinary users definitely can't accept their appearance. Of course, these problems are not unsolvable, and most developers who are familiar with virtual reality gear say that it will not be difficult to make the device look more beautiful in the future.

Just like the computer, the original computer computer was bigger than the car, and today's smart phones, to some extent, are better than the original computer, and only the size of a palm, so as long as the key technology can be broken through, then the size and comfort of the device is a small problem.

Therefore, virtual reality technology is very important, but there are still too many ways to go, and there are still many key technologies that need to be broken through, and it is by no means possible to see results in a day or two.

Therefore, compared to the somewhat illusory future of virtual reality, augmented reality technology is actually more expected

Augmented reality technology is a new technology that integrates real world information and virtual world information "seamlessly", which is to use the physical information that is difficult to experience within a certain time and space range of the real world, including visual information, sound, taste, touch, etc., through computer and other science and technology, and then superimpose after simulation, so as to apply virtual information to the real world and be perceived by human senses, so as to achieve a sensory experience beyond reality. The real environment and virtual objects are superimposed in real time and exist in the same picture or space at the same time.

It not only shows the information of the real world, but also displays the virtual information at the same time, and the two types of information complement and superimpose each other. In visual augmented reality, users can see the real world surrounding it by multi-composing the real world with computer graphics using a head-mounted display. Augmented reality technology includes new technologies and means such as multimedia, 3D modeling, real-time video display and control, multi-sensor fusion, real-time tracking and registration, and scene fusion. Augmented reality provides information that, in general, is different from what humans can perceive.

In fact, what many people don't know is that Microsoft's $2.5 billion acquisition of "Minecraft" was to serve its augmented reality technology, and it has been fruitful.

AR technology is not only widely used in similar application fields with VR technology, such as cutting-edge weapons, aircraft research and development, data model visualization, virtual training, entertainment and art, etc., but also has more obvious advantages than VR technology in the fields of medical research and anatomical training, precision instrument manufacturing and maintenance, military aircraft navigation, engineering design and remote robot control because of its ability to enhance the display output of the real environment.

For example, in the medical field, doctors can use augmented reality technology to easily pinpoint the surgical site. Another example is the military field, the army can use augmented reality technology to identify the location and obtain important military data such as geographic data of real-time location. In the field of monument restoration and digital cultural heritage preservation, information about cultural monuments is provided to visitors in augmented reality, where users can see not only the textual interpretation of the monuments, but also the virtual reconstruction of the missing parts of the monuments through the HMD. In the field of industrial maintenance, a variety of auxiliary information can be displayed to users through helmet displays, including the panel of virtual instruments, the internal structure of the equipment to be repaired, and the parts diagram of the equipment to be repaired.

There is also a more interesting application here, that is, in Nokia's future Lumia series of mobile phones, there is a function, what is the specific name Zhou Fangyuan can't remember clearly, but he remembers the feature of this function, that is, turn on the camera, aim at the shops on the street, and a small box will appear, which will write the names and attributes of these stores, such as whether the other party is a convenience store, or a bank, or a restaurant, etc. And according to the existing location, it can prompt some store information in the location that is invisible to the naked eye, which can be said to be quite convenient.

However, it is a pity that this application was not perfect at that time, it was not very smooth to use, there was a certain lack of workability, and most importantly, Nokia had entered the twilight stage at that time, and its decline was no longer a small should be reversed. At that time, Nokia had been acquired by Microsoft, and this application was actually an attempt by Microsoft to AR, and the effect was of course good and bad, but it must be admitted that compared with VR, AR technology has greater operability, and the technology has been relatively mature and can be used in a variety of fields.

Of course, this is not to say that AR has no shortcomings and difficulties, in fact, AR technology still has some difficulties.

For example, when generating and displaying scenes, it is important to know that almost all S-HMD devices display dark effects in a bright environment, and because the camera angle on the head-mounted display is different from the position of the eye, the positioning and display angle of the virtual object in the real field of view will also be biased and difficult to adjust.

Then there is the positioning error, so to speak, the positioning error can be said to be inevitable, the general accuracy of civilian GPS is about 3 meters to 12 meters, in poor weather, the maximum error can even reach 100 meters. The electronic compass can also cause errors due to nearby magnetic field interference. Because the correction algorithm in many existing outdoor systems requires a large number of inputs and cumbersome correction steps, this technology is still not suitable for commercial application even before Zhou Fangyuan's rebirth.

In addition to this, the problem of communication equipment and computing power, in short, is quite troublesome. But it doesn't matter, as long as you continue to research and develop, there will always be a day when you will come out, and Zhou Fangyuan will continue to seize more mountains before his prophetic ability disappears, VR and AR technology, he must get involved, not to mention that he now has a Yuanfang I series of smartphones, of which AR technology can be well equipped with smartphones, which also prompts him to make some efforts in this regard.