Immersion 2015 is a summit on Immersive Education (iED). The Immersion 2015 summit will take place in Fall, 2015 in Paris, France. This summit gathers experts on various forms of immersive education and immersive technologies. The summit includes presentations from experts in various immersive forms and technologies such as virtual reality, holograms, robotics, 3D printing, neurogames, and cybernetics. These experts will discuss the forms of iED in-depth, as well as the technologies that have been created or are being created for each form (i.e. Google Glass). More information on the 2015 iED summit can be found by going to the following link Http://summit.immersiveEducation.org and then by clicking "Don't miss it!" inside the yellow banner. In this report, I will discuss the immersive technology regarding virtual reality. I will give an overview of the history of virtual reality, how it works, where one can buy virtual reality technology, the price, and its uses. Virtual reality is a particular immersive form of technology that has been worked on for many years. Interest in virtual reality technology has grown tremendously in the past decade and will continue to grow.
Virtual reality is defined as "a realistic simulation of an environment, including three-dimensional graphics, by a computer system using interactive software and hardware" on dictionary.com. Although discussed in the early 1900's their was no successful virtual reality technology created until 1968. The augmented reality HMD (head mounted display) was invented by a man named Ivan Sutherland. Sutherland is considered a pioneer in virtual reality. The term "virtual reality" was created and popularized by Jaron Lanier in the 1980s. In 1991, Sega created the Sega VR, which was a virtual reality helmet used in arcades. In 1991, a product called Virtuality became the first mass-produced virtual reality system. In 2007, Google introduced Street view, which allowed users to look at maps of the world in 3D. This year, Qantas, Australia's national airline, announced that it will provide flyers with Samsung's Gear VR for in-flight use. Virtual Reality has been used in many different industries but mostly used in the gaming world. In arcades, you can find games that require you to stick your head into a virtual reality helmet that allows you to see all around. One such game is Vortek V3 which is a stand-up virtual reality game where the user is in control of a plane while in a dogfight (aerial battle). Besides gaming, virtual reality has been used in the military, engineering, architecture, education and archaeology fields. Virtual reality technology is used in the military as a training tool for soldiers. Virtual reality technology is used in engineering and architecture to crete virtual objects and structures to get a glimpse of how they may look before actually being produced. In the archaeological field, virtual reality is used to provide a look at the layout of lands in which archaeologists are studying.
Many companies have entered into the virtual reality market, most notably Sony, Google, Samsung, and most recently, Facebook. In May 2014, Sony announced its Project Morpheus, a virtual reality helmet that can be used with the Playstation 4 gaming console. Although the device has not yet been mass-produced, Sony has made great strides in the creation of it. Google entered the virtual reality industry with Street View in 2007 and most recently Google Cardboard. Google Cardboard is a small cardboard device that you can insert you smartphone into that gives you a virtual reality experience by using different applications.Google Cardboard is perhaps the most affordable virtual reality device selling anywhere from $3.00 to $10.00. The video below explains a virtual reality gaming device. The creator explains how it works and shows him using the technology.
The virtual reality industry is a great form of immersive technology. It is a growing industry that has gained a tremendous amount of interest in the past decade. We will continue to see great improvements in the industry and a more affordable virtual reality device. Their are many uses of virtual reality and there will be many more uses to come. Sources:
Virtual Reality has been used in many different industries but mostly used in the gaming world. In arcades, you can find games that require you to stick your head into a virtual reality helmet that allows you to see all around. One such game is Vortek V3 which is a stand-up virtual reality game where the user is in control of a plane while in a dogfight (aerial battle). 
Virtual reality is contending to be the interface of the future, allowing ordinary users to use their senses to interact with complex data.
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