Imagine
you can see your 50 hectares of land on your office table with real data on a
screen that will cool right? Well its get better if you can see that same farm
in 3D observing real data of slopes, length, breadth and height, without a
screen wouldn’t that be wonder? The application of virtual reality, augmented
reality and mixed reality has made this a possibility.
What Is Virtual Reality (VR)?
Virtual Reality,
or VR, is a simulated and immersive experience projected by a device into the
user’s sight. All you need is a headset projecting you into a simulation via a
viewfinder. That’s exactly what VR promises, and much more.
Today’s
VR is the modern version of that stereoscopic sightseeing effect: It requires a
set of lenses inside a viewport on a headset, and a mounted device where the
experience is stored or computed. From pure observation to complete immersion,
the range of VR capabilities varies depending on the device and type of headset
used. Using a remote control in sync with the mounted headset allows the user
to interact with 3D objects in space, within the experience—either for VR games
or virtual interfaces and apps.
What Is Augmented
Reality (AR)?
Just as the name suggests, Augmented Reality, or AR,
adds to our perception of the world by overlapping computer generated graphics,
images, or a set of interactive data.
As of today, AR only requires
a smartphone with a camera and an AR app. Two key elements that make it work
are the camera capacity to capture the environment around you as you move and
the software that calculates and projects some computer-generated visuals or
content. “Now, technology has caught up
with our ambition. AR lets us redefine the experience for furniture retail once
more, in our restless quest to create a better everyday life for everyone,
everywhere,” says Michael
Valdsgaard, Leader of Digital Transformation at Inter IKEA Systems.
What about Mixed
Reality (MR)?
Mixed reality is a hybrid of VR and AR and aims to
offer the best of both worlds. For instance, while it uses a headset just like
VR, seeing through a translucent viewport or glass, it also projects visuals on
top of our environment.
What makes MR stand out is its highly interactive
aspect, and the realistic rendering of the projection it adds to our
surroundings. Instead of depending solely on remote controllers or phone
screens, we can interact with the immersive content using natural body and
finger gestures.
Apple
and Google clearly lead the way on AR technology, but today’s MR landscape
favors Microsoft (HoloLens), and massively funded Magic Leap (so far a concept
demo only).
Despite the commercial failure of Google Glass,
Microsoft didn’t shy away from trying their own “holographic computer” in the
MR game. The name “HoloLens” comes from the core experience “enabling you to
engage with your digital content and interact with holograms in the world
around you.” Although it hasn’t been made public yet, the holographic glasses
use Dynamic Digitised Lightfield Signal—projecting images directly into the eye
and “tricking” the brain into thinking it’s real. The result is a richer and
more believable augmented experience.
Application of VR & AR to
Agriculture
- Education- Most farmers and workers associated with
Agriculture remains ignorant with the latest modern technology. The need
for teaching the untaught ones becomes the primary goal for Virtual
Reality. Agricultural retailers can utilize the 360 degrees VR video to
train the farmers on the new machines functionalities.
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Microsoft hologram Mixed Reality
|
Veterinary Diagnostic- This concept is applicable in the field of
animal agriculture. Often the lack of local veterans ends up taking the
life of the animal during the emergency. But the VR handset eliminates the
distance issue by allowing the veterinary doctor to diagnose and instructs
the person in the barn even from a distance. This is possible with a
combination of a Microsoft Hololens worn by the person in the barn and a
VR headset worn by the vet instructing the man from afar.
-
Virtual Crop Scouting- 360° cameras on drones and VR headsets will help
farmers scan through the field and feed them with satellite images
touching every minute corner of the field. Also, there are other benefits
that are likely to be gained such as:
a. Virtual
Crop- VR will help
farmers visualize future crop patterns by showing virtual crop growth based on
weather patterns, practices etc. This, in turn, aids researchers in data
collection, testing, and observance of the crop performances under any
unwelcome environmental changes. Thus farmers are well prepared to face any
challenge thrown at them.
b.
Virtual Crop Monitoring scans the crop field to identify crop damages or crop
growth etc.
- Weather forecast prepares farmers accordingly to face different
climatic conditions that either stimulates or stunts crop growth, as well
as prior warning in the event of possible danger of floods or droughts.
Sources
Can Virtual Reality Succeessfully Revolutionize The
Agricltural Sector. (2017, 09 26).
Retrieved from Fluper: http://www.medium.com/@fluperofficial/can-virtual-reality-succeessfully-revolutionize-the-agricltural-sector-2a5c2bd8e788
Tall, T. (2017, 12). Augmental Reality vs Vitual
Reality vs Mixed Reality - An Introductory Guide. Retrieved from Toptal:
http://www.toptotal.com/designers/ui/augmented-reality-vs-mixed-reality
