VR Headset

Usually shortened to VRH or headset.

Use in TAPC
The school library has many VR and AR models and simulations available but the most interesting use of the VR headset is for non-educational purposes. Beyond the many VR and AR games out there, students often have AR avatars, with AR costumes and items. There are many AR bulletin boards around the school, along with AR tags/graffiti, audio files, image files, and more. These are contained within small AR cards which are cheap, and fit easily behind boards, underneath desks and tables, etc.

Headsets are fairly powerful on their own, but most students connect them wirelessly to a laptop/notebook and carry both around for added productivity.

Mnemosyne Corp also uses its connection with the school to get guinea pigs/cheap labour. Free cutting-edge headset in exchange for devoting some hours to product testing or participating in company studies.

History of Headsets
The first version of the headset was a full helmet with headphones and a visor with a screen. Rather bulky because the helmet had to house computer stuff. It was too clunky to be used in class, and ultimately became an extracurricular type-thing.

Second version kept the headphones, changed the visorscreen to a device that projected the image directly into the person's eyes. Somewhat annoying because any slight shift in the headset would offset the images. Around this time they found out that the brain can fill in some of the information because many people reported feeling/smelling things through the VR. A lot of experimentation/hacking happened during version 2's run and the first VR games start popping up.

The next version contained neither headphones or any visual screen/projection, and switched to communicating with the brain purely through electronic signals (this is the MADE-UP-TECHNOLOGY-THAT-MAKES-NO-SENSE part). This technology would become ubiquitous in all new headset designs from then on. There was a legal kerfuffle where Mnemosyne Corp tried to sue a competitor for corporate espionage, but they lost the case. At this point, headsets still required a wired connection to a computer.

Detractors drew attention to the potential dangers of the directly-to-brain technology and attempted to have it regulated, but in the end it was simply too popular and useful to resist.

Current Versions
New headsets on the market are pretty much all wireless. Mnemosyne Corp's main target demographic is teenagers and young adults, and as a result, they are currently emphasizing customization and personal expression.

Mnemosyne Corp used to have a near monopoly on the market, but newer companies have started to compete for market share.