Unreal is Undoubtedly the Future of Full Immersion VR
I would like to discuss a topic that was brought up five years ago. A person once said that by 2020, we would be hitting the ground of full immersion VR. They said that we would some day go onto the path of full immersion VR by adding new parts to the setup(Haptic Gloves, Smell Masks) or go down the path of sending signals to the brain which make it think that the VR it is seeing is real.
I believe Unreal Engine has the power to do this. Why? Today, we see thousands of demo reels for UE4 with hyper realistic graphics, we see tens of videos a week about recreating Ready Player One.
I Believe that with UE4 and the future integration of these technologies as they get progressively cheaper, will mark the beginning of the VR era. We were once told that the TV was too expensive and we were told so the same thing at the rise of interactive media, but did anyone care? No, they made breakthroughs which lead us to today, Is Unreal the true Future of Full Immersion VR?
ABSOLUTELY YES
Our current Unreal Engine 4 possesses a certain power, which no one has truly grasped. It is the ability to make software that can be used by anyone in the entire world regardless of skill level. And not only does it enable any one to do what they want, it enables them to do it with a high fidelity of quality. I dare all of you to name any bad UE4 game where it is not the developer at fault, but the game engine.
UE4 was once incapable of multitasking and VR-AR support, but look at it today, it is one of the most amazing VR-AR engines and the multitasking functions are amazing.
Now, what do you need for fully immersive VR?
Immersion comes when you stimulate all of the main senses in a connected manner.
UE4 already handles Sight and Hearing. When the time comes for the tech, UE4 will most likely be one of the first Engines to implement Haptic Controls, and with the help of some advanced modules, already does.
When it comes to smell, a later release will definitely have it, perhaps when UE5 is the leading UE, smell masks will be incorporated into our usual VR system. UE5 would probably do that.
When it comes to taste, this is a sense that we still don’t fully understand. But recent studies have been showing promising opportunities for taste simulation, another possibility for mid-late UE5
We could go one way or another for movement in relation to the real world. We could either use a harness(something that hasn’t been developed yet) or we could use a miniature omnidirectional threadmill(which surprisingly almost done with development and only needs to be made cheaper)
My idea is a combination of both. All this may sound very big but so were computers, there are many ways to scale such technology down.
Beyond this, we have nowhere to go other than the Sword Art Online way. Plug our brains into computers and badabingboom, you’re killing potato farmers in a simulated version of Revolutionary France, while the real France was conquered by the Corona Zombie Horde.
UE5 or UE6(7?, 8?) would be very advanced at that point and would probably have support for this in the early stages of the technology because UE really knows how to usher in new technologies.
I’ve made my point for UE, now you may expand upon it or debate it.