Alleged: VR hurts human eyes even more than mobile computers

“ Blu-ray in VR imaging is more harmful than people using mobile phones or watching TV. In extreme cases, it may cause blindness. ” Talking about the negative effects of VR devices on health, 3Glasses co-founder, CTO The military is a bit worried.

When VR players are immersed in video or games, they do not consider the pressure on the eyes caused by such virtual reality images.

However, "VR eye injury" is by no means an alarmist. With VR devices not yet widely available, few manufacturers take the initiative to focus on the effects of blue light on the human eye.

VR Blu-ray damage is both special and direct

"'Blu-ray' refers not to blue light, but to the part of the visible spectrum where the wavelength is between 400 and 450 nanometers. It is called high-energy short-wave blue light. Blue light is present in almost all LED/LCD light sources. Including television, computer, mobile phone, tablet, VR." Party Shaojun explained to the "IT Times" reporter.

What is the harm of blue radiation? In the 2010 International Optical Society annual meeting, the world's top optical experts unanimously pointed out: short-wave blue light has a very high energy, can penetrate the lens directly to the retina, the blue light will produce free radicals in the retina, free radicals will lead to Retinal pigment epithelial cells decline, which in turn results in the lack of nutrients in photo-sensitive cells and causes irreversible vision damage. In simple terms, the damage caused by blue light to the human eye cannot be repaired. According to data released by the World Health Organization’s WHO Eye of the Eye, between 2006 and 2008, due to blue radiation, more than 30,000 people worldwide were blind each year.

Compared to other electronic devices, Blu-ray damage in VR is more special and direct. “When using a mobile phone or watching TV, the size of the mobile phone is relatively small. People’s eyes are far away from the screen. They only account for a small part of the retina imaging. However, VR is not the same. VR projects the entire picture onto the retina. The distance is also very close, so that Blu-ray’s damage to the eyes will increase exponentially.” Party Shaojun expressed his worries.

At the same time, the dark environment that VR video and games often create is even worse. When people watch televisions, computers, mobile phones, and other devices, they can also use the external environment to adjust. The closed design of VR helmets cannot rely on external light to adjust.

According to report, there are two solutions for Blu-ray radiation. One is to add anti-Blu-ray coating to the lens, and the other is to change the design of the display and filter the blue light. According to Party Shaojun, some VR manufacturers, including 3Glasses, are actively focusing on Blu-ray damage and developing environmentally-friendly VR glasses that filter blue light.

In addition to working hard on the hardware, software filtering Blu-ray is also an eye-care approach. Taking Apple's "nightshift" function as an example, it uses software to filter out Blu-ray. By turning this feature on, the overall screen will turn yellow to protect the eyes.

Is child VR safe?

“Now people do not have the concept of protection, and their safety awareness is not sufficient. If products are used in education, the risk factor will become very high under long-term use.” Party Shaojun said that VR products are needed in the initial stage of the industry. Think more about people's influence, and don't wait until the fact of harm happens to remedy.

At present, the Blu-ray problem has attracted the attention of some VR manufacturers. The international company Oculus clearly specified in the instruction manual that children under the age of 13 are in an important stage of growth, their eyesight has not yet been established, VR glasses are not allowed, and teenagers over 13 years old need to be supervised by their parents. Need to confirm if there is physical discomfort. HTC Vive and Sony PS VR have similar regulations.

“The VR glasses used by adults can't be used directly by children, either in terms of IPD or anti-Blu-ray. However, it is precisely because many children are playing VR.” Wu Zhen, chairman of Yingying Technology, expressed his worries, “Because In this market, this year we have shifted our strategic focus to the vertical field of children's VR. At present, the first generation of VR products for children has already come out."

Unfortunately, according to a survey by the reporter, there are still few domestic VR manufacturers that are concerned about environmental protection and health. The damage of VR blue light to the eyes is not a particularly new topic in the eyes of the industry. However, except for a few manufacturers that have begun to pay attention to this issue, most VR practitioners still ignore the potential hidden dangers. A number of VR senior practitioners told reporters that in their view, the reason for this indifference was mainly due to the fact that VR is still in its infancy, equipment is not widely used, and people have no habit of using VR for a long time.

Due to the upgrade hardware design, especially the change of the display technology, the cycle is longer and the cost is relatively large. Many manufacturers are not willing to solve the Blu-ray problem in a time-consuming and intensive environment. "If you want to change the display, you need to spend as much as six months at the fastest," said an industry source.

Observed

Kill the hidden danger in the cradle

In 1997, in a set of "Pokemon" played in Japan, in order to achieve a shocking and cool effect, red-blue, red-blue, and high-frequency flicker effects were used, resulting in some people after playback (a probability of 1/4000). Especially in children and adolescents, the optic nerve is strongly stimulated, causing syncope, spasms and other reactions.

Hubei Satellite TV has done experiments on the effects of VR on the eyes. The experimental results show that after watching the VR video for 30 minutes, the subject's eye conditioning function decreased significantly. What the human eye sees will directly affect the human brain. When people enter a ecstasy world with a VR helmet, they need to protect the user's vision from the source and minimize the impact on the human eye.

The reporter believes that for hardware manufacturers, manufacturers should establish a sense of anti-blue light, and work hard on the display technology and lens coating. If consumers ignore it, it is extremely irresponsible. Second, for content producers, they cannot blindly pursue visual stimuli and ignore people's physiological conditions while producing content. Finally, players who love the VR experience should strictly control the use time when using it. After all, VR devices hurt the eyes much more than mobile phones and computers.