Technology
The Risks and Benefits Virtual Reality Presents to Society
If accomplished correctly, Virtual Reality (VR) stands to induce profound biological and physiological impacts. Your body and mind acknowledge you are experiencing a particular moment.
VR is a computer-produced setting with objects and scenes that seem to be real, which lets the user feel they are absorbed in their surroundings. This environment is seen through a device known as a VR helmet or headset.
Many compelling positives come from VR’s fundamental concept of presence. Improved entertainment is one of them.
Risks Associated with Virtual Reality
While tech experts declared 2016 as “The Year of VR,” there was no debate on the safety and health risks associated with strapping a VR headset over your eyes.
When people are engaged in a visualized environment, health risks could impact their emotional and physical well-being. Here are some of them:
1. Anxiety
The immersive nature of augmented and virtual reality can generate anxiety or stress after wearing an occlusion headset for more than a few minutes.
VR can get in waves of emotions more than just watching videos or looking at photos, depending on what images they see. VR footage depicting the war in Syria can make the viewer feel stressed, fearful, and shocked.
It can take time to get over this anxiety because the viewers experience everything as if they were there in the scene.
2. Nausea
Many people who wear VR headsets complain of nausea and dizziness. Its natural fake motions can impact a person’s perception of space and time and induce nausea, fatigue, or wooziness.
A study by UCLA Keck Center for Neurophysics demonstrated damaging side effects of VR among lab rats, including “cybersickness” and irregular patterns of activity inside rat brains.
Scientists noted that 60 percent of the rats’ neurons shut down in virtual reality environments.
3. Eyestrain
The headsets can generate severe eye strain among users. They strain their eyes to concentrate on a pixelated screen that employs a single refractive optic element. Headsets do not usually manage the optic issues with near-to-eye devices, and they become irritated after a few minutes.
Headset engineers must uncover a method to preserve a large field of view (FoV) for the users. Humans usually have a lot of view of 200 degrees, involving 140 degrees of binocular vision for deep perception and 60 degrees for peripheral vision.
Virtual reality absolute privacy and security risks are a critical issue regarding the data of the user when using the VR set for the fact that the data and activities fulfilled are present and float on a cloud, meaning they are in constant threat of getting hacked and stolen, leading to measures being taken to protect the data.
How Does Virtual Reality Benefit Society?
The empowerment of human experience through VR is a turning point in human history, as it helps societies in many ways, including medicine.
VR for pain management is one of the most-used technology applications and best-studied. Doctors have apprehended during the years that this technological “distraction therapy” is an effective tool to combat pain and the fear of pain.
“Pain is a perception connected to your attention, mood and emotions,” explains Thomas Caruso, MD, a pediatric anesthesiologist at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford and professor of anesthesiology perioperative and pain medicine at Stanford School of Medicine.
“With VR, we can help adjust a patient’s mindset to be less focused on anxiety and pain,” says Caruso, who is a co-founder of CHARIOT (Childhood Anxiety Reduction through Innovation and Technology), Lucile Packard’s immersive technology program in which more than 150 patients a month use VR as part of their treatment.
The benefits of virtual reality in business
Consumers can Test Products Before Purchasing
One of the most famous benefits of virtual reality in business has been that it permits customers to share products at brick-and-mortar outlets using a headset with glasses that produces a 360-degree experience.
This simulation provides a wealth of details for the shopper to examine. Every local marketing vendor should be informed about the possibilities of connecting consumers with products through VR engagement. The “try before you buy” strategy has been proven to drive sales.
Employs Medical Professionals with Powerful Insights into Patients
Physicians were among the first experts to test VR technology, while hospitals were at first reluctant to support such cultivated equipment because of what seemed to be an intense learning curve.
VR technology became easier to understand and use with time while delivering doctors a fortune of patient data that wasn’t attainable last century. This complete view of the human anatomy is used to help physicians perform surgeries and assist patients in undergoing rehabilitation therapy.
It is worth mentioning that it’s estimated that one in 11 people will be diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in their lifetime, with new VR technology providing hope for the recovery of those suffering.
Benefits of Virtual Reality in Education include assembling and editing VR projects without programming skills.
Easy integration across platforms and software: VR, PC, and smartphones
How virtual reality encourages risk-taking is by permitting the experience of a person in a difficult situation and the activation of high-reliability mental procedures and behaviors due to the possibility of immersion.
In addition, VR environments permit users to participate in a signified learning experience, primarily through physical interchanges.
Summary
Every technology has its benefits and risks associated with how people use it. However, VR will have a long-term impact on people’s lives by changing it completely.
Can you imagine sitting home with your VR set on and working, walking in the park, flying amongst other activities, just from home?
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What is biometric identification? It is the process through which unique biological characteristics are used in biometric identification to recognize and validate a person. These characteristics can be found in facial traits, eye structures, DNA, fingerprint patterns, and even handwriting. All this data that can be gathered on an individual inevitably brings up the ethical issues in biometrics that need to be addressed.
Facial recognition and fingerprint scans were previously the domain of security, and they were utilized for identification and law enforcement. However, increasingly more business and civil applications are using biometrics authentication. Due to this increased use, it is crucial to address the moral and ethical issues in biometrics when used in the creation of new application and technology.
Applied biometrics and corporate ethics have received little empirical study despite the widespread use of biometric technologies. As a result, there is plenty of room for future study to help us better comprehend the moral consequences of adopting this technology.
This article examines the ethical concerns associated with the use of biometric technology on the use of biometrics for non-security applications as well as the moral ramifications for business.
Ethical Issues in Biometrics and Privacy
Biometric data takes privacy concerns to a whole new level that typical data gathering only touches on. Digital identities can be forged, and anonymity on the web can be maintained to a degree if you know how. Also, digital data can be deleted – if we forget that Meta (Facebook) has been revealed to store deleted data, which is an ethical concern in itself.
The problem with biometric data is that it is unforgeable, unconcealable, and permanent, You can’t change your eye structure, your fingerprint, or your facial features. Big tech companies already have your face, fingerprints, and your voice recorded and stored via current biometric authentication systems – mainly used for unlocking your phone. That data will be there forever, and there is little that people can do about it besides avoid it In the first place.
While many companies still give users the option of using a good old fashion passcode to unlock their phones, as technology as a whole tends to do, the biometric alternative is slowly gaining more traction, and will one day become the norm, as it is hard to argue its convenience and security. You can’t accidentally leave your eyeball at home or forget your fingerprint. But in the same sense, you can’t change it. If your childish curiosity while browsing the web put a black spot on your record, there’s no changing that.
Therein lies the question of who if anyone should have access to such data. Today’s tech giants have all our data in their hands, that won’t change with the spread of biometric verification methods. Indeed, it will only increase targeting capabilities.
While the collection of biometric data on its own does not necessarily mean it will be shared, monetized, or abused in any way, it never the less requires clear and strict guidelines and regulations to be implemented around it. There are too many things that can be abused by the wrong party when the ethical issues in biometrics are not taken seriously, and if such limitations are not applied stringently.
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The Reno line of smartphones has always had a fantastic camera and an attractive design. The Reno 8 and 8 Pro include a 120Hz AMOLED display, the newest Dimensity chipsets, 80W fast charging, a 32-megapixel front camera, and triple 50-megapixel back cameras, among other notable features that make the Oppo Reno 8 and Reno 8 Pro high-quality yet affordable option for anyone.
Here we compare the two latest Oppo phone series iterations and see what to expect from the flagship Oppo smartphone, and how the Oppo Reno 8 and the Oppo Reno Pro stack up against each other.
Oppo Reno 8 Specifications
The Oppo Reno 8 has a smaller 6.43-inch full-HD+ AMOLED display with a resolution of 1,080 by 2,400 pixels, a 90Hz refresh rate, and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. It also runs Android 12 with ColorOS 12.1 on top. Additionally, the display has an 800 nits maximum brightness and a 20:09 aspect ratio. An octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 1300 SoC, up to 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM, and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage are all found within the Oppo smartphone.
The Reno 8 has a triple back camera configuration for pictures and movies, with a 50-megapixel main sensor and an f/1.8 lens as its focal point. Additionally, there is a 2-megapixel macro camera with a 112-degree field of view and an 8-megapixel sensor coupled with an f/2.2 ultra-wide angle lens.
The Reno 8 offers 5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth v5.3, GPS/A-GPS, NFC, and a USB Type-C connector as connection options. An accelerometer, light, gyroscope, magnetometer, and a proximity sensor are among the sensors on board. For biometric verification, the phone also has a fingerprint sensor hidden behind the display. A 4,500mAh battery inside the Oppo Reno 8 supports 80W Super Flash Charge quick charging. The phone weighs 179 grams and has dimensions of 160 x 73.4 x 7.67mm.
Oppo Reno 8 Pro Specifications
A 6.7-inch full-HD+ (1,080×2,412) AMOLED display with up to 120Hz refresh rate and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection is included with the Oppo Reno 8 Pro. Running on top of Android 12 is ColorOS 12.1. Additionally, the display supports HDR10+ and is certified by Netflix HD, Amazon HDR, SGS Low Motion Blur, and SGS Low Blue Light. The MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Max SoC, which has eight cores, and up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM power the smartphone. Storage on the Oppo Reno 8 Pro is UFS 3.1 capable of up to 256GB.
The Oppo Reno 8 Pro boasts a triple rear camera arrangement with a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 main sensor and an f/1.8 lens, an 8-megapixel sensor and an ultra-wide lens with an f/2.2 aperture and a 112-degree field of view, and a 2-megapixel macro camera with an f/2.4 aperture. Along with the MariSilicon X NPU, the phone’s camera will offer generally better performance in both bright and dim light. It has a 32-megapixel front-facing camera sensor with an f/2.4 lens for taking selfies and making video calls.
The phone has 5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth v5.3, GPS/A-GPS, NFC, and a USB Type-C connector as connectivity options. An accelerometer, a light meter, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, and a proximity sensor are among the sensors built into the phone. For biometric authentication, the phone also contains a fingerprint sensor underneath the touchscreen. The smartphone has a 4,500mAh battery that supports rapid charging at 80W Super Flash Charge. The phone weighs 183 grams and has dimensions of 161 x 74.2 x 7.34mm.
Both the Oppo Reno 8 and Reno 8 Pro are prime smartphones that can fit any user’s preferences and can be considered premium smartphones on the cheaper side. If you like photography, you will be satisfied with the level of quality overall, but keep in mind that neither phone is particularly water resistant, so be careful where you take it.
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Many prefer the rumbling ‘vroom’ of a gasoline car to the soft hum of an electric vehicle, while others would rather just be satisfied in the knowledge that they are lessening their carbon footprint. Let’s look at the cold hard facts however, and compare electric cars vs gas cars
Electric Cars vs Gas Cars: Components
The amount of moving components is an important distinction between electric and gasoline-powered automobiles. While a gasoline-powered car contains hundreds of moving components, an electric vehicle just has one, the motor. Another significant distinction is that the electric car has fewer moving components. The electric car is more dependable and needs less routine maintenance. The maintenance needed for a gasoline-powered car ranges from routine oil changes, filter replacements, tune-ups, and exhaust system repairs to less frequent component replacements including water and fuel pumps, alternators, and so on.
Electric Cars vs Gas Cars: Maintenance
The expenses associated with maintaining an electric car are reduced since there are less maintenance requirements. The shaft, the only moving component of the electric motor, is extremely dependable and needs little to no maintenance. The controller and charger are electrical devices that require minimal to no maintenance because they have no moving components. Modern sealed lead acid batteries are maintenance free and utilized in electric cars nowadays. However, these batteries have a finite lifespan and will eventually need to be replaced. New batteries are being developed to increase the range of electric cars as well as the battery pack’s lifespan, perhaps eliminating the need to replace the battery pack throughout the course of the vehicle’s lifespan.
Electric Cars vs Gas Cars: Efficiency
In addition to being simpler and less expensive to repair than gasoline-powered vehicles, electric vehicles are also more cost-effective to run. The electric car will drive roughly 43 miles for $1 based on the efficiency of 3 miles/kwhr and the cost of power at 7 cents per kwhr. The gasoline-powered car will go roughly 18 miles based on the average gas mileage of 22 miles per gallon and the price of gasoline at $1.25 per gallon. As a result, an electric car may drive more than twice as far on a dollar’s worth of petrol.
Where Electric Falls Behind
There are still a number of difficulties for the owner of an electric car despite the fact that it will be less expensive to operate and maintain.
The primary issue is the restricted range offered by existing battery technology. The amount of driving distance possible utilizing the current batteries is between 50 and 150 miles. These ranges are being extended by new battery technologies, and prototypes of these batteries have shown ranges of up to 200 miles between recharging. Solar powered charging stations are being implemented in numerous places to decrease range anxiety towards electric vehicles
The lack of qualified service professionals to repair and maintain electric cars is another issue that faces their owners. A two-year associate degree program has been developed to train high school graduates to become proficient electric vehicle technicians, and training programs are being developed and made available to upgrade the conventional automotive technician with the skills needed to maintain an electric vehicle.
Infrastructure to recharge the batteries is also required. The most important component of the infrastructure for recharging already exists: electric power is accessible practically everywhere. To support the electric car, it is still necessary to guarantee that charging stations with the right sorts of service (i.e., maximum voltage and current) are placed in important areas. Plans must also be made.
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Ian Terblanche, Global Strategic Sales & Channel Director at Sigfox
