Forum: Virtual reality - pros and cons

  • virtual reality pros and cons.pdf

     

    Virtual Tourism

    SLIDE 1: What is virtual tourism? The term virtual reality (VR) identifies a simulated reality that allows the user to navigate in photorealistic settings in real time, interacting with the objects present in them. In less technical terms, it is possible to define virtual reality with a three-dimensional environment generated by a computer, in which the subject or subjects interact with each other and with the environment as if they were really inside it. We would therefore speak of a simulation of reality in which users are able to use one or all of the five senses, tracing more or less immersive experiences which, in turn, can determine different levels of "presence". In other words, the more we are immersed in the virtual universe - through visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory and gustatory stimulations - the more we feel present in it rather than in the place where our body is actually located. Each VR system requires an input device which allows the virtual interface to interpret the movements and actions of the user, responding accordingly.

    SLIDE 2: Immersive and semi-immersive reality The difference between immersive and non-immersive virtual reality lies in the use of a helmet and therefore in the non-immersion of all the senses in this new reality. In this case, in fact, as mentioned, the helmet is replaced by a normal monitor or screen, through which this three-dimensional world is observed as if looking out the window. Finally, there is the semi-immersive reality, which is nothing more than a high definition of non-immersive reality. Through the use of better screens, with different image depths, we try to make the user more empathetic in this new environment.

    SLIDE 3: How VR can intertwine with tourism? Since virtual reality has the ability to make space environments viewable, it is increasingly used in urban, architectural and tourist planning and management. It allows to create navigable spatial configurations that tour operators can analyze, also testing their possible future implications from the point of view of costs, maintenance and impacts on the territory. VR, by facilitating communication through a visual language that stimulates the way people interact in the real world, can also be a useful tool to communicate tourism plans to members of interested social groups. Therefore these groups would have the opportunity to participate in it, facilitating negotiation between the parties.

    TASK: Write a pro&con essay for your school magazine on the topic of Virtual tourism (~250 words)