Oculus Rift will change the world!

Move over traditional gaming with your 2D worlds, there's a new sheriff in town. Oculus Rift is one the newest and coolest gadgets on the planet! Oculus Rift was developed by Palmer Luckey who was an engineer at  USC's Institute for Creative Technologies. He used a popular crowd-funding site called Kickstarter to fund this wonderful product.

In the past, most 3D technology, specifically virtual reality has been extremely cost-prohibitive with prices ranging from a few hundred to tens-of-thousands of dollars. In addition, VR units were mostly used for military training and therapeutic purposes. Oculus Rift sets out to change that. The developers promise a unit that is both engaging, entertaining, and affordable.

Imagine being in a 3D world where you can check out your next house before it is built or interact with your family members inside a 3D version of their homes from across the country. What if you want to test drive cars without leaving your living room or skydive without leaving your home? How about giving doctors a 3D view of the inside of their patients' body so that they can see every aspect of what is wrong with them?
The possibilities go so far beyond gaming that if I was a developer I would be knocking the door down to get my hands on a dev kit! Is is also fully integrable with existing 3D engines which should make it easy for current developers to create programs without having to learn much (if any) new technology.

We aren't just here to talk about the limitless applications for this unit but also the games. Many games are available for Oculus Rift right now including:

Portal 2
Half-Life 2
Rift Coaster
Doom3
and more!

As expected, any new technology will have issues to be worked out and Oculus Rift is not immune to this. One of the common complaints people have is with regard to the mouse. Using the Oculus Rift headset and the computer mouse at the same time proved to be somewhat difficult and awkward. Another complaint is that there are latency issues which could be attributed to  the fact that the units available right now are not finished and are only for development purposes. In addition, Oculus Rift only allows you to look around a 3D world. This means that you still need to use your computer's mouse and keyboard in order to fully interact with anything. Presumably, the developers will include things like motion-sensors and hand-based interaction in the next-gen Oculus Rift units.

Despite some small issues which will undoubtedly be fixed as the Oculus Rift technology develops more, most people are not concerned enough to stop using the product. In fact, many people, like myself are waiting for the official release.

Recently there was an Oculus Rift development kit giveaway at http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/oculus-rift-development-kit-review-and-giveaway. Although the contest is over, there is an article by James Bruce which explains what is included in the development kit (should you decide to order one for only about $300). In addition, he posted some cool trailers and user experiences. You can do a Youtube search on Oculus Rift in order to see more trailers.

Whether you are a gamer, a sports enthusiast, or a new home buyer, Oculus Rift has something for everyone. When it hits the market, strap in and take it for a spin. I guarantee it's going to be the wildest ride you have ever had.

http://www.oculusvr.com/
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/07/a-new-world-right-in-front-of-your-face.html
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/07/03/how-oculus-rift-will-change-the-world-beyond-gaming
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/oculus-rift-development-kit-review-and-giveaway

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