COM125 Weekly Blog : Week 8/9

Week 8/9: Multimedia on the Internet

Multimedia has evolved drastically as technology has advanced in recent years. I think it’s a great thing that it engages users by incorporating multi-sensory interactions. With the increasing need for users to have things personalized and tailored to their preferences, multimedia allows a person to have unique experiences that engages them on a whole new level.

In the lecture about Multimedia, what I found really intriguing is the concept of virtual reality and augmented reality. To me, just the idea that technology has come such a long way and it has the capability to provide us with experiences that were probably unimaginable a decade or two ago. I haven’t entirely gotten the privilege to try out immersive virtual or augmented reality but it is definitely something I would like to experience in the near future. I have however tried Windows on World VR. My favourite “WoW” game to play when I was younger was ‘The Sims’. I was absolutely addicted to it because I could create and do whatever I wanted in the game. I think that’s a great advantage of WoW virtual reality because the user really is in control of what they want to experience and create that however they desire.

I think Virtual Reality has such a long list of practical applications that could be very beneficial to society. For example, let’s look at immersive virtual reality. For this kind, the user is required to wear a Head-Mounted Display (HMD) at least, or it can also be coupled with data gloves for example. The first application that comes to mind is a doctor training for surgical procedures. It would allow the doctor to develop his or her skills so that it enables them to be a better doctor when it comes to real life situations. Or perhaps a pilot in training, but I think in this case it could possible a full blown simulator that projects virtual reality.

On the other hand we have Augmented Reality. At first I asked myself, ‘what is the difference between virtual reality and augmented reality?’

The most obvious difference between AR and VR is the fact that VR completely cuts a person off from seeing the real world, whereas AR allows people to see the real world and virtual objects simultaneously. In our lecture, Mr. Choy introduced us to augmented reality. He did this by have a piece of paper printed out with a sort of QR code and held it in from of a camera. We were able to see a virtual 3D object pop up onto the paper, which was truly mesmerizing.

Augmented Reality on a Smartphone

I think that Augmented Reality, like Virtual Reality also has very practical applications. For example, it can be an entertainment tool for companies to increase awareness of their brand. Customers can try out augmented reality and experience the company’s products. An example of this would be a clothing store using augmented reality so customers can see how clothing would look on them. Augmented reality can also be very useful in education and learning. Children could have the opportunity to be more engaged since augmented reality can be very interactive. Moreover, it can be a great tool when training people for jobs because it allows users to see virtually projected things but still incorporating reality as well. It’s a safe and controlled way to teach people things before they apply their skills in real life (i.e. a doctor performing surgery)