Environment Essay: The Definition Of Virtual Reality

The definition of virtual reality comes from both the words ‘virtual’ and ‘reality’. As the word virtual means near and reality is what we experience as human beings, the term ‘virtual reality’ basically means ‘near-reality’. This could, of cause, mean anything but it usually refers to a specific type of reality emulation. We experience the world through our senses. In schools and elsewhere we have learned that we have five senses. That is taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing. These are our most obvious sense organs. The truth is there are more senses in humans such as a sense of balance for example. These other sensory inputs, plus some special processing of sensory information by our brain ensure that we have a rich flow of information

It stands to reason then, that if you can present your senses with made-up information, your vision of reality would also alter in response to it. You will be presented with a version of reality that isn’t really there, but from your viewpoint it will be perceived as real. Sometimes we would refer to as a virtual reality. Therefore, virtual reality involves presenting our senses with a computer-generated virtual environment that can be explored any way we want. Technically if we describe virtual reality it simply means a three- dimensional, computer generated environment which can be interacted and explored by a person. The person becomes a part of the virtual reality world or is engrossed in this environment and whilst that person is there in that virtual environment, he/she is able to manipulate objects or perform a series of actions. Virtual reality when implemented manages to get the combination of hardware, software and sensory synchronicity just right, it achieves something known as a sense of presence. Where the subject really feels like that they are present in that environment in the actual