Author: Julian Schoenbohm

First of all, I am absolutely new to Virtual Reality and have only experienced Augmented Reality before. The first time experiencing VR totally exceeded my expectations and was a lot of fun. I was not aware that technology had gotten so far already.

I tried three different systems: the Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive and the Samsung Gear. All of them had their strengths and weaknesses, which I will discuss in this post.

The first system I tried was the HTC Vive. When putting on the glasses there was this short “wow-effect” and it took me some time to figure out where I was. I winced and was frightened when all of a sudden, the former inmate showed up in the room. I could see that in others as well.

The room itself did not look that realistic, but the prisoner did. While the room seemed to be frozen, the prisoner seemed to be very real and alive. This was especially expressed by the movement of his mouth when he was speaking. Small details in his face made him seem very realistic. Although the room had a lot of detailed objects in it, the rigidity of these objects made everything appear artificial. I noticed that in the scene where they slid the sheet of paper under the door. It did not look that realistically, because the sheet of paper itself did not move but just the whole 3D object on the ground of the prison cell.

In the story of the prison I did not really have the feeling of being part of the story, but more an observer. This was mainly because the prisoner did not look at me, even if he was looking in my direction. It seemed as if he spoke to somebody else in the room. This was resolved much better in the story on the Gear. I will come to that point later in this post.

Unfortunately, there were some issues with the graphics of the prisoner. Some parts of his body were flickering. However, in my opinion it does not necessarily need a perfect screen resolution, but movement in the story to have a good experience.

In addition, the story itself touched me emotionally, which was one of the reasons why it absorbed me.

In my opinion, there are further important factors for a realistic experience. One aspect I have not mentioned yet is the sound. 3D sound, or automated panning of the sound source when moving the head, lets the story appear much more realistically. It is also necessary to locate different sound sources whereby it is possible to follow a story.

But not the sound alone is important. The headphones play an important role, too. I noticed this clearly when using the HTC Vive. The headphones did not cover the ears properly which made the surrounding sounds interfering with the sound of the VR story. Consequently, it was more challenging to become part of the story. In contrast, the headphones of the Oculus Rift worked fairly well. The levels of the surrounding sounds were lowered properly, so that it was possible to hear the VR sound loud and clear.

Since the Vive is a wired system, it limited me in my motion. Due to the fact that I was aware of the cable, I only moved carefully in a very small range. The cable also felt like a weight that slightly pulled my head backwards. Wireless systems such as the Oculus Rift are much more comfortable.

The next system I tried was the Samsung Gear. The man in the story seemed very realistic. I also instantly felt like being part of the story. This was mainly because he was looking straight into my eyes when he was talking to me. The cigarette he was smoking looked detailed and real, although the sound of the burning paper was slightly exaggerated.

The last system I tried was the Oculus Rift. Google Earth on this system is by far the best experience I’ve made with VR so far. I did not expect it to be so realistic at all.

I did feel very present at all times. The most fascinating experience was when I “travelled” to places where I had already been or places I know very well. It was like a déjà vu. It felt as if I actually stood there in “real reality”. Even with many objects lacking details while going into street view, everything felt familiar. I think the fact that you have a full spherical range of vision contributed much to that feeling, as the whole experience is very much like standing at that specific place in “real reality”. I had also done that with the regular Google Earth on a computer several times before and I had never had such an experience. It feels like your brain is manipulated in a way that every piece of information and all emotion linked to that specific place is recalled instantly. I have tried this with several places and it worked each time.

Google Earth was also the first VR story where I could feel an actual vertigo. This was induced by fast downwards movement or when looking down from the top of a building. I also winced when I accidentally “hit” a building once.

Unfortunately, there were some issues with the signal of the controllers. Whenever I turned my back towards the computer, the controller of the left hand stopped working. After slightly turning back around towards the computer, the controller was recognized again. Since this did not happen with the HTC Vive, I assume that this is a disadvantage of a wireless system.

Something I missed during the experience with Google Earth were some atmosphere sounds. I think this could enhance the feeling of being present and that everything is real a lot. Some examples would be traffic noises in the streets of Manhattan or eagles screeching in the Utah desert.

As a wrap-up, I think there were some key factors making my overall VR experience very realistic. Since our brain processes information from all of our senses, it is very important to address all of them equally, but not just the eyes. Of course, this is not possible yet. However, I believe sound contributes a lot to our experience.

Besides the auditive and the visual perception, the ability of having a full spherical range of vision is very important. In my opinion, this feature is very advanced already and works well.

Moreover, one’s motion should not be limited. This is why I think wireless systems can give you a better experience.

An additional factor is movement in the story. Since almost nothing in the real world is frozen, small details in movement make a story appear real and alive.

Besides all the technical aspects, the story itself is also important. To become part of the story, it is necessary to get involved in the actions and not to slip into the role of a mere observer.