Early adopter (VR)

A couple of weeks ago, my right-hand controller for my VR headset HP reverb G2 broke. It started to disconnect and reconnect at random, which was extremely annoying and interrupted my workflow and immersion. When I bought my VR headset about 1-2 years ago, I specifically chose the HP because it was marketed as a great productivity headset for professional use. Indeed, it is, when it works, that is. Unfortunately, the HP reverb is in a class of its own when it comes to technical problems. A while ago I wrote a post about divine intervention in a positive sense. This little VR story is perhaps the antithesis.

EngineeringRikard ÖqvistNovember 14, 2022virtual reality, early adopter, technologyComment

Flight Simulator in VR

When I first tried Microsoft Flight Simulator about a year ago, it was the most impressive thing I had ever done on a PC. The ability to fly literally anywhere in the world cannot be described, it must be experienced personally. Now, Microsoft has also implemented support for Virtual Reality, which makes something that was already awesome even more impressive. If your PC has the horsepower to drive it, it is by leaps and bounds the coolest thing I have ever done on a computer. The only thing that comes remotely close would be the first time I tried the Super Nintendo for the first time.

ComputerRikard ÖqvistOctober 5, 2021Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, Eurofighter, flying, VR, virtual realityComment

VR Motion sickness

Many years ago, I tried Virtual Reality (VR) for the first time. It was the Oculus Rift developers kit, one of the very first Head Mounted Displays (HMD) that was the result of a KickStarter campaign in 2012. It looked like a pair of ski goggles superglued to an iPad. I remember that I went for a ride on a rollercoaster that was extreme, even with some jumps. I played around for about 15 minutes and then suffered from severe motion sickness for about three hours. The concept was extremely cool, but clearly the technology had a long way to go. Last week I pulled the trigger and got my first VR HMD (HP Reverb G2). My gut feeling is that the technology is now mature enough to provide a lot of value. In the coming months, I will evaluate how VR can be used in civil engineering and acoustics.