University of Texas at El Paso

Virtual Reality: Literature Review

George Juarez
RWS 1302

Abstract
Virtual reality has been around a while, but has only become publically available
for the consumers. With the technology easily accessible, more and more people are
starting to use it. As people start to get expose to this experience it can create a
profound experience that can change a person for the better or worse. As the
technology develops so will the uses for virtual reality. The main purpose for it is to be
used as a source of entertainment, but it can also have its beneficial effects when trying
to re-wire the brain into overcoming or generate progress for phobias and disorders
such as posttraumatic stress disorder. The purpose for this literature review is to
understand what virtual reality is, how it works, and its uses mainly in the psychological
aspect. Along with the positive aspects, the drawbacks will also be looked into.

Introduction
What is real? How do you define real? Well according to the online oxford
dictionary, real is defined as Actually existing as a thing or occurring in fact; not
imagined or supposed. If you talk about what you can see, smell, touch, taste, and hear
then real is just simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain. So then what is
virtual reality? Once again according to the online oxford dictionary, virtual reality is The
computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image or environment that can
be interacted with in a seemingly real or physical way by a person using special
electronic equipment, such as a helmet with a screen inside or gloves fitted
with sensors.
Since the technology is something very new to the public mainly for
entertainment purposes, I will be looking into three main areas when it comes to virtual
reality which are listed below.

What is virtual reality and how does it work?

What are the uses for virtual reality?
What are the drawbacks of virtual reality?
With the help of such technology, people can use it to travel to places otherwise

inaccessible to them because of physical limitations. Phobias such as fear of heights

can be dealt with by exposing them to simulations of being in high places. With the
technology always advancing and getting better, the possibilities of positive impacts are
limitless although there are always negative sides to every positive thing.
Virtual Reality Headsets

There are two types of virtual reality which are non-immersive and immersive.
Non-immersive is essentially a real or imagined world generated by the computer.
Immersive is when it gives the illusion of being physically present in the non-physical
world (Freina, 2015). The non-immersive can be associated with videogames,
computers and cellphones as they are able to create non-physical worlds, and allow us
to explore real places trough the images taken of a location and placed in a way as to
create an image that can be looked at in a motion of three hundred and sixty degrees.
Then in May of 2015, the Oculus VR announced that the consumer version of the
Oculus Rift would start shipping out the first quarter of 2016. This virtual reality headset
revolutionized how people will be able to interact with places, people and simulations.
The way the headset works is by placing these goggles that completely cover your
vision of the real world and fills your field of vision creating the illusion of being the
virtual world. The way this is accomplished is by having two lenses placed in front of
each eye and then one display screen in front of said lenses as shown in Figure 1. This
makes the user see two slightly different images that are shifted horizontally creating
the illusion of depth. This is the same technique used to create stereoscopic 3-D images
(Gamespot, 2013). Stereoscopic is the process by which two photographs of the same
object taken at slightly different angles are viewed together, creating an impression of
depth and solidity as defined by Oxford dictionary. Along with the display of the oculus
rift, the headset also has a gyroscope, accelerometer and magnetometer all of which
work together to provide fast head tracking with minimal latency. Along with auditory
cues, the ultimate goal of virtual reality headsets is to achieve presence which is the
subjective experience of being in a place that feels real. This is the part where the brain

has to be tricked into accepting that the

Retrieved from
Figure 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
virtual world is real. The brain has to be
v=iACAS_RAneE
able to recognize the peri-personal space which is a brain mechanism known to define
the space and boundary between the area of your body and what the rest of the world
(The Brain Forum, 2015). Depending on the level of presence achieved, the body will
react in different ways depending on what types of objects, or scenarios are around the
avatars body. Although the brain relies
heavily on what the eyes to see, the Oculus
Rift can only do so much to achieve a
certain degree of presence since it only
uses auditory and visual cues to fool our
brain. This is the part where the HTC Vive
takes it a step even further.
Originally unveiled in March 2015 at the Mobile World Congress keynote. The
HTC Vive works the exact same way that the Oculus Rift does, but the difference is that
it includes remotes for both hands that serve as arms in the virtual world. This is
important because by integrating the virtual body of the avatar into the simulation, it
adds to the effect of presence. To add even more to the realism it can create, the HTC
Vive has two base stations and a front side camera. The base stations work as sensors
that provide 360 motion tracking allowing for the virtual world to be scaled according to
the room and allowing you to move freely. The front side camera blends real world items
into the virtual world. An example would be to look at your own legs with the headset.
This would immerse the users legs into the virtual world adding to the effect of realism

tricking the brain into believing even more that they are actually present into the virtual
world (Vive, 2016).
VR and Its Uses
With the ability to fool the brain into thinking that the body is actually in the virtual
world, any sort of device that can create an immersive virtual reality experience has
endless possibilities of what can be done and achieved. Lets take for example the
Avatar Kinect for Xbox that was released back in 2011. The Avatar Kinect lets you
interact and communicate with your friends, and other users by showing your avatar on
the screen replicating your body movements and facial expressions as they sit in
several stages that are available (2011). This was one of the beginning stages for how
quickly the way people interacted online was changing. Then as the technology got
better, headsets for your smart phones were released for the consumers to be able to
watch videos or images that were recorded with a 360 camera for their entertainment.
Even without the head set people can still watch those images and videos with their
phones by just simply moving the phone in the direction that they wish to view in the
video or image. Then shortly after the virtual reality headsets were released to the
public impacting the way the consumers are able to play video games. The consumers
are now able to use these headsets to play games that actually require them to
physically move their bodies rather than using a joystick and buttons on a controller.
People are also able to paint images using a program that allows them to draw, and
paint in three dimensions and be able to walk around said paintings. These are all just
examples of what can be done in an immersive virtual reality for entertainment
purposes, but what about for scientific purposes?

Well even before the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive were announced, video games
were used to study how they can affect our minds and how we can use them to our
advantage. For example depending on the type of video game that the person is
playing, it can affect them differently. Lets say that a person is playing a game that is
classified as a sandbox game like Minecraft. That type of game stimulates the brain by
allowing for the persons creativity to flow as they build whatever they want in the game
using building blocks that are made up of different materials. Another example would be
games that require for the player to solve different kinds of puzzle/riddles. This type of
game will stimulate the brain that allows the person to think critically and even becomes
a little bit smarter in the process. Even first person shooter games like Call of Duty can
benefit people by making them react as fast as possible in order to take down the
enemy causing for their reflexes to become even faster than they were originally. Now
what if those ideas were transferred into the immersive experience that virtual reality
can provide? What sort of things can be studied now that we have the ability to
incorporate body motion into the equation? This is an area that is currently under study
and not a lot is known since it is relatively new.
The Effects of video games is very well documented since they have been
around since the 70s with the rise of arcade video games, but not the uses and effects
virtual reality can have both physically and psychological. One of the uses for any type
of virtual reality headsets is letting a paraplegic person use a headset to allow them to
travel to places otherwise inaccessible due to their physical condition. An example
would be to let someone who is bound to a wheelchair use a headset and load a video
or simulation of the sea. This would allow them to explore the ocean and the creatures

that live there. If the person is suffering from depression for this specific reason then
being able to use the headset to do this could possibly help them get past the
depression they currently are experiencing. Another example would be to use virtual
reality to help people with phobias such as arachnophobia or fear of heights. Lets take
the example of someone being afraid of heights. How can you use virtual reality to help
them with that type of fear? The answer is simple. You expose them to an environment
that places them in a high place in the virtual world. This is done by recording a video or
image with a camera that can record in 360 and edit the footage. Through the headset,
you place the person on top of a cliff and have them experience their fear. You then
have a therapist help them get over their fear as they use the headset. This is a way to
have the person relearn that height in the simulations is not dangerous. This can help
the person when they face a real life scenario when they are in a high place (The Brain
Forum, 2015).
Another example would be the treatment for people with posttraumatic stress
disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a psychological disorder that develops when a person is
exposed to an experience that is traumatic that causes their stress levels to be high
(Seitz, 2014). The way this is done is very similar to the example mentioned earlier with
the example of people with fear of heights. You have people exposed to situations of
high stress that will trigger the fear. This type of vivo/imaginal exposure reduces the
avoidance for patients when it comes to treatments. It also increases the chance that
the patient is emotionally engaged with the therapist during the experience. Now
according to a study done with U.S. veterans of the Vietnam war, and Iraq and
Afghanistan war diagnosed with PTSD disorder, many of them showed significant

improvement and no longer met the criteria to be labeled with PTSD disorder (Seitz,
2014).
Drawbacks of Virtual Reality
To every positive thing imaginable with virtual reality there is always a negative
side to it. The very first one that comes to mind is the price of virtual reality headsets.
Although available to the consumers for purchase, the price is still pretty high with the
HTC Vive costing around $799 (Vive, 2016). Not only is the headset itself expensive,
but you also need a computer that is compatible and is able to support the headset. You
can easily go online and look for a computer that has all the required components for
the headset to function properly or go to a store that sells computers. The latter is a bit
more difficult as they often sell computers that only come with an integrated chip set.
That chip set will not be enough, and you will be required to buy a separate graphics
card. The recommended graphics card can be a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970, or an AMD
Radeon R9 290. This type of hardware and software can easily go over a thousand
dollars, and that is not including a monitor and the optics which are keyboards, mice,
and headphones/speakers. This is just the aspect of capital. There are still the negative
aspects of the known/unknown long term effects of actually using a virtual reality
headset.
The other negative side is how spending countless hours using a virtual reality
headset can affect your health. The more you use the head set, more you will not want
to get off it. This can cause a person to start gaining weight as they only stay inside not
doing as much physical activity as they should. The exposure to the device can also
cause virtual reality sickness in which causes the person to feel nauseous due to the

images or motions in the simulator to not match with what is expected in the actual
world making you feel that something is not correct (Pappas, 2016). Then there is also
the usual side effect of seizures due to the flashing of images, or the seclusion from
society.
As people start using such devices, they will never want to stop using them. The
more they use them, the more at risk they will be for gaining weight or start to become
antisocial. As Dr. Rosenberg states in an interview, you wont want to unplug, and so
virtual life and internet life is so much more preferable to real life(2015). This is true
to some people as they will not have to interact with other people, and they will be the
ones in control of what is happening. Maybe this will be their escape from reality
causing them to not want to stop using such devices. This is something that has already
started happening with social media and other forms of digital entertainment. People
use it as a way to not have to interact with other people. This could possibly add more
fuel to the fire.
Conclusion
Although the negative things about virtual reality might keep away some people,
the countless possibilities of what can be achieved with it will outweigh the bad. Not only
can virtual reality help us interact with other people when playing games, and help us
pass the time as a form of entertainment, it can also help us re-wire the brain to face
fears in therapeutic sessions, and be able to help those people overcome certain
phobias.

References
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