Virtual & Augmented Reality For Dummies

Virtual & Augmented Reality For Dummies

by Paul Mealy
Virtual & Augmented Reality For Dummies

Virtual & Augmented Reality For Dummies

by Paul Mealy

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Overview

An easy-to-understand primer on Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are driving the next technological revolution. If you want to get in on the action, this book helps you understand what these technologies are, their history, how they’re being used, and how they’ll affect consumers both personally and professionally in the very near future.

With VR and AR poised to become mainstream within the next few years, an accessible book to bring users up to speed on the subject is sorely needed—and that’s where this handy reference comes in! Rather than focusing on a specific piece of hardware (HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, iOS ARKit) or software (Unity, Unreal Engine), Virtual & Augmented Reality For Dummies offers a broad look at both VR and AR, giving you a bird’s eye view of what you can expect as they continue to take the world by storm.

* Keeps you up-to-date on the pulse of this fast-changing technology

* Explores the many ways AR/VR are being used in fields such as healthcare, education, and entertainment

* Includes interviews with designers, developers, and technologists currently working in the fields of VR and AR

Perfect for both potential content creators and content consumers, this book will change the way you approach and contribute to these emerging technologies. 


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781119481348
Publisher: Wiley
Publication date: 07/11/2018
Pages: 352
Sales rank: 694,431
Product dimensions: 7.40(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Paul Mealy has worked with virtual reality since the release of the Oculus Rift DK1 in 2013. He has architected, designed and developed applications for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Samsung Gear VR, Windows Mixed Reality, Google Daydream, and Google Cardboard. He has worked with numerous augmented reality hardware and technologies including the Microsoft HoloLens, ARKit for iOS, ARCore for Android and cross-platform solutions such as Vuforia.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

About This Book 2

Foolish Assumptions 3

Icons Used in This Book 3

Beyond the Book 4

Where to Go from Here 4

Part 1 Getting Started with Virtual and Augmented Reality 5

Chapter 1 Defining Virtual and Augmented Reality 7

Introducing Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality 8

Looking at Some Other Types of Virtual and Augmented Reality 11

Mixed reality 11

Augmented virtuality 13

Extended reality 14

Taking a Quick History Tour 14

The father of virtual reality 15

Augmented reality gets a name 16

Early virtual reality failures 16

Virtual reality breaks through 17

Augmented reality hits the mainstream 18

Evaluating the Technology Hype Cycle 19

Chapter 2 Exploring the Current State of Virtual Reality 23

Looking at the Available Form Factors 24

Focusing on Features 29

Room-scale versus stationary experience 29

Inside-out tracking 31

Haptic feedback 33

Audio 35

Considering Controllers 36

Toggle button 36

Integrated hardware touchpad 37

Gaze controls 37

Keyboard and mouse 38

Standard gamepads 40

Motion controllers 40

Hand tracking 43

Eye tracking 44

… and much more 45

Recognizing the Current Issues with VR 47

Simulator sickness 47

The screen-door effect 49

Movement in VR 50

Health effects 51

Cannibalization of the market 51

Assessing Adoption Rates 52

Chapter 3 Exploring the Current State of Augmented Reality 55

Looking at the Available Form Factors 57

Mobile devices 57

AR headsets 58

AR glasses 60

Considering Controllers 61

Touch 62

Gaze 63

Keyboard and mouse 64

Voice 64

Hand tracking 65

Motion controllers 66

Recognizing the Current Issues with Augmented Reality 68

Form factors and first impressions 68

Cost and availability 69

Perceived usefulness 69

Tracking 70

Field of view 72

Visuals 73

Assessing Adoption Rates 74

Part 2 Consuming Content in Virtual and Augmented Reality 77

Chapter 4 Consuming Content in Virtual Reality 79

Exploring Consumer-Grade Virtual Reality 79

High-end devices 80

Mid-tier devices 81

Low-end devices 82

Identifying Near-Future Hardware 83

HTC Vive Pro 84

HTC Vive Focus 85

Lenovo Mirage Solo 86

Oculus Santa Cruz 86

Oculus Go 88

Pimax8K 89

LooxidVR 90

Varjo 91

Comparing Current and Future Options 92

Chapter 5 Consuming Content in Augmented Reality 95

Exploring Consumer-Grade Augmented Reality 96

Microsoft HoloLens 97

Meta 2 98

Magic Leap 100

Mira Prism 101

Apple ARKit and Google ARCore 102

Identifying Near-Future Hardware 105

Heads-up displays 105

AR devices 106

Comparing Current and Future Options 107

Part 3 Creating Content in Virtual and Augmented Reality 109

Chapter 6 Evaluating Your Project 111

Assessing Your Project's Technology Needs 111

What is the elevator pitch for my project? 112

What are my goals and objectives? 113

What problem does my project uniquely solve? 114

Who is the target market? 115

What should the end-user experience be? 116

Choosing Virtual Reality 117

Strengths 117

Weaknesses 117

Choosing Augmented Reality 119

Strengths 120

Weaknesses 121

Chapter 7 Planning Your Virtual Reality Project 123

Defining Your Virtual Reality Project 123

Determining your project execution 124

Defining your audience 125

Determining hardware support 125

Defining your timeline 128

Exploring Design Principles in Virtual Reality 129

Starting up 129

Focusing the user's attention 130

Understanding the comfort zone 131

Giving the user control 134

Understanding locomotion 134

Providing feedback 136

Following the user's gaze 137

Avoiding simulator sickness 138

More best practices to consider 139

Defining Your Social Experience 140

Chapter 8 Planning Your Augmented Reality Project 143

Defining Your Augmented Reality Project 144

Determining hardware support 144

Defining your timeline 147

Exploring Design Principles in Augmented Reality 148

Starting up 148

Considering the environment 150

Understanding comfort zones 152

Interacting with objects 154

Exploring user interface patterns 158

Understanding text 159

Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3 161

Defining Your Social Experience 161

Chapter 9 Creating Content for Virtual and Augmented Reality 163

Assessing Design Software 164

User experience design software 164

Traditional design tools 169

VR/AR-based design tools 172

Ready-made models 173

Capturing Real Life 174

Video-capture options 175

Still-image capture options 178

Audio options 181

Spatial audio 184

Assessing Development Software 185

Game development engines 185

Mobile augmented reality development 189

WebVR 190

Distributing Your Content 196

Virtual reality desktop headsets 197

Virtual reality mobile headsets 197

Google Cardboard 197

WebVR 198

Augmented reality headsets 198

Mobile augmented reality 198

Other options 199

Part 4 Virtual and Augmented Reality in the Wild 201

Chapter 10 Exploring Virtual Reality Use Cases 203

Art 204

Tilt Brush 204

Pierre Chareau exhibit 207

Google Arts & Culture VR 208

Education 209

Google Expenditions VR 210

Clouds Over Sidra 211

Apollo 11 VR 212

Entertainment 213

Intel True VR 213

The Shard 216

Healthcare 218

Beatriz: A journey through Alzheimer's disease 219

Virtual operating room 221

Psychological therapy 222

Gaming 223

Rec Room 223

VR arcades 224

Chapter 11 Exploring Augmented Reality Use Cases 227

Art 228

Facebook Building 20 228

Jeff Koons and Snapchat 229

Education 231

Google Expenditions 232

Major League Soccer Replay 233

Healthcare education 233

Industry and Commerce 236

Thyssenkrupp 236

WorkLink 237

Entertainment 240

Star Wars: Jedi Challenges 241

The New York Times Winter Olympics AR 243

Kinect Sandbox 244

Utilities 247

Perinno-Uno 247

Who Is It? 248

Part 5 The Future of Virtual and Augmented Reality 251

Chapter 12 Assessing the Future of Virtual Reality 253

Anticipating the Near-Future Changes 254

Evaluating the market 254

Looking at upcoming hardware and software 255

Considering Virtual Reality's "Killer App" 260

Predicting the Impact 261

Chapter 13 Assessing the Future of Augmented Reality 267

Analyzing Near Future Changes 268

Evaluating the market 268

Considering AR's "Killer App" 269

Predicting the Impact 271

Part 6 The Part of Tens 277

Chapter 14 Ten Questions about Virtual and Augmented Reality 279

How Will Virtual and Augmented Reality Affect Me? 279

Which Technology Will Win? 280

What If I Don't Have a Headset? 281

How Large Will the Virtual and Augmented Reality Consumer Markets Get? 282

When Should I Enter the Market as a Consumer? 282

When Should My Company Enter the Market? 283

Which Virtual Reality Headset Is Right for Me? 284

What Could Impede the Growth of Virtual and Augmented Reality? 287

Are There Lasting Physical Effects? 287

What Is the Future of Virtual and Augmented Reality? 288

Chapter 15 Ten Industries That Will Be Transformed by Virtual and Augmented Reality 289

Travel 290

Museums 292

Aerospace 293

Retail 294

Military 295

Education 297

Entertainment 298

Real Estate 300

Advertising and Marketing 301

The Unknown 302

Chapter 16 Ten (Or So) Mobile Apps for Experiencing Augmented Reality Today 305

Google Translate 306

Amazong AR View 307

Blippar 308

AR City 308

ARise 311

Ingress and Pokémon Go 312

MeasureKit and Measure 313

InkHunter 313

Sketch AR 314

Find Your Car and Car Finger AR 315

Index 317

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