VR for Training: 2022 Guide to Create Your VR Training Solution

Thinking about implementing VR technology into your corporate training process? This guide explains VR training app benefits, its key features, and costs.

How AR/VR Technologies Impact eLearning Effectiveness

This article will enlighten you on the role of augmented and virtual reality in education currently and in the future.

MobileAppDaily Listed Onix Among Top VR Dev Companies

Virtual Reality (VR) is the use of computer technology to create a simulated environment that lets users interact in a real or imaginary world. At Onix Systems, our experienced and well aware virtual reality developers, we serve our users with solutions on how to engage and increase customer traffic in your target market. We take time to understand our client’s business venture and enact short, mid or long term plans. We remain on the top curve of virtual technology with our highly skilled virtual reality developers. With our immense inquisitiveness towards this respected field and our trusted team with us throughout this journey, we have been recognized by MobileAppDaily in their annual report of <a href="https://www.mobileappdaily.com/virtual-reality/companies" target="_blank" class="ql-bg-transparent ql-color-#1155cc"><a class="external" href="https://www.mobileappdaily.com/virtual-reality/companies" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">top virtual reality development companies</a></a> for 2020.<img src="http://onix-systems.com/web/uploads/1iAb8Mz03Yw4Zcb0c7MJ14u9nAFGKwpm.jpg"> <h2>Why is Onix Systems considered amongst the top Virtual Reality development companies by MobileAppDaily?</h2>MobileAppDaily is the largest and most renowned media source when it comes to the mobile app industry. It’s a one-stop platform for app users and tech enthusiasts who are interested to know about the valuable insights of the world of applications.&nbsp; With their in-depth annual reports, informative app reviews, candid CEO interviews, latest news on top listed apps of different categories and genres and whatnot, <a href="https://www.mobileappdaily.com/" target="_blank" class="ql-bg-transparent ql-color-#1155cc"><a class="external" href="https://www.mobileappdaily.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">MobileAppDaily</a></a> has got you all covered with the latest breakthroughs in Android and iOS applications. At Onix Systems, our highly skilled developers merge digital models of the real world with computer-generated models, ensuring a fascinating experience of the real-world progressing into an immersive virtual reality world. We are thankful to MobileAppDaily for featuring us and such great recognition helps us to get better every day. We take immense pride in sharing this esteemed podium with other celebrated organizations. At Onix Systems, we ensure that our clients are in better hands.&nbsp;

Onix-Systems featured in MobileAppDaily as one of the top VR development companies in their latest annual report. Check out our blog to find out more.

Estimating an Augmented Reality App Development Cost

How much does augmented reality cost to implement in a mobile app? What factors determine augmented reality app development costs? Read on to learn.

Implementing VR in Medicine and Medical Training

Virtual reality (VR) and its cousin, augmented reality (AR), are emerging in the healthcare field as a high-tech solution for improving medical education. Medical staff are continually learning throughout their lifetime of work. Today, with medical tools undergoing revolutionary upgrades faster than ever before, it is critical for these professionals to stay up to date with innovations. If ignored, that growing gap in knowledge hampers their ability to provide proper services to their patients. This is where AR/VR applications are expected to be most beneficial. Using virtual reality for medical training has great potential. Will it replace traditional training soon, or is this only wishful thinking?&nbsp;<h2>Why Use VR for Medical Training?</h2>Modern VR training, although widely regarded as beneficial for education, is still somewhere between excitement and skepticism. It is easy to understand the latter, since many medical professionals were trained using traditional methods and are more comfortable with these methods despite their limitations. Others point at successful implementations of <a href="https://onix-systems.com/blog/virtual-museum-experiences-taking-the-cultural-mission-to-a-new-level" target="_blank" class="ql-bg-transparent ql-color-#1155cc">VR in the cultural field</a>. For example, it’s now possible for an entire class of students to visit the Louvre from anywhere in the world or to go on a virtual ‘field trip’ inside the human body. What was once considered impossible has now become possible in our virtual world. The advances of <a href="https://onix-systems.com/blog/how-you-can-leverage-the-benefits-of-virtual-reality-in-education" target="_blank" class="ql-bg-transparent ql-color-#1155cc">VR in learning and training</a> allow students and specialists to train in a more enjoyable and engaging way. New skills are acquired and honed through practice in interactive and safe virtual environments. Students don’t even require an instructor because instructions and tips are built inside the VR app. However, students’ performance in this virtual world still needs to be analyzed and evaluated by a specialist. <a href="https://onix-systems.com/blog/how-you-can-leverage-the-benefits-of-virtual-reality-in-education" target="_blank"><img src="http://onix-systems.com/web/uploads/_4JtApje7Vhd0O0jNYaP5TtBHfjiQ2IM.png"></a> Medical schools can benefit from adopting augmented and virtual reality for medical training programs. For example, VR simulations allow for exploring the human body without endangering patients. A scarcity of subjects to practice on can often result in a situation where students could only practice once or twice before needing to perform a real surgical procedure. Virtual environments provide students with the valuable ability to explore, make mistakes, and learn from them. In addition, students can repeat these procedures multiple times and that’s difficult to accommodate in a traditional school of medicine. <div class="td-video ql-align-center" height="356" width="627" contenteditable="false"><div class="td-quill-video-wrapper"><iframe frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" class="td-quill-video-editing" width="627" height="356" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aDDIKn9RkJk?showinfo=0"></iframe><div class="td-quill-video-overlay" contenteditable="false"></div></div></div> VR medical training doesn’t replace traditional training, but it provides an important edge. It can present sophisticated concepts through visualization and interaction and provide a valuable view of real-world experiences. This makes tasks easier to grasp and creates a level of interest that textbooks or tests struggle to do. VR helps keep medical training formalized, ensuring a stable level of performance quality, while establishing standardized skills set for medical specialists. AR/VR can be useful for training nurses and surgeons too. They need to be prepared to resolve various practical and ethical dilemmas in their work. Through simulation, VR platforms can bring unique learning opportunities, such as rehearsing complex surgeries, delivering hard news, and other scenarios commonly encountered in a hospital. Therefore, specialists can be better prepared to face complex and dynamic medical situations.&nbsp; VR training can also be useful for paramedics. These professionals work in an environment where pressure can be extremely high. If their first encounter with harsh situations happens in the real world, it can be overwhelming and stressful. Virtual environments enable them to learn both procedures and self-control. <div class="td-video ql-align-center" height="360" width="626" contenteditable="false"><div class="td-quill-video-wrapper"><iframe frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" class="td-quill-video-editing" width="626" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fMtFTAjlsYc?showinfo=0"></iframe><div class="td-quill-video-overlay" contenteditable="false"></div></div></div> VR technology may help improve the quality of healthcare services. For example, VR headsets are already used in some children’s hospitals to distract children during unpleasant procedures, such as blood sampling. <div class="td-video ql-align-center" height="355" width="627" contenteditable="false"><div class="td-quill-video-wrapper"><iframe frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" class="td-quill-video-editing" width="627" height="355" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hK4WJ6mNDDM?showinfo=0"></iframe><div class="td-quill-video-overlay" contenteditable="false"></div></div></div> Another application of virtual reality in medicine relates to virtual simulations of how patients with mental health disorders see and experience the world. It is a great help for psychiatric centers’ staff and possibly the patients’ relatives. Research and studies are not always capable of providing such vivid insights into what is happening in someone’s mind. Even medical device makers benefit from virtual environments. Instead of personally giving instructions or demonstrations to every specialist that might be interested, they use VR to present their products. Although VR devices can be costly, each year companies are making this technology available to the wider audience by producing simpler headsets such as Oculus Go. The price points for these new devices are often cheaper than sending representatives to meet in person with clients.&nbsp;<h2>AR Is Also Suitable For Medical Training</h2>Augmented reality may be not as engaging as VR but can still yield very good results. The advantages of AR for medical training are: <ol><li>Students don’t need a VR helmet. They can hold a tablet over a manikin to superimpose simulated internal organs or a hologram of a patient on it. With AR, medical students and doctors can learn and practice anywhere, even at home, which promotes continuous improvement.</li><li>AR is not fully immersive, so it can combine real and virtual medical devices. For example, when students learn to read ultrasound images, AR would add layers with images of underlying tissue, blood vessels, nerves, muscles, and bones on the real ultrasound image.&nbsp;</li><li>Because AR is not fully immersive, it also makes teamwork possible. Team members can interact with one another and with the instructor.</li></ol><img src="http://onix-systems.com/web/uploads/xwu9ws2GHhAUy8FVXG8X6usUdeQ9uj1f.jpg"><h2> </h2><h2>Is VR What Medical Training Needs?</h2>Medical and especially surgical landscapes are evolving rapidly, and there is plenty of space for exploring new and experimental ways of training. VR and AR have great potential in the field. As they become more refined and accessible, the case for incorporating this technology into training programs seems to make sense. Or does it?&nbsp; It is understandable why some don’t believe that VR technology can be useful based upon the traditional training they received; i.e. cadavers or live patients. While cadavers will continue to be of use, training on live patients is dangerous and greatly pressures young trainees. Some specialists also note that VR and AR are not very realistic in simulating individual features of human bodies. For example, knee joints differ in each patient. Objects and tools in the virtual world do not have weight and therefore create less than realistic user experiences.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Despite these limitations, VR medical training is expected to transform medical education. Both AR/VR applications already help in better understanding the anatomy of the human body and the steps of various medical procedures. They empower students to apply knowledge and practice skills until they are mastered. Virtual environments allowing medical and interprofessional training to be conducted more easily will be hard to ignore. VR technology has a long road ahead to become fully integrated with current curricula, but it is reasonable to predict that one day it will be common. If you have innovative ideas on AR or VR for medical training or other fields, <a href="https://onix-systems.com/vr-ar-virtual-reality-augmented-reality-development" target="_blank" class="ql-bg-transparent ql-color-#1155cc">Onix team</a> is here to help. Let’s pave the path for the future together today.

The use of virtual reality in medicine benefits medical students, doctors, staff, and even medical device makers. Take a look at how it works!




How You Can Leverage the Benefits of VR in Education

A few years ago, when virtual reality was becoming increasingly affordable, ideas about using it in education began to emerge. Technological solutions like Google Cardboard may not be perfect, but still more engaging than textbook pictures. Oculus VR is moving in that direction as well. For example, in August 2018, the company launched <a href="https://www.oculus.com/blog/announcing-oculus-education-pilot-programs-in-taiwan-japan-and-seattle/" target="_blank" class="ql-bg-transparent ql-color-#1155cc"><a class="external" href="https://www.oculus.com/blog/announcing-oculus-education-pilot-programs-in-taiwan-japan-and-seattle/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Oculus Education pilot programs</a></a> for Taiwan, Japan, and Seattle. They work with local organizations to provide VR headsets so that educators and students can explore ways to use them in educational settings and see how beneficial that is. Taiwan decided to use VR headsets in libraries and museums, Japan will explore the possibilities of remote education, and Seattle Public Schools are developing a VR creation course. Previously, Oculus had teamed up with California State Library and research institutions of MIT and Harvard in attempts to ‘better understand VR’s potential impact on learning outcomes’. They see the potential and are ready to continue. Others may be slower at seeing the benefits of virtual reality in education. Many people are used to the old ways and are skeptical when it comes to something new and high-tech. This article will provide, what we hope are, some convincing examples of delivering educational content in new exciting ways through the power of VR.<img src="http://onix-systems.com/web/uploads/iK78kl1AkXV4bkfqEQIEXZRWBypE5hXu.jpg"> <h2>A Few Ways to Use Virtual Reality in Education</h2>One way to leverage the capabilities of virtual reality in education is to simulate things that are hard, impossible, or dangerous to do in real life. Because of highly accurate virtual models, VR provides the opportunity to educate and train high-quality specialists in the most complex fields, ranging from technical maintenance and to medicine. For example, VR apps already significantly enhance the safety of medical studies. Human anatomy is a difficult subject, and in best-case scenarios, students may have the chance to practice surgeries once on a cadaver prior to performing an actual surgery. With VR, surgical training improved by providing realistic simulations for many types of surgical procedures. Soon, doctors and students will be able to create models and test theories and scenarios that they cannot done in the ‘classical way’ using cadavers.&nbsp; The J and K Virtual Reality Learning Center at the Western University of Health Sciences has been using an innovative VR-based curriculum model since 2015. They use Oculus Rift to ‘shrink’ students learning human anatomy to microscopic size, allowing the students to “roller-coaster” through the human body with a simultaneous tour guide narration.&nbsp; Another possibility involves field trips to places difficult to visit in the real world due to logistical and safety concerns. For example, <a href="https://edu.google.com/products/vr-ar/expeditions/?modal_active=none" target="_blank" class="ql-bg-transparent ql-color-#1155cc"><a class="external" href="https://edu.google.com/products/vr-ar/expeditions/?modal_active=none" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Google Expeditions</a></a> offers tours created by leading institutions across the globe. Students can now easily visit the Louvre or Mount Everest or explore tornadoes or beehives from the ease and relative safety of the classroom. The Expeditions VR app also allows users to create their own virtual field trips. <a href="http://www.titansofspacevr.com/titansofspace.html" target="_blank" class="ql-bg-transparent ql-color-#1155cc"><a class="external" href="http://www.titansofspacevr.com/titansofspace.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Titans of Space</a></a> claims to be better than a trip to the planetarium. It’s a virtual Solar System tour with highly accurate visuals with loads of facts narrated by a guide. Somewhat similar is the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiCk2I6PXl5qm0CTvO6zXt3k33GTmcIvk" target="_blank" class="ql-bg-transparent ql-color-#1155cc"><a class="external" href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiCk2I6PXl5qm0CTvO6zXt3k33GTmcIvk" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Discovery VR</a></a> app which allows users to dip into time, history and space via immersive 360-degree videos, ‘from shark-infested shipwrecks to free boarding the curviest street’. The same goes for time travel back to significant historical events such as Washington’s Inaugural, Pearl Harbor, Dunkirk, or the Viking Age.&nbsp;<img src="http://onix-systems.com/web/uploads/869TmIm4l4pxiOpdh-gqfkeOiMjN0Dfo.jpg">Virtual reality education apps have the potential to impact many professions. Students may use VR simulations for a better understanding of what careers are interesting for them. Afterward, during vocational training, virtual and augmented reality will help them too. Platforms like <a href="https://www.viar360.com/virtual-reality-and-vocational-education/" target="_blank" class="ql-bg-transparent ql-color-#1155cc"><a class="external" href="https://www.viar360.com/virtual-reality-and-vocational-education/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Viar360</a></a> can provide future mechanics with a clear interactive visual of a car engine from all the angles while sitting in the classroom. Read also: <a href="https://onix-systems.com/blog/what-vr-platforms-are-best-for-game-development" target="_blank" class="ql-color-#0000ff">What VR Platforms are Best for Game Development?</a> Art, design, and architecture can be more easily learned with the help of virtual reality. Students can build and design their own constructs or recreate historic sites. Instead of visiting museums or looking at pictures of famous sculptures, art students can observe these artworks in great detail by manipulating and moving them around through VR apps.&nbsp; VR can be used for educating and helping students with special needs. VR apps can create social situations where students can practice daily routine skills in a safe environment. For example, this method eliminates many risks of real-world situations for students with autism spectrum disorder. Examples of these include grocery stores, public transport, or getting a haircut. Such VR scenarios can provide these students with similar real-world situations and lower the stress it may cause in real life.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="http://onix-systems.com/web/uploads/5xTwUYvZjea6m8kDckvUJErAVlY9rhaI.jpg">In 2016, the University of Westminster created <a href="https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/students-play-virtual-reality-game-learn-criminal-law" target="_blank" class="ql-bg-transparent ql-color-#1155cc"><a class="external" href="https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/students-play-virtual-reality-game-learn-criminal-law" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">the VR game named REVRLaw</a></a> where students can explore real-life scenarios to learn about criminal law. It is primarily based on searching clues and deciding whether they deal with murder or not.&nbsp; Construction VR/MR developed for all VR/MR platforms (Valve Index, Windows Mixed Reality, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift) <a href="https://onix-systems.com/vr-ar-virtual-reality-augmented-reality-development" target="_blank" class="ql-bg-transparent ql-color-#1155cc">by the Onix team</a> also has that game-like look and feel but can still&nbsp; be used for explaining basic behavior and life safety fundamentals to construction workers. It has built-in check-lists, hints like ‘Don’t forget to put on your personal protective equipment,’ and tasks like ‘Use the elevator and go to the 30th floor’.&nbsp; <div class="td-video ql-align-center" height="356" width="642" contenteditable="false"><div class="td-quill-video-wrapper"><iframe frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" class="td-quill-video-editing" width="642" height="356" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vtWfazkv8gE?showinfo=0"></iframe><div class="td-quill-video-overlay" contenteditable="false"></div></div></div> Somewhat similar is the Laboratory VR Training Simulation, a demo project that Onix created for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. The main idea of this project is to introduce students to laboratory and lab work. This demo also contains hints and tasks. This way, users can learn basic operating procedures. Although it feels like a game, it creates a memorable experience that can be applied to a real-world lab environment afterwards. <div class="td-video ql-align-center" height="364" width="637" contenteditable="false"><div class="td-quill-video-wrapper"><iframe frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" class="td-quill-video-editing" width="637" height="364" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KLcqdVDcWK4?showinfo=0"></iframe><div class="td-quill-video-overlay" contenteditable="false"></div></div></div> Another example is the AHTS VR Game, also made by Onix, which provides a life-like immersive experience with realistic weather and sea vessel physics. The app recreates the movement of a 3,000-ton ship maneuvering in the open ocean. Although it has UFOs that you can shoot with a water gun, the game is realistic enough to learn some basics of marine navigation. Users can to steer the ship to the oil rig, put out fires, avoid traffic, and many more ‘typical onboard activities’ gaining experience while playing. The game was developed for HTC Vive. <div class="td-video ql-align-center" height="356" width="645" contenteditable="false"><div class="td-quill-video-wrapper"><iframe frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" class="td-quill-video-editing" width="645" height="356" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rmXK38Tmu3o?showinfo=0"></iframe><div class="td-quill-video-overlay" contenteditable="false"></div></div></div><h2> </h2><h2>What Are the Benefits of VR for Learning and Teaching?</h2>Smart boards are replacing chalkboards, tablets are pushing aside notebooks and pencils, and now it's the turn for VR education. With the possibility to bring students to other worlds and provide higher level of understanding, virtual reality in the classroom can provide endless advantages, such as: <ol><li>Direct involvement in the learning process instead of traditional memorization creates a better sense of place and purpose. With this level of engagement, it is possible for students to experience a place or a subject without distractions. And it’s always more satisfying to learn by practicing than by cramming or watching educational movies.</li><li>Distance learning and language barriers become less of a problem. Virtual reality can provide built-in translations making education more accessible.</li><li>Virtual reality in the classroom can help create ‘whole science lab’ experiences, allowing a better understanding of complicated concepts. Studying can be more fun AND more efficient. Students experience ideas without the risks often associated with actual real-world practice. They can be ready when they face something similar in the real world.</li><li>Empowering both the students and the teachers. Student data from VR devices can be funneled to a teacher to better understand their progress.</li><li>Memorable experiences are key to more effective learning. Visceral and emotional reactions are an important base for forming memories.&nbsp;</li><li>Creativity boost. Virtual reality is effective not only for consumption but also for creation. It ‘teleports’ students to an alternative universe where they can explore the world anew.&nbsp;</li></ol>&nbsp;Although VR is widely considered an extension of the gaming experience, it has enormous potential for education. Students can travel, design and create, dissect a frog or a human, assemble and disassemble car engines, and so much more in a safe virtual space.&nbsp; With VR tech becoming more accessible, it will eventually become more accepted, and more VR apps will be developed. It will take some time for the academic community to embrace VR, but eventually they will catch up. In the meantime, the pioneers of VR education will pave the way.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://onix-systems.com/blog/how-to-create-an-elearning-website-if-you-want-it-to-be-like-udemy" target="_blank" class="ql-color-#0000ff">How to Create an E-Learning Website</a> If your mind is buzzing with ideas for boosting the education process by adding virtual and augmented reality to the classroom, share them with <a href="https://onix-systems.com/vr-ar-virtual-reality-augmented-reality-development" target="_blank" class="ql-bg-transparent ql-color-#1155cc">Onix team</a>! Together, we will help bring your ideas to life.

Oculus Education and other projects are paving the way for extensive use of VR in teaching and training. Read on to learn more.

How VR Takes Museum Experiences to a New Level

Museum virtual reality enables people to visit the world’s greatest exhibits without leaving their couch. What does it promise to museums and artists?

How to Use AR/VR in Business and Marketing – Part II

After a post about product promotion and try-before-you-buy opportunities, this one discloses more virtual and augmented reality business applications.

How to Use AR/VR in Business and Marketing – Part I

If you wonder how to enhance your PR and marketing strategy, here are twenty inspiring augmented and virtual reality marketing examples.

3 Universal Applications of Augmented Reality in Business

Discover what's possible with augmented reality in business and how any company can leverage AR technology to enhance external and internal processes.

5 Augmented Reality Shopping Breakthroughs for Businesses

AR clothing apps, marketing campaigns, and other AR experiences are pushing the boundaries for businesses and customers. Read on to learn more about AR in commerce!

Top 10 AR/VR Applications in Mobile Apps - Onix

Still in doubt about the effectiveness of AR/VR applications? Look at ten examples of how businesses can be revolutionized by augmented or virtual reality.

Revolutionizing Movie Industry Through VR Movie Apps

Virtual reality (VR) continues to be a catchy phrase these days. It’s not just a passing technological fad. It stands firmly on both feet providing users with a rich gamut of VR experiences. These types of VR experiences are made possible due to the head-mounted displays (HMD), through which users can immerse themselves in a tremendous virtual reality experience. &nbsp;In the past, we have devoted several blogs to VR content for creating 3D games. You can check our recent articles:&nbsp;<a href="https://onix-systems.com/blog/get-the-most-out-of-3d-physics-for-creating-game-in-unity" target="_blank" class="ql-color-#1155cc" style="font-size: 18px;">Get The Most Out of 3D Physics For Creating A Game in Unity</a> and <a href="https://onix-systems.com/blog/how-to-use-360-equirectangular-panoramas-for-greater-realism-in-games" target="_blank" class="ql-color-#1155cc" style="font-size: 18px;">How to Use 360° Equirectangular Panoramas for Greater Realism in Games</a>.&nbsp;In this blog, we’ll touch on total immersion experience that is possible thanks to VR movie apps. Imagine watching a movie in a 360-degree video format! Let’s move ahead and learn more about this immersive movie experience. &nbsp;<h2>The VR Revolution Will Continue to Advance</h2>The market for this type of technology is exploding with new possibilities for investment. According to Statista forecasts, the estimated number of VR headsets will grow to<a class="external" href="https://www.statista.com/topics/2532/virtual-reality-vr/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> </a><a href="https://www.statista.com/topics/2532/virtual-reality-vr/" target="_blank" class="ql-color-#1155cc" style="font-size: 18px;"><a class="external" href="https://www.statista.com/topics/2532/virtual-reality-vr/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">37 million by 2020</a></a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;The VR market will continue to expand enormously. Sales of VR hardware and software is projected to skyrocket to more than $19 billion while the global VR market is projected to soar to $21.5 billion in 2020. &nbsp;Mobile-based VR headsets are predicted to make up approximately 75 percent of global VR displays. The forecast indicates there’ll be as many as 130 million mobile virtual users worldwide by 2020. Read also: <a href="https://onix-systems.com/blog/how-ar-vr-technologies-impact-elearning-effectiveness" target="_blank" class="ql-color-#0000ff" style="font-size: 18px;">How AR/VR Technologies Impact eLearning</a>&nbsp;These statistics should certainly be a catalyst to your decision-making process. This form of entertainment is The Market where investments can produce big dividends and enrich users’ experience. &nbsp; <h2>Which Game Engines and Programming Languages are Best For a Genuine Virtual Reality Experience? </h2><img src="https://onix-systems.com/storage/iKD0yMUyhU9iDmDaWrtB_JZbTUAdtMYF.jpg" alt="virtual reality programming"><a href="https://unity3d.com/ru/learn/tutorials/topics/xr/getting-started-vr-development" target="_blank" class="ql-color-#1155cc" style="font-size: 18px;">Unity</a> is, by all means, the most used game engine. VR developers could work with many platforms from PC to mobile. The scripting language here is C#.&nbsp;&nbsp;What do VR developers need for creating a successful virtual reality experience? To build a truly engaging VR app, one needs to possess not only an exceptional command of the programming languages but also a certain aesthetic perception and intuition. Most of the high-quality VR content is centered around outstanding design. VR developers could choose to write in C++ with OpenGL or DirectX. Read also: <a href="https://onix-systems.com/blog/what-vr-platforms-are-best-for-game-development" target="_blank" class="ql-color-#0000ff" style="font-size: 18px;">Best VR Platforms for Game Development</a>&nbsp;Game engines are real table turners in this process. The only differentiation between a game and VR experiences is the rendition of two outlooks (two scenes for each eye) in VR videos. &nbsp;Now we’re going to talk about a particular type of user experience - a custom-made multi-format VR app that can enrich your movie theater enjoyment.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>“Visiting” a VR Movie Theater is a Real Page-Turner!</h2>Imagine fighting an army of aliens or flying over the Great Pyramids of Giza or landing on the Moon all in the same day? Well, this has become a dream-come-true with virtual reality programming. &nbsp;The new&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsZSxcooCek" target="_blank" class="ql-color-#1155cc" style="font-size: 18px;"><a class="external" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsZSxcooCek" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">IMAX VR center</a></a> offers revolutionary immersive VR experiences. You can do so much in their VR arcade. People from all walks of life can temporarily forget their daily cares by entering this endless world of VR entertainment. They simply put on a Samsung Gear VR or Oculus Rift to play VR games in pods or watch 3D virtual reality movies to reconnect with their childhood dreams. <img src="https://onix-systems.com/storage/KKMndRMfO6an3jxcxTAl7iJsL8ue7lhO.jpg" alt="virtual reality experience"><a href="https://www.slashfilm.com/imax-vr-experience-centre/" target="_blank" class="ql-color-#1155cc" style="font-size: 18px;"><a class="external" href="https://www.slashfilm.com/imax-vr-experience-centre/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Paramount Pictures</a></a> has made a further step by creating a VR movie theater. This is a potentially huge development in the IT world. Users can sit on their couch at home and watch movies in a VR movie theater. &nbsp;This experience is enhanced by the fact that you can watch 360-degree videos in VR. No more distractions or interruptions. Your new audience is very polite and movie-absorbed.&nbsp;On top of that, you can watch your favorite movie more interactively: you turn your head to see your beloved characters surrounding you. It’s like watching a 3D movie on TV that has been wrapped around your head. This possibility has now become a reality thanks to VR movie apps. For instance, take the sequels of the Star Wars. Now you can strap your head in an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive headset to enjoy watching <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RKMR4UKVWs" target="_blank" class="ql-color-#1155cc" style="font-size: 18px;"><a class="external" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RKMR4UKVWs" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Star Wars Force Awakens Trailer 360 VR</a></a> in various VR headsets such as Google Daydream or Google Cardboard. You can also use a smartphone where you can play YouTube VR videos (not limited to Android devices any longer).<img src="https://onix-systems.com/storage/bckLxzUxUXHBKS_Dtru6JV7zRV4Kb3xw.jpg" alt="vr movie apps">If you are excited about watching scenes from epic battles, for example, Tron Legacy Lightcycle battle in intense, close-up 3D.&nbsp;Here’s the way to do it as an experiment with your headset. &nbsp;<h2>The Four Kinds of Videos You Can Watch on Your VR Headset</h2>To put it simply, you can watch four types of video content in VR: &nbsp;1. 2D videos. These are regular videos you can find on YouTube or rip from your favorite DVDs and Blu-ray discs which you can watch with ordinary video players. &nbsp;2. 3D videos. You’ve already seen 3D movies at a movie theater. Now you can buy these movies on Blue-ray discs. To watch them, you first need to rip them to a “side by side” (SBS) or “over-under” format for it to be playable on a VR headset in 3D. There are two options between full-scale SBS, containing each eye in full resolution and half SBS, containing each eye in sub-sampled resolution. Full SBS videos are sharp to watch but take more graphics card memory. &nbsp;3. 180 or 360-degree videos. These types of videos are new, but you can find lots of them on YouTube. You can use your mouse on your 2D monitor to drag the video to see it from different angles. If you have Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, you can actually turn your head around activating your headset’s head tracking system. No matter where you turn your head you can watch your favorite movies!&nbsp; 4. Full VR videos. This format encompasses 3D, 180 or 360-degree videos to give a viewer a complete immersion experience. You can watch some of them on YouTube. For instance, check out <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb1bcavwna0&amp;index=23&amp;list=PLdhIQSYMnGKJZSo9tD-1UTA85PcOAh-6R" target="_blank" class="ql-color-#1155cc" style="font-size: 18px;"><a class="external" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb1bcavwna0&amp;index=23&amp;list=PLdhIQSYMnGKJZSo9tD-1UTA85PcOAh-6R" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Freefall: QubaHQ VR004</a></a>. &nbsp;There aren’t many 360 and VR videos as 2D or 3D movies, but as the IT market continues to expand, there will be more VR content to enjoy.&nbsp;The bottom line is that if you want to immerse yourself deeper in the movie content, you need a uniquely made VR app. Having such an app at your disposal could allow you to enjoy movies beyond what you can watch in a 2D or 3D movie theater. &nbsp;Moreover, you can market this app to a broader audience of your business clients to make some real profit. Who wouldn’t watch their favorite movies more engagingly? Your investment could grow exponentially as this market expands. Your VR app can become a potent promotional tool for 2D movies as well!&nbsp;At the end of the day, you need an experienced team of VR developers to create such an app. You don’t want amateurs doing shoddy work for you. On the contrary, you need top-class specialists who know how to make your VR content dreams a reality.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>Final Thoughts</h2><img src="https://onix-systems.com/storage/KBwOF0ELlwp600jpHeIq0w3FSeE0V6Mp.jpg" alt="how to create a virtual reality app">&nbsp;Undoubtedly, cinematographic VR is a fast developing, cutting-edge technology. It’s quickly becoming the new vista on experiencing reality through VR content. Thus, this market is an attractive niche for IT investments as people have always loved watching movies or shows.&nbsp;However, there’s a lack of expertise in this field as it's a comparatively new area. As a result, not every VR developer knows how to create a virtual reality app that resonates with potential users. Here at <a href="https://onix-systems.com/vr-ar-virtual-reality-augmented-reality-development" target="_blank" class="ql-color-#1155cc" style="font-size: 18px;">Onix</a>, we can create a transformational movie experience for you (either for Android or iOS) through a themed custom-made VR app. We have the necessary expertise to turn original video content into a special viewer experience.

Virtual reality apps can become game-changers in today’s VR movie content. It's time to invest in virtual reality experiences and VR movie apps!

Onix Game Development Team at Unite Berlin 2018

In January 2018, Onix’ team created <a href="https://onix-systems.com/blog/creating-a-vr-game-with-unity-game-engine-in-48-hours" target="_blank" style="font-size: 18px;">one of the best</a> games at Global Game Jam Ukraine. The consequences were even more exciting: the team won tickets to Unite Europe 2018. The name speaks for itself: the annual events bring together thousands of Unity developers, artists, publishers, teachers, filmmakers, researchers, business people, storytellers, and other creators and experts across all forms of entertainment. The participants present new creations with 2D, 3D, and VR and AR games and learn about latest Unity products and services. The events are held in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Unite conference 2018 for Europe was scheduled for June 19-21 in Berlin.&nbsp;For a Unity developer, a conference like this is an excellent opportunity to see what’s going on in the game, get hands-on experience of upcoming Unity technology, collaborate with fellow creators, learn from them and share the knowledge, rub shoulders with the industry leaders, and meet new partners, customers, and friends. The participants come home with skills, tools, and ideas that will surely boost their creativity. No wonder the guys at Onix had been looking forward to their trip ‘nach Berlin’ so much. We are not less excited to share their experiences and impressions in this blog post!&nbsp;<h2>What Was Going On at Unite Berlin 2018</h2>A few words about the location first. STATION-Berlin is located a few steps away from Potsdamer Platz, in the heart of the modern metropolis. It’s a beautiful old train station turned modern conference and exhibition center. A perfect location for a Unity3D conference where cutting-edge technology, interactive learning, games, and creativity are united. The convention center allows for many company booths, but unfortunately, the tech session spaces often felt overcrowded and stifling. The event managers provided extra chairs and projectors, but some attendees still had to listen from outside.&nbsp;Regarding the (estimated) 1,500 participants, there were all types present, from amateurs to renowned Unity developers and company owners. The majority of the participating teams intended to showcase their products and services and to find new customers. Fewer were interested in recruiting talent (e.g., Oculus) or attracting investors. Most conversations occurred in English, although occasionally German and Russian could be heard. Regardless, everyone was friendly, open, and eager to answer any questions.&nbsp;&nbsp;The majority of the speakers naturally represented Unity Technologies. Although intended for different levels, 80% of the sessions’ content was relevant and interesting for most Unity developers. The sessions were mainly focused on development with the <a href="https://onix-systems.com/blog/cribs-and-cyberpunk-things-you-can-do-using-unity-3d" target="_blank" style="font-size: 18px;">game engine</a>, and pretty much on the app optimization. Members of the audience could ask questions right in the room or meet the speaker afterward to have a more in-depth and personal discussion. Curious about the virtual and augmented reality topics, we particularly enjoyed speaking with Lukasz Pasek (Unity Technologies) about Mobile AR optimization and stereo-rendering and with Chris Pruett (Oculus) about the optimization and post-processing effects in Oculus VR.&nbsp;Here are our favorite sessions of Unite Berlin 2018 (in the alphabetical order):&nbsp;<ul><li>3D Visual Search on the Unity Asset Store: Instantly Find 3D Assets and Create Prototypes. Shai Ghelberg and Galia Rosen Schwarz presented a cool search plugin&nbsp;developed by Resonai. Powered by machine understanding of geometry and structure, it looks for 3D assets in the Unity market based on visual similarity.</li></ul>&nbsp;<ul><li>Advanced CAD Data Prep and Optimization in Unity. At the AutoTech Summit, which is part of Unite Berlin, Axel Jacquet and Geoffrey Subileau from PiXYZ talked about the way to work with large-scale CAD assemblies in Unity faster and easier for creating real-time interactive and virtual experiences. PiXYZ develops comprehensive software that allows to import and optimize CAD data. Their team is the first to deliver a fast, responsive, and painless solution to the problem.</li></ul> <div class="td-video ql-align-center" height="450" width="100%" contenteditable="false"><div class="td-quill-video-wrapper"><iframe frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" class="td-quill-video-editing" width="100%" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kwDNSLsTZTE"></iframe><div class="td-quill-video-overlay" contenteditable="false"></div></div></div> &nbsp;<ul><li>Book of the Dead: Environmental Design, Tools, and Techniques for Photo-Real Worldbuilding. Julien Heijmans (Unity Technologies) disclosed the optimizations and features used in the amazing project, as well as an original approach to the scenes preparation.</li></ul> <div class="td-video ql-align-center" height="450" width="100%" contenteditable="false"><div class="td-quill-video-wrapper"><iframe frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" class="td-quill-video-editing" width="100%" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DDsRfbfnC_A"></iframe><div class="td-quill-video-overlay" contenteditable="false"></div></div></div> &nbsp;<ul><li>Editor Scripting the Scene View. Oliver Eberlei, the coding-co-founder of the virtual reality arcade ‘Holocafé,’ showed how a developer could customize the editor.</li></ul>&nbsp;<ul><li>Embrace a Visual Vertical Slice and not die trying: The Nautilus Odyssey. THQ Nordic representatives without any self-promotion but fully and to the point described a pipeline for creating a video with a small team within a short time.</li></ul>&nbsp;<ul><li>Going for Speed: Maximizing Performance on Oculus Go. Chris Pruett (Oculus) demonstrated instruments for testing and application optimization.</li></ul>&nbsp;<ul><li>Magic Leap: Bringing Pixels to the World. Their augmented reality glasses are amazing. So was the story behind the device as told by the spatial computing experts. Aleissia Laidacker and Brian Schwab talked about things they'd learned while designing for mixed realities and showed block mesh technology, head pose, and gestures recognition, all coming together to form an MR experience.</li></ul>&nbsp;<ul><li>Optimizing AR: extend battery life and avoid overheating. Adam Smith (Unity Technologies) introduced simple ways to optimize an AR application.</li></ul>&nbsp;<ul><li>Scaling CPU Experiences: An Introduction to the Entity Component System. Julian Fischer (Intel) and Mike Geig (Global Head of Evangelism Content at Unity) spoke about the new approach to programming, the future of multithreaded projects, and the advantages of the new additions to Unity for current tasks.</li></ul>&nbsp;<ul><li>Unity Training Workshops Taster: Migrating to 2018.1 with Michael Warburton (Unity Technologies). The changes in the new version of the Unity engine are essential to know!</li></ul>&nbsp;<h2>The Team’s Impressions</h2>For Onix’ guys, Unite Berlin has been primarily about games and VR, so they were mainly hanging around relevant booths at the exhibition. Along with games companies, the exhibition featured new products by IBM, Microsoft, Nintendo, PlayStation VR, and others. A special section of the expo floor was dedicated to the parallel Unite Berlin AutoTech Summit.&nbsp;The platforms’ promotional stands provided immense opportunities for learning and networking. At Oculus, we discussed the application review and some details of the Guidelines of Oculus platforms. The representatives of Nintendo explained how to get a dev kit for the Nintendo Switch platform. At Sony’s, we were most curious about the publishing process, DevKit, Sony Developer account, development cost, and certificates cost.&nbsp;Microsoft folks were probably the friendliest. We talked about the MR publishing process, DevKit, new Kinect, and a whole lot of other things. We expect some market featuring at Microsoft store as a result.&nbsp;At Google’s booth, we discussed publications on the Mirage platform, AR, and DevKit shipping. When Onix team member mentioned that he participated in the creation of <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ambergarage.holokit&amp;hl=en" target="_blank" style="font-size: 18px;"><a class="external" href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ambergarage.holokit&amp;hl=en" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">HoloKit</a></a>, the Google representatives were pleased because they knew the app and had it featured on Google Play. We met the senior manager and talked about a prospective featuring for HoloKit and Timescope.&nbsp;At the AutoTech Summit, it was exciting to see how Unity unites gaming and automotive industries. The platform particularly empowers OEM designers to improve design quality. For example, Gravity Sketch that uses Unity was featured both at a session and at the exhibition. The tool enables designers to sketch in VR using an HTC Vive or similar headsets, with the ability to output files in the CAD format. After the session, we approached the speakers to ask about the basic techniques of quick NURBS modeling with the tool and were able to try some. The tool’s handy and the UI is accessible; one can get used to it within a day or two. The developer of Gravity Sketch shared some of the technical details of the project, the product’s potential and evolution. <img src="https://onix-systems.com/storage/l5xUdGzsyD7jVu8hTuyfmMTMhbojw6ph.jpg" alt="https://onix-systems.com/storage/l5xUdGzsyD7jVu8hTuyfmMTMhbojw6ph.jpg">&nbsp;The Volkswagen Group is using Unity’s ability to accurately simulate interior HMI, helping the designers refine all aspects of the system’s functions. Recently, they have used VR to improve training for 10,000 production and logistics employees. Torben Volkwein of Innoactive told a story about it, discussed AR and VR, and how Innoactive was working closely with FW for the fast adoption of VR/AR in the applications within the Volkswagen Group. We saw a live demo of VR training to appreciate the graphics quality, interactions, and how they organized the cloud for the applications.&nbsp;We were also impressed by Quixel Megascans. (It’s the team behind the photogrammetry-scanned real-world objects and textures of the Book of the Dead.) Quixel introduced a plugin for Unity that acts as a bridge for a game assets transmission and configuration. The representatives disclosed their strategy and provided pricing info. Mapbox team explained features of their latest version, showed off a plugin for map generation, and shared their development plans.&nbsp;Amplify Creations’ gamedev technology booth was good as well. We loved the hand-on Amplify Impostor Editor demonstration and the talk! The guys are currently working on several new plugins and own 3D adventure game. They were eager not only to answer questions regarding their products but also to help fellow developers&nbsp;- a most promising team if you're into the games’ visual optimization. We also have their business cards now!&nbsp;There were exciting indie projects as well, but often, when we had a question regarding the development, there was no one to talk tech to us. What a shame. Anyway, it was nice to chat with indie developers (some of them our countrymen!) about the analytics, the market, and statistics in a friendly informal setting. <img src="https://onix-systems.com/storage/eZmkp6MfYFiBx74vfVoRYPa3LmUrO03-.jpg" alt="unity3d conference">&nbsp;The afterparty dancing and local museums completed the impression of what happened at the conference of Berlin. It was the first Unite Europe for Onix’ team, but talking to some guys who had been there four and more times, we heard that the 2016 convention had some 3,000 participants and featured the best content so far. The memories of the last years’ show in Amsterdam are still fresh.&nbsp;We believe that both Unity3D conference and AutoTech conference Berlin were organized and very well conducted with much care. The number of participants, experts, and high-level leaders and entrepreneurs was more than enough. We just wish there had been:&nbsp;<ul><li>at some sessions, more technical content and less self-promotion;</li><li>a unified format of presenting companies at the exhibition;</li><li>better communication among the participants;</li><li>more seats at some of the sessions and better air conditioning in some of the spaces;</li><li>cold beers and veggie foods from the onset, as well as extra distribution points (NVIDIA-sponsored lunches were delicious, hence the queues).</li></ul>&nbsp;<h2>What Onix Brought Home from Unite Berlin</h2>Lots of new information, knowledge, skills, ideas, industry insights, contacts, inspiration, and motivation! This includes, but was not limited to:&nbsp;<ul><li>new features and upcoming improvements to Unity technology and various applications thereof, especially new tools for the particle systems;</li><li>first-hand experience in implementing the Entity Component System and the C# Job System;</li><li>Unity Editor development prospects;</li><li>original techniques for art data preparation;</li><li>a better understanding of the concepts, application, and benefits of existing tools that we had overlooked or underrated before;</li><li>new programs that optimize and speed up the development;</li><li>3D creation skills using VR headsets;</li><li>the dos and don’ts of holding sessions and presenting products at events of this scale...</li></ul>&nbsp;and much more stuff that we’d like to utilize in new projects and showcase at Unity, VR conferences, mobile dev conferences, or other industry conventions one of these days.&nbsp;During the Unite conference 2018, Onix game devs met several current and former customers and agreed on a new job on the Microsoft MR platform, an application to be launched on that platform, and possibly another one on Sony VR. There have been potential customers as well. Berlin-based business people discussed with us the development process and the pitfalls of app development with continuous face tracking and recognition.&nbsp;<h2>Wrapping Up</h2>Unite Europe 2018 proved to be a great time for learning and fun, professional networking and human connection, storytelling, and art. Onix is an outsourcing company, so we enjoyed Unite 2018 more than Web Summit, for example. Unite’s greater specialization is better for all: professionals, salespersons, recruiters, and business people.&nbsp;We definitely would like to attend the next Unity Unite conference, and recommend that all should visit Unite 2018 at other locations. (Unite Los Angeles is scheduled for October 23-25!)&nbsp;If interested, here are some tips on attending such events, so that they can give you the best experience:&nbsp;<ul><li>Make a list of your priority tech sessions and workshops beforehand, and allocate some time to hands-on demonstrations and booths in the expo area.</li><li>If the event has a mobile app, install it. It’ll notify you of time or location changes, enable you to chat with other attendees, etc.</li><li>You are sure to meet lots of great people there, but give priority to those who share your interests or work in your field. Try to arrange some meetings in advance to increase your odds of meeting the right contacts at the convention.</li><li>If needed, improve your English before a convention.</li><li>Bring along lots of well-designed business cards!</li><li>Especially if you are a sponsor, pay attention to your <a href="https://onix-systems.com/blog/the-x-factor-how-the-logo-for-your-business-should-be-designed" target="_blank" style="font-size: 18px;">branding</a> before the convention or trade show: we’ve noticed that anonymous booths and lackluster materials attracted little attention.</li><li>As hectic as a meeting may be, don’t forget about meals, water, and charging your mobile devices.</li><li>Try to book lodgings near the event location. If you fail, you still can save money traveling by public transport: in Berlin, there are universal group tickets and multi-day tickets. A group of five gets a discount. Bike rentals are popular too: it’s convenient, healthy, helps you get to the event location quickly, and allows for sightseeing or shopping at street fairs on the way.</li></ul>&nbsp;See you at Unite Berlin 2019 maybe? Good luck, and stay ahead of the game!&nbsp;(Vielen Dank to <a href="https://onix-systems.com/vr-ar-virtual-reality-augmented-reality-development" target="_blank" style="font-size: 18px;">Onix’ game/VR/AR developers</a> for the stories and assistance!)

Unite Europe exposes Unity developers to cutting-edge technology and learning. Our team is happy to share memories of the Unite conference 2018!

How to Use 360° Equirectangular Panoramas for Realism in Games

In this post, we share some tips and tricks for solving typical problems when projecting a panorama onto a cube.

What VR Platforms are Best for Game Development?

Virtual reality game development and VR environments no longer sound as a surprising or brand-new app technology. Even more, technology giants, such as HTC, Google, Microsoft, Samsung, Facebook and Sony have all contributed to this industry’s development and introduced their own virtual reality headsets that provide an immersive game experience.&nbsp;2016 was marked as the year when many such high-profile VR headsets were introduced, giving rise to VR game development and setting even higher expectations and hopes for VR technology. As noted in the annual survey prepared by the Games Developers Conference for 2017, the interest to VR development as a sustainable business will remain very high.&nbsp;Today’s diversity of devices offers a freedom of choice on interaction with the virtual reality. But this variety also becomes a matter of technologists’ concern. What VR platform to choose for game development? In this blog post, we’ll take an insight into some of the the currently most popular VR platforms for game development and see what experience you can achieve with them. Read also: <a href="https://onix-systems.com/blog/top-10-applications-of-ar-and-vr-in-business" target="_blank" class="ql-color-#0000ff" style="font-size: 18px;">Top AR and VR Applications in Mobile Apps</a>&nbsp;<h2>Most popular VR gaming platforms</h2>According to the report generated by the Games Developers Conference 2017, the number of companies that have shifted to development of virtual reality games has doubled since 2016, going from 6 to 13 percent. The variety of available platforms has also triggered changes in platform preferences in the development companies this year.&nbsp;The survey conducted by the GDC 2017 has shown that currently HTC Vive maintains the biggest number of votes as the platform that game development is currently conducted for (24 percent of respondents). Oculus Rift is also very close to these results, getting approval of 23 percent of respondents.&nbsp;<img src="https://onix-systems.com/storage/aEFgxT7KiJsjT0dVpTBLYhak0TYLtGB7.jpg" alt="VR platforms that are used for development">Source: GDC’s State of the Game Industry 2017 report&nbsp;45 percent of survey participants among VR game developers distinguished HTC Vive as the most interesting platform for game development. Compared to a similar survey held in 2016, interest is shifting away from Oculus Rift (40 percent in 2016).&nbsp;According to the same survey, the list of top VR/AR platforms currently considered as the most interesting among VR game developers look as follows:&nbsp;<img src="https://onix-systems.com/storage/jbsws0fj24iAB5s1PAnLKndo9DBZjIQm.jpg" alt="VR platforms that interest developers">Source: GDC’s State of the Game Industry 2017 report&nbsp;Below you can find some of the basic technical specifications for these popular VR headsets:&nbsp;<img src="https://onix-systems.com/storage/C_DF3NVn6sdr-waSGCcqfLvF8mLMd7-d.jpg" alt="VR headsets overview"><img src="https://onix-systems.com/storage/Xf6Aa2cUh8HiPlquRlDsM67qQDm_FATS.jpg" alt="VR headsets details overview ">&nbsp;<ul><li>HTC Vive</li></ul>HTC Vive is the product that resulted in collaboration of Valve, a giant PC game developer, and HTC, a hardware company. The headset provides a fully-immersive virtual reality experience with its external tracking sensors.&nbsp;There are several reasons to choose HTC Vive as your VR development platform and its current popularity is not a single reason for it. Valve owns Steam, a super large PC gaming platform, and also possesses a reputation of one of the most respected, creative and prosperous game development companies. Valve's hardware has no similar prototypes and is considered an innovative&nbsp;VR environment. HTC Vive is considered a developer-friendly VR development platform as it ensures seamless gaming experience and has an extensive developer network support.&nbsp;<div class="td-video" height="450" width="100%" contenteditable="false"><div class="td-quill-video-wrapper"><iframe frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" class="td-quill-video-editing" width="100%" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rmXK38Tmu3o"></iframe><div class="td-quill-video-overlay" contenteditable="false"></div></div></div> <a href="https://connect.unity.com/p/58d2a46d32b3060021eed4ef" target="_blank"><a class="external" href="https://connect.unity.com/p/58d2a46d32b3060021eed4ef" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Ship Simulator VR</a></a> - game for HTC Vive created by Onix Unity team &nbsp;<ul><li>Oculus Rift</li></ul>Oculus Rift is one of the most popular and high-tech virtual reality gaming platforms, quite close to HTC Vive. Over 77% of GDC developers have already used Oculus for game development. Oculus platform has become the beginning of VR development for many game developers around the world.&nbsp;Oculus Rift is often identified with VR itself since the story of this headset dates back to its Kickstarter campaign in 2012, the time that signified spread of interest in virtual reality devices. Since then Oculus has turned into a trusted brand owned by Facebook. It came to the market long before other VR gaming platforms were introduced. Facebook provides a strong engineers’ support to help developers create VR games for Oculus Rift.&nbsp;<div class="td-video" height="450" width="100%" contenteditable="false"><div class="td-quill-video-wrapper"><iframe frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" class="td-quill-video-editing" width="100%" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PpLmxue8Olk"></iframe><div class="td-quill-video-overlay" contenteditable="false"></div></div></div> <a href="https://connect.unity.com/p/589482f232b306001bad70aa" target="_blank"><a class="external" href="https://connect.unity.com/p/589482f232b306001bad70aa" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Fear of height&nbsp;VR</a></a> - compatible with Oculus Rift and HTC Vive - project by Onix Unity team&nbsp;&nbsp;<ul><li>PlayStation VR </li></ul>Sony’s PlayStation VR is most praised for providing a polished and easy VR experience. Although Sony PlayStation VR hit the market at the end of 2016, it maintains a strong base of fans that relies on the brand’s history. 15% of game developers are ready to create their games for this headset.&nbsp;PlayStation is deemed as a virtual reality gaming platform that is easy for development and distribution due to its use of a single set of hardware specifications. It is the only VR game platform that steadily nurtures game developers, provides funding to support new partnerships and development projects, and also helps make more VR games compatible with the device.&nbsp;<ul><li>HoloLens</li></ul>Microsoft HoloLens got onto the list of most popular gaming development platforms while actually being an Augmented reality viewer, not VR. HoloLens is untethered and self-sustained and allows building high-quality holographic experience apps.&nbsp;Unlike VR platforms, it was introduced as a device that accommodates not only games, but mainstream apps (e.g., Skype) too and, thus, can be used for all kinds of daily activities, not restricted by entertainment. A <a href="https://hololens.reality.news/news/unity-microsoft-are-giving-away-150-000-for-hololens-apps-loaning-out-hololens-developers-kits-0177620/" target="_blank" style="font-size: 18px;"><a class="external" href="https://hololens.reality.news/news/unity-microsoft-are-giving-away-150-000-for-hololens-apps-loaning-out-hololens-developers-kits-0177620/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">contest for developers</a></a> hosted in May 2017 by Microsoft and Unity revealed their interest in turning HoloLens into an AR device that resolves real-life problems and makes it useful rather than focuses only on fun.&nbsp;<div class="td-video" height="450" width="100%" contenteditable="false"><div class="td-quill-video-wrapper"><iframe frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" class="td-quill-video-editing" width="100%" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ownHviC7Unk"></iframe><div class="td-quill-video-overlay" contenteditable="false"></div></div></div> <a href="https://connect.unity.com/p/58d133bf32b3060021eec698" target="_blank"><a class="external" href="https://connect.unity.com/p/58d133bf32b3060021eec698" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">AR Forklift</a></a> - created for Microsoft HoloLens by Onix Unity team&nbsp;<ul><li>Google Daydream View</li></ul>With Google's Daydream View, you place your phone into a headset that functions as your display and provides a high-quality VR experience for games and apps that can be downloaded from the Play Store. The lenses separate the screen into two images. Actions are controlled with the help of a pairable remote in your hand.&nbsp;Once Daydream got to the market, Netflix, HBO and Hulu have created apps for it. Not all phones support Daydream View, but during <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/android-vr-release-date-news-features-1321245" target="_blank" style="font-size: 18px;"><a class="external" href="http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/android-vr-release-date-news-features-1321245" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Google IO 2017</a></a> it was confirmed that Daydream View is going to go through a transformation, where to get a VR experience, a user will no longer need a phone, computer or cables. The headset will include all parts that provide a VR experience.&nbsp;<ul><li>Samsung Gear VR</li></ul>It is a VR development platform that resulted in partnership between Oculus and Samsung and is often regarded as aт affordable option of Oculus Rift among low-end VR platforms.&nbsp;Samsung Gear VR will work for developers who are not looking to create high-end VR experiences and are only making their first steps in virtual reality game development. The library of apps and games for Samsung Gear VR is solid, though they don’t work on all phones. Regular improvements made to the headset enhance the immersion experience and add the potential of turning VR into a mainstream movement.&nbsp; <div class="td-video" height="450" width="100%" contenteditable="false"><div class="td-quill-video-wrapper"><iframe frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" class="td-quill-video-editing" width="100%" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6lSEsEj0kQk"></iframe><div class="td-quill-video-overlay" contenteditable="false"></div></div></div> <a href="https://connect.unity.com/p/low-poly-package-unity-asset-package" target="_blank"><a class="external" href="https://connect.unity.com/p/low-poly-package-unity-asset-package" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Low Poly World</a></a> by Onix Unity team - compatible with&nbsp;Samsung Gear VR, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Microsoft Hololens &nbsp;Each of the VR platforms reviewed above offers sufficient support to game developers, has its own approach to marketing and beating the competition. The platforms target different levels of virtual reality experience, going from those that are struggling to provide the most realistic experience to gamers (HTC Vive), and to those that focus on inexpensive solutions (Samsung Gear VR), and even those who wish to add value to VR/AR by making it useful for everyday problem-solving.&nbsp;&nbsp;Predicting the winner in this VR race is not possible since the trends have already shown that leaders can easily change if one of the competitors can offer a better and stronger feature that will be warmly welcomed by VR game developers.

The VR industry and game development are growing. To choose the right platform for development, it is better to know who the leaders are.

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