What is Virtual Reality? A guide to VR in 2025

Exploring the Technology, Functionalities and Controls of VR.

What is Virtual Reality?

Virtual reality (in short VR) is a computer simulated 3D environment in which users can explore and interact with virtual surroundings or watch immersive 360 degree videos. In order to create a completely immersive 3D experience, users must have appropriate hardware, such as a VR headset, along with specific software, since standard computer applications would merely appear as flat displays or distorted within a 3D space.

In most cases VR is used to provide an experience that is similar to real life and trick your senses into believing the 3D VR environment is where you actually are. This provides a great gaming experience but is also suited very well for Business solutions to onboard new employees or provide a safe and accurate training module.

What are the different types of Virtual Reality?

In general Virtual Reality is described as the fully immersive experience where a user wears a VR headset that blocks out the real life environment. Virtual Reality falls under the collective term Extended Reality (XR), XR includes technologies like Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Mixed Reality (MR). 

Augmented reality allows the user to still experience the real world around them but with a 3D overlay that allows users to see instructions for order picking, repairs or 3D modelling. Mixed reality is essentially a combination of VR and AR, users can either switch between VR, AR or set a level of transparency of their applications. Mixed reality is seen more often in the newer generations of VR headsets like the Pico 4 Ultra, Meta Quest 3 or the Apple Vision Pro.

How does Virtual Reality work?

Virtual Reality tricks your brain into believing you are physically and mentally in a different world. This is achieved by blocking out all light and influences from the real world and lets you focus on what is right in front of you on the screens and audio. The VR headset allows you to look around in the digital world by using gyroscopes, movement sensors and its cameras to determine where you are looking and moving. 

If you move you turn your head, the virtual world will move as well, if you move your arms you can see your hands move in VR as well. In this chapter we will dive into the different types of VR headsets, how you can look and walk around and how to interact with objects in the digital world.

Difference between 3DoF and 6DoF

Moving in a virtual world can be achieved in multiple ways, but first it is important to understand the two main differences in VR headsets. Virtual Reality headsets usually feature three Degrees of Freedom (3Dof) or six degrees of freedom (6DoF).

3DoF VR headsets

3DoF headsets are usually more basic and cheaper than 6DoFheadsets as fewer sensors are needed in the headset. The three degrees are the X axis, Y axis and Z axis, this means when you're wearing a 3DoF headset you can look freely in every direction. These headsets are ideal for watching 360 degrees photos and videos and are usually used for onboarding or training videos.

Oculus (now Meta) had in the past a popular 3DoF headsets, the Oculus Go which was cheaper than the Oculus Quest (2), Nowadays the biggest and most popular 3DoF headset is the Pico G3, this headset features a 4K+ screen, integrated audio and is ideal to use for events and watching 360 videos. 

One downside of 3DoF headsets is that you can only look around and only interact on a basic level as it usually only features one controller that is made to select content in the headset. If you are looking to play games and have more interactive experiences, then you need a 6DoF headset.

6DoF VR headsets

If you want to truly walk around in a virtual world and interact with objects, then you need a VR headset that features 6 degrees of freedom. These headsets feature the same functionality to look around but also allows the user to actively move around and interact with objects. 

The extra 3 dimensions come in the form of moving around by using the controllers, walking in the real world (be aware of your surroundings!) and moving up and down to reach objects. In most cases VR headsets use inside-out tracking where a set of cameras can determine the position of the device compared to the rest of the room. For PC VR headsets outside-in tracking can still be used, requiring multiple sensors in your room to determine the location and movements. 6DoF headsets are usually used for gaming and training modules where just looking at a video is not enough.

Examples of 6DoF headsets are the Meta Quest 3, Pico 4 Ultra and HTC VIVE Focus Vision. All modern PC VR headsets like the Varjo XR-4 and the HTC VIVE Pro 2 are also 6 DoF headsets.

How to move and interact in a Virtual world?

Part of the immersion of Virtual reality is not just about the visuals and the sound, but also to what level you can interact with objects and the world around you. The classic way to interact with the virtual world is by using 1 or 2 controllers but recent headsets feature more than just controllers to control your virtual avatar. By using eye, face or body trackers for example.

Controllers

Controllers are seen as the standard way of moving and performing activities in VR. They allow the user to move around with joysticks, pick up or activate objects with buttons and track their position in VR. 

3DoF Controller(s)

Most 3DoF headsets come with only 1 simple controller in the box. As a 3DoF VR headset is used most of the time for watching 360 content, the controller can be more simple and have the only goal to navigate and select content to play. Most 3DoF headsets can even be used without any controllers as they feature a selection button on the side. This allows the user to look at the content and select it by pressing the interact button.

6DoF controllers

As 6DoF VR headsets allow more complex applications like games and training modules, they require more complex actions to be done by the user. This is why these headsets come with 2 controllers that are tracked by the headset and feature more buttons, joysticks and sensors than the 3DoF headset controller.

Let’s take a look at the controller of the Pico 4 Ultra and where the buttons are commonly used for.

Shown above is the right controller of the Pico 4 Ultra (Enterprise) as you can see it features many buttons all having their own shape and form to be easily recognizable while you are in virtual reality. The left hand controller has the same button layout but is mirrored so the buttons line up with the same fingers. 

The joysticks on the controller are usually used to move around, the left joystick controls walking and the right joystick controls looking around. Users can also look around by physically turning and moving their head but this is not always possible when using the VR headset seated or in a smaller room. 

Some applications allow the user to “walk” by moving a pointer in the Virtual world and pressing a button to move there instantly. This form of movement feels less smooth and realistic but has a much lower chance for motion sickness.

Hand tracking in VR

Controllers allow a user to do many things with the collection of buttons and joysticks, however it might not feel as immersed as you are holding them in the real world. For true immersion most 6DoF headsets allow you to use your hands to interact with the 3D virtual world. 

This is achieved by using the same cameras that track the controllers to identify your hands and track them accurately. Most hand tracking supported headsets allow you to use specific gestures to open a menu or confirm a selection to compensate for the lack of buttons. The integration of eye tracking in a VR headset is either done by the manufacturers themselves (HTC, Varjo) or done in collaboration with a dedicated eye tracking company like Tobii. Tobii has their Eye tracking solution implemented in VR headsets from Pico, Pimax and the PSVR 2.

Eye tracking

Eye tracking is a technology which tracks the eye movements of the user to determine where they are looking at. This can be used to either look at and select content or data collection in training programs. This can help improve training modules by determining how well they can follow a stimulus, where they are looking at in a scene and what their intent may be.

Eye tracking in a VR headset is achieved by a ring of sensors and cameras around the lens that can capture the user's pupil size, gaze vector and eye openness.

Body tracking

Body tracking in VR can be achieved with the help of additional tracking devices such as the HTC VIVE Tracker (3.0) or the new Pico Motion Tracker. These trackers are commonly placed on the user’s ankles to determine how the user moves their legs and height. It is also possible to use these trackers for accessories to track them in VR, this does require specific software that recognizes these trackers differently than tracking your body.

So, what is VR?

Virtual Reality is a technology that allows the user to be completely immersed into the 3D world which makes it much more realistic than a traditional computer or smartphone screen. To achieve this you need a VR headset, 3DoF if you just want to watch 360 degree videos with low amount of interaction or a 6DoF for full immersion. It is a popular way to play games, watch 360 degree content and learn with training modules both in the classroom and on the work floor. 

IF you want to learn more about how your company can use VR, get in touch!