In a few short months, the world of technology will never be the same. Oculus VR’s Oculus Rift and Microsoft’s HoloLens developer edition will be available to the public.

Virtual reality and Augmented reality

First off, the biggest difference between the Oculus and HoloLens are their perspective on reality.

The Oculus Rift is a virtual reality headset, which means it creates a simulated, three-dimensional world in which you can interact with virtual surroundings. Video Games are an excellent example where the game world is completely simulated in a virtual environment.

The HoloLens is an augmented reality headset, meaning it mixes computer generated elements with the real world. Augmented reality is not new. In fact, it has been around for years without us even knowing. For example, if you watch any type of sports on cable, the data on the screen (score, players, team name etc.) and other game-related elements, like the line of scrimmage in football, are all examples of augmented reality.

“So many times you don’t have the right equipment that we need…so if you had the virtual reality, you could basically go through a training program virtually without actually having to have the equipment in front of you, and it would be safer, too,” shared physics teacher Mr. Raper.

Performance and Requirements

The Oculus Rift’s requirements include:

• 2 USB 3.0 ports
• Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output
• Windows 7 SP1 64 bit or newer
• 8 GB+ of RAM
• Intel i5-4590 processor equivalent or higher
• Nvidia GTX 970 equivalent or higher

The Oculus Rift needs an incredibly powerful machine to run to its full potential. The HoloLens, however, needs no requirements. The user simply needs to wear the device.

Pricing and Availability

Oculus VR is currently accepting pre-orders of $599.00, but will not be shipping until later this year. The HoloLens is still in development and it’s release date is currently unknown, but you can order a developer edition now from Microsoft’s website for $3000.

Conclusion

Both of these devices will change the world forever. The HoloLens could prove to become an incredibly useful and powerful tool for any student. You could view objects in three-dimensions when in engineering or design, draw images in art or even play Minecraft on a coffee table in your downtime.

The Oculus Rift is an excellent choice for a wide variety of training situations and other virtual scenarios. Although it costs much less than the HoloLens, it is still rather expensive. This price narrows even more when you factor in the price of the recommended computer you need in order to run it.