The first time I experienced VR was during one of my classes where Professor Pacheco came in with Samsung Gear VR and Google Cardboard.  I put on the Samsung Gear VR headset and was immediately transported to a Cirque du Soleil performance. It was really incredible and I honestly had never experienced something so real that wasn't actually real. Ever since then I have become more and more fascinated with VR/AR and am really interested in how I can tie these technologies with my advertising skills to create an unforgettable experience for consumers. This is why I am super excited to be taking this course and cannot wait for what is to come.

During our first class in the Innovation Lab I was able to try out all of the different VR experiences. My favorite one by far was the Oculus Rift where I was able to use my hands in the virtual world to pick things up, throw things, and even shoot things. It was by far the most encapsulating virtual reality experience I have ever had. I think the reason that I felt so immersed into this world was because I could not only hear what was going on around me but more importantly I was able to use and see my hands, which allowed me to interact with the virtual world in a way that just the goggles alone could not accomplish. I heard another student tell me that his experience with the same simulation was also the most incredible interaction he's had with VR.

Samsung Gear VR was also really awesome however I did feel a little bit nauseous when I had them on and tried walking around (I won't be doing that again). I definitely felt like I was in a comic strip or some cartoon when I was in the Van Gogh painting, and I wish I could have experienced that world with Oculus Rift!

I definitely believe that good graphics, wireless headsets, 3D sound, and smoothness of head tracking all really contribute to an effective immersive virtual reality experience, and I found that all of the VR devices I used in the Innovation Lab (besides the Google Cardboard) hit the mark in all of those areas.