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Augmented/Virtual Reality Developer
Creates immersive digital experiences for gaming, training, medicine, and education.
Did you know?
In a small 2002 study, surgical trainees who practised on a VR simulator made about six times fewer errors in real gallbladder operations than those who did not.
How subjects help
- Computer Science: Program virtual worlds that respond instantly when a user moves their head or hands.
- Mathematics: Use geometry and angles to place digital objects so they sit correctly in the room around you.
- Art & Design: Model characters, rooms and lighting that make a virtual world feel believable.
- Psychology: Design experiences that avoid motion sickness and feel comfortable and natural to use.
A famous name
Jaron Lanier: Founded VPL Research in 1985, the first company to sell virtual reality headsets and gloves.
Try it yourself: Debug a sandwich robot
- Write step-by-step instructions for making a pretend sandwich, using two books as the bread.
- Your robot must do exactly what the words say, nothing more. "Put jam on bread" might mean the jar goes on the bread!
- Every time something goes wrong, that is a bug. Fix that line and run it again.
- How many fixes did it take until the robot got it right first time?
Computers follow instructions literally, so writing clear steps and fixing bugs is a big part of a programmer's work.
Also try: Slice an object into layers.
Known for it in
USA, UK, Japan, South Korea, Germany