The PlayStation VR gives you a brilliant virtual-reality experience on a budget. The recent price drop of the PSVR, almost 25 percent of its original cost, is a solid reason to get involved in virtual-reality. If you aren’t someone that likes to just sit on a couch for two to twelve hours with just a remote, and would prefer to have a more active, immersive experience, then this PlayStation VR review is the one for you.

The Best of Three Options

There are three VR headsets currently available to consumers, but truthfully the PSVR is the one you are most likely to want to buy. This is a rare case of a product living up to the hype, even though it does not have a huge library of games you can use it with. Last year’s release of Resident Evil 7 was already a down right spine chilling game, but as soon as you play it with the PSVR it truly brings the game straight to your own living room and scarier then ever. Don’t forget though, in order to enjoy this exciting and awe-inspiring gaming revolution you will also need the DualShock 4 controller, a PlayStation camera, and a PS4.

PlayStation VR Pros and Cons

Like I had said before, there are three VR headsets that are in this battle for virtual-reality. There is the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and the PSVR. The PlayStation VR is much cheaper by far and doesn’t have any hidden price tags after buying it. There are no update requirements that need to be installed or a computer that needs graphic capability to be able to function with virtual-reality. The PS VR is a well rounded smooth virtual-reality experience and works with all PS4 consoles. But even though its 120Hz refresh rate gives you smooth visuals as you look around in the game, the resolution is just a bit disappointing.

If you were to go buy a PlayStation VR today and you went to try and use it, you may be wondering why it wont work. The PlayStation Camera is not included in the box and so isn’t the DualShock 4 controllers. Well, if you already own a PS4 then I am almost certain you have the controller ready to use. But in the case of getting a PlayStation Camera if your console didn’t already come with it, then you do have to buy it separately.

Now you might be saying, “I thought you said no hidden costs?” The reason why this isn’t a hidden cost is that several retailers are selling it as part of a PSVR bundle pack, since it is required to use the headset, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble tracking one down. Don’t make the mistake and buy the bundle pack thinking you need the upgraded second-generation version of the PS Camera if you already have the original, because that will work just fine.

If you have the three requirements already at hand, then you are ready to go. There is no PC involved, no hassle of having to upgrade any of your rig’s components, and you don’t need to have a significant amount of space cleared in your living room to use the PSVR. Sony does recommend you sit about five feet away from the PlayStation Camera, but since this experience is primarily a seated experience at least you wont need to move the furniture around every time you want to play.

PlayStation Move Controllers

These motion-control wands were originally released for the PS3 after the huge success of the Wii, but they didn’t receive much love as they had barely any games that actually support them. It is definitely worth noting that the PSVR supports Sony’s Move controllers as well. If you have a few wands laying there, collecting dust on the back of your shelf or old cupboard, now would be the perfect time to bring them out, as several PSVR games are using them to great effect.

No do not worry, they are not essential controllers, but if you would like to have the very best VR experience possible, then I recommend you track some down. Most games that do support them, for instance, use them to act as a pair of disembodied hands. They allow you to interact with your environment far more naturally than you would with just a DualShock 4 controller.

Setting It Up

Much like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, the PSVR headset is also tethered. In terms, there is a long cable that trails from the back of the headset to the main control box and in turn plugs into the back of the PS4 console. Since this is mostly a sitting down experience, you will unlikely get your legs tangled up in them. Be aware though, that if you do have this set up in your living room (which is usually your busiest room in your home) with kids or pets coming in and out, it could cause problems with your VR experience.

There are two cables that trail from the back of the headset: one of which is the HDMI cable and one proprietary connection that can either plug into the bundled extension lead, or straight into the main control box. After simply connecting your somewhat annoying wires into your console, there is finally the PlayStation Camera. All you need to do is plug it into the PS4’s rear aux port and place it in front of where you would like to sit. Now this is vital, for this is the device that is responsible for tracking your head movements via the blue lights on the front of the headset. All in all, it is truly a painless set up compared to the HTC Vive, you will be up and running in less then 15 minutes.

PlayStation VR Overall Review

I would give the PSVR a five out five-star rating. It is an amazing virtual-reality experience. The PSVR to me has the best gaming VR experience. Although some may feel differently, I believe the PlayStation VR is the best-value virtual reality headset, especially with its price drop. This is a must have for the price, couldn’t be more satisfied.

The widespread growth of biometric devices and applications have opened a huge global market. With the adoption of biometrics comes the demand of parts, hardware, software, and services to increase. Requiring mass production of hardware and spares for biometric equipment would set in place an implementation of service delivery network.

As more businesses and professionals adopt biometric systems, it will catch the attention of bigger organizations to engage in biometric business. This would benefit consumers, because as more players get into the game of biometrics, so begins the price wars, capitalizing, making large investments, and the overall completion of a product. The recent rise in biometric systems as a service has now created basically a biometric ecosystem, consisting of identification and authentication services. These services include; fingerprint, palm vein, iris, palm print, DNA, voice, and last but not least; facial. All of which can be used in the security of many devices and/or accessibility for personal information.

Mobile Biometrics

Smartphones and tablets have played a role in the growth of biometrics. As they become more affordable to have, some of them even come equipped with fingerprint or another biometric hardware. Service providers have grown interest in using biometric authentication for smartphone applications. Counterpoint Research has said that mobile biometrics is going to have a huge rise with over 1 billion smartphones shipping in 2018 with biometric systems. Service providers have grown to use fingerprint authentication for customers to access their services.

Smartphones hold more important information than ever before, because of all the capabilities the devices have now. Recently Samsung, Apple, and other big phone companies (such as LG) have integrated some of their new products with innovative biometric features. Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 has been equipped with the most accurate form of biometrics with the use of an iris scanner. The iris scanner is an infrared ray from the front camera to scan your iris in a non-contact way. The infrared allows you to use the biometric feature in any surrounding environment.

On the other hand, Apple has come up with a 3D facial recognition system in the new iPhone X. The system also uses an infrared camera that is consisted of 30,000 dots to create a perfect in-depth mapping of the user’s face. This way it can identify you, even if you are wearing glasses, a hat, or even if you want to grow out your beard and/or change hairstyles. The biometric system will not identify just a photo of the user since it is a 3D scanner.

Lastly, LG Electronics have a voice recognition system in their new smartphone. It has 21 voice recognition functions. The system analyzes the user’s distinct pronunciations, voice wave types, speaking speed, pitches, accents, etc. With more service providers continuing to use biometric systems, the biometric ecosystem will continue to benefit consumers and the industry alike.

Biometrics and its Involvement in the Future of Travel

Biometric systems have even made its way into the efficiency of traveling. Delta Air Lines has just enabled the use of biometric technology for travelers to gain access to airport lounges. On March 26, Delta Sky Club members that have signed up for CLEAR, may use their fingerprints to enter all 50 U.S. Sky Club locations.

Although you must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident to enroll and sign-up for CLEAR, this system provides an efficient service. It expedites the screening process, making a traveler’s experience more seamless, by verifying your identity using biometrics. Delta Air Lines have been testing this system for almost a year and have made improvements along the way, including; improved features to make processing easier to understand. Delta is undergoing another test with biometrics which consists with boarding experience. SkyMiles members that are enrolled in CLEAR would be able to scan their fingerprint in place of a paper boarding pass, which improves security as well.

On another note, LAX in Los Angeles has integrated biometric systems into their security process. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) held a 3-week trial to experiment with facial recognition and how it could speed up that process. Passengers in the Tom Bradley International Terminal would scan their passports and boarding passes. The biometric system at the gate then instantly verifies the information on both documents match, and it snaps a photo of the passenger. The photo would then could be compared to the one that is contained in the traveler’s passport, if the traveler has a newer passport that contains a microchip version of their passport photo. Once everything matches a green light would be given.

During this trial period they still had TSA agents there to verify that there were no mistakes with the system and passenger’s identities. One day TSA believes that using facial recognition will help expedite security processes, resulting in shorter lines and reduced waiting time.

Biometrics Growth into Our Lives

Technology has made its way into every aspect in our day to day life, from personal, work, to social life. In which case there will be a need to protect one’s information or the sanctity of others. Biometric technology has made authentication much simpler and efficient. This technology has grown and has been successful, which causes a chain reaction. Making people and organizations implement biometric applications.

The adoption of biometrics has slashed prices of its hardware and software making it affordable to continue to be used in almost any occasion. We will witness a rapid growth in biometric modalities and its implementations it will have on our every day lives, making it almost overwhelming. But that’s not it. Biometric technology market, according to market intelligence firm Tractica, will have a compound annual growth rate of 25.3%. Its shocking to see something that we could only imagine seeing or using, is so close to being a reality around the world.