VIRTUAL REALITY: A POWERFUL NEW TECHNOLOGY 

Virtual reality (VR) technology has advanced in recent years, allowing for new private and
business usage scenarios. People's perceptions of the real and virtual surroundings are altering
as a result of recent technology advancements. Virtual Reality (VR) is expected to play a
significant role in a variety of industries (Berg & Vance, 2017), including retail (Bonetti et al.,
2018), tourism (Griffin et al., 2017), education (Griffin et al., 2017). Individual entertainment
experiences having a hedonic use incentive, such as films and games, are included on the one
hand. 
There are theoretical misunderstandings regarding what these technologies signify for the
marketing industry, just as there are with other cutting-edge technology (e.g. AI). As a result, in
order to grow this developing study topic, it is vital to give advice to researchers and
practitioners (Kumar et al., 2016). Our paper will illustrate the panoramic view of VR and its
applications in various fields.

1. What is VR? 
A computer-generated virtual environment that can be moved through and changed by a
person in real time is referred to as virtual reality. On a head-mounted display, a computer
monitor, or a huge projection screen, a virtual environment may be viewed. The user may see,
move about, and alter the virtual world using head and hand tracking devices. VR has been
classified by several academics  based on three characteristics: a technological factor
(embodiment), a human dimension (presence) and the human (interactivity) (Dix, 2017). While
researchers' understandings of presence and interactivity are mostly in agreement, the idea of
immersion has been articulated in varied ways in research (Nilsson et al., 2016), therefore it
merits additional consideration.

2. A short history of VR
Virtual reality technologies today are based on concepts that stretch back to the 1800s, almost
to the dawn of modern photography. The first stereoscope, which used twin mirrors to produce
a single image, was created in 1838. This evolved into the View-Master, which was patented in
1939 and is still in production today.
The phrase "virtual reality" was coined in the mid-1980s by Jaron Lanier, founder of VPL
Research, who began developing the necessary equipment, such as goggles and gloves, to
experience what he dubbed "virtual reality." Technologists have been working on virtual worlds
long before that. The Sensorama in 1956 was a watershed moment. Morton Heilig has a long
background in the Hollywood film industry.bb  He was curious as to how people might feel as
though they were "in" the film. The Sensorama experience replicated a genuine metropolitan
area through which you "ride" a motorcycle. Multisensory stimulation allowed you to see the
road, hear the engine, feel the vibration, and smell the exhaust in the constructed "world."
Heilig patented the Telesphere Mask, which is a head-mounted display device, in 1960. Many
innovators would use his work as a starting point. Ivan Sutherland created the first HMD, The
Sword of Damocles, in the 1960s, followed by Eric Howlett's Large Expanse Extra Perspective
(LEEP) system in the 1970s (Sherman & Craig, 2018).
In the field, the 1970s and 1980s were an exciting time. Projects working on haptic devices and
other tools that would allow you to move about in virtual space ran alongside optical
developments. The Virtual Interface Environment Workstation (VIEW) system, developed at
NASA Ames Research Centre in the mid-1980s, coupled a head-mounted device with gloves to
enable haptic contact. Today's virtual reality gear owes a debt of gratitude to the six decades of
pioneering inventors who paved the way for low-cost, high-quality gadgets that are now widely
available. Visit The Franklin Institute's virtual reality flying simulators to immerse yourself in a
virtual world.
VR may be defined as follows, based on the notions of presence, interaction, and immersion:
VR makes use of immersive technology to create interactive virtual environments or virtual
worlds in which users can become emotionally invested and physically present.

3. Types of VR  
The three primary forms of virtual reality simulations used today are non-immersive, semi-
immersive, and fully-immersive virtual reality simulations. Because virtual reality is now so
widely utilized in everyday life, non-immersive virtual experiences are sometimes neglected as
a virtual reality genre. This technique creates a computer-generated world while allowing the
user to remain aware of and manage their physical surroundings. Virtual reality systems that
aren't fully immersive rely on a computer or video game console, a display, and input devices
such as keyboards, mouse, and controllers. A non-immersive VR experience is best exemplified
by a video game.

Users can immerse themselves in a partially virtual environment via semi-immersive virtual
experiences. When users focus on the digital image, they will still feel as if they are in a
separate world, but they will still be able to stay linked to their actual environment. Vertical
reality depth is a word used to describe how semi-immersive technology creates realism
through 3D images. A more immersive experience is achieved by using higher detailed images.
This type of virtual reality is frequently used for educational or training reasons, and it depends
on high-resolution screens, powerful computers, projectors, or hard simulators to partially
reproduce the form and operation of real-world machinery.
Consumers get the most realistic simulation experience with fully immersive simulations, which
include both sight and sound. The customer will require VR glasses or a head mount display to
enjoy and interact with fully realistic virtual reality (HMD). High-resolution information with a
broad range of vision is available with VR headsets. The display divides between the user's eyes
to provide a stereoscopic 3D effect, and input tracking is used to create an immersive, lifelike
experience. This sort of VR has been widely adopted for gaming and other forms of
entertainment, but its use in other fields, such as education, is growing. Virtual reality has a
wide range of uses. 

4. How does virtual reality (VR) work?

The core of virtual reality technology may be found there. A virtual reality headset's objective is
to transfer you to another world where you may interact with new settings. As humans, we
form our perceptions of the world based on the norms that have emerged over time. What we
see, hear, and feel around us influences our beliefs. Virtual reality designers employ
fundamental perception laws and notions about how we interact with the world to build worlds
that seem as real as the real world.
Virtual reality headsets are simply computers that replace our environment with software-
generated content. In order to determine how you move and monitor your activities with a
virtual area, headsets use gyroscopic sensors, accelerators, and magnetometers. External
cameras and computer systems are also connected to your headset, allowing you to obtain
software for your VR experience or interact with other applications. 
5. Applications of VR:
Since its appearance, a virtual reality solution may frequently be advantageous for real-world
challenges that depend on the employment of models to accomplish some purpose. Therefore,
VR has been used in different fields. For example, virtual reality technologies have been used to
train military people for battle, to educate health care workers how to do operations, and to
facilitate engineers’ use of the product design and development cycle (Kapp & O’Driscoll, 2010).
Moreover, virtual reality has been utilized for simulated learning experiences in connection
with either campus or online courses at the postsecondary level. The following sections
describe VR applications available that have been used in some specific fields.
a. Education
Aside from the everlasting production of knowledge, education may be seen as a process of
discovery, investigation, and observation (Piovesan et al., 2012). People are always seeking
methods to make knowledge transfer easier, faster, and more effective. As a result, the unique
properties of virtual reality may convert it into a powerful instrument in the service of everyone
seeking an educational progression. Therefore, virtual reality (VR) seems to be the logical next
stage in educational advancement. One of the greatest potential of virtual reality is that it
allows students to experience complicated areas and surroundings that they wouldn't be able
to otherwise, and this can be advantageous in a variety of subjects. For instance, public schools
that teach ancient history are unlikely to see regular overseas travel as a feasible choice for
their pupils; however, students could use virtual reality to explore the Pantheon's architectural
brilliance or even purely imaginary structures without ever leaving the classroom (Kavanagh et
al., 2017). Users of the system may explore areas that no longer exist (much like the example
above), such as old temples as they were hundreds of years ago. In addition, rather than
learning about the world via textbooks and films, virtual reality enables pupils to go anywhere
in the world. Immersion in a different environment on the opposite side of our planet is both
educational and entertaining.
Secondly, VR technology has the potential to provide a practical learning environment. Learners
are able to operate objects with their own hands, observe, and experience carefully using the
contextual learning environment offered by VR. To be more specific, by imitating real-world
settings in skill training, learners are allowed to practise over and over again through VR
technology, enabling the transfer of abilities to real-world activities, such as driving and medical
operation training (Liu et al., 2017). In comparison to traditional training, which may be
expensive or include risks in the real world, VR technology can offer a more convenient and safe
training environment. Not only can immersive environments offer learners rich and complex
content-based learning but it also assists them in honing their technical, creative, and problem-
solving skills (Velev & Zlateva, 2017). It’s a well-known fact that people learn best by doing.
Learners are motivated to explore for themselves via VR education. Instead of simply reading,
students have the option to learn by doing. For example, students may use real-world
laboratory skills to execute virtual experiments, through which they can predict, test, and
elucidate the physical, chemistry phenomena. Ultimately, there are unlimited options to
explore and learn in a virtual environment, as (Hamilton et al., 2021) supposed that virtual
reality (VR) has made a significant contribution to education by allowing students to directly
experience surroundings or scenarios that are impossible to duplicate using conventional
teaching techniques such as lectures, slideshows, or two-dimensional movies.
b. Healthcare:
Rapid improvements in terms of AR/VR technology in the twenty-first century are holding
promise for saving and improving lives. Furthermore, studies have shown that VR-based
surgical training is an effective and convenient teaching tool, with users gaining comparable
technical skills to those gained through traditional surgical training techniques, with the added
benefit of demonstrably improved nontechnical skills and self-confidence (Desselle et al., 2020).
Various samples have been researched and applied in many different medical fields over the
last 20 years. Such examples can be acknowledged: 
• Physical human organ replicas are particularly helpful, especially in surgery education
for visualizing anatomy during medical teaching sessions and trainings among instructors,
academics, and physicians; Using VR or AR in surgical process training, not only enables the
learners to operate on a virtual patient (Lewis et al., 2011) but it also a valuable tool for
increasing surgical abilities and minimizing surgical procedure mistakes (Seymour, 2008). VR
technology enables numerous repeats of basic actions in medical education within an
immersive environment without the need for frequent supervision by medical professionals,
thereby lowering training facility and professional staff expenses. Therefore, from an economic
and a logical standpoint, the use of VR in surgical training might drastically minimize the
probability of surgical mistakes, resulting in significant improvements in surgery safety, both of
which combine so that the overall operating cost of a medical training facility can be reduced .
• Virtual preparation, visualisation and key components of the authors' laboratory's
surgical navigation systems during cardiac, bone tumor removal, sinus, and spinal surgery. All of
which contain complicated physical connections within the human body. To be specific, VR
technology has the ability to assist in determining whether or not a mass has invaded that
region, hence avoiding unnecessary intervention. More exact insights can assist in choosing the
appropriate care and adjust the strategy if surgery is necessary. In particular, similar advantages
have been shown when using 3D CT or MRI to visualize complicated hand and lower limb
fractures. In the course of time, VR might be a valuable instructional tool for surgeons, allowing
them to provide the best possible care to their patients.
c. Entertainment
People are getting closer to a future where the virtual and real world are inseparably linked,
and entertainment will play a crucial role in that shift. Virtual reality is unlikely to replace
traditional forms of entertainment, but it has the potential to be more inclusive and engaging.
For the past few years, virtual reality's size in the game business has been expanded. The global
VR gaming market was valued at $11.5 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a 30 percent
annual rate from 2020 to 2027 (Bernard, 2021). VR games mainly focus on five types of senses:
Visual, Sound, Tactile Feedback, Smell, and Taste, which help users feel real-life-like
experiences. "The advent of VR in gaming made the gaming environment enriched with new
elements, the better Virtual world experience, better interaction ways and possibilities with the
game arena" (Dani, 2019). 
VR entertainment is becoming increasingly popular in theme parks, shopping malls, and other
venues, and the technology is now sophisticated enough to deliver experiences that immerse
audiences completely. Users can use VR to attend shows and concerts from thousands of miles
away. Furthermore, the organisers can improve the experience by including a virtual
component. Many museums and art exhibits had adopted virtual reality to improve visitors'
experiences. For example, a person can put on their headset, be immersed in a certain period,
and see for themselves a particular event. In the future, the use of VR in sports will also soar.
VR is already being utilised to enhance viewing experiences and create realistic training
simulations for athletes, and now creative developers are working on VR-based competitions.

In conclusion, virtual reality has undoubtedly piqued people's attention in recent years. It
provides significant advantages in a variety of application domains as a new paradigm of user
interface. This article provides a short history and conceptualization of VR, distinguishes it from
related terms and acronyms, and identifies several areas of application. Hence, a number of
virtual reality applications are illustrated specifically in prominent areas such as education,
healthcare, and entertainment. The goal of this paper is to mine existing literature on virtual
reality for fresh information and to utilize that information to identify research gaps that could
be addressed in future studies.

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