Virtual and Augmented Reality applications represent the next stage in human interaction with technology. With the recent mainstream success of Pokemon Go, Daniel Short (Yr10 student) from St. Mary's Catholic School decided to research both realities whilst on work experience here.

In March 2015, we wrote about a tale of two realities, Virtual and Augmented Reality. At this time, both of these were still in their infancy, and had not yet been widely used in everyday life, and things like google glass or Microsoft HoloLens were extremely expensive, making it almost impossible  for everyday buyers to get their hands on a piece of this advanced and complex tech. Therefore, I have decided to write this article, to explain just how far these two new realities have come in the last 18 months, and where they are being used in society and everyday life.

Whilst on work experience, Year 10 student Malachai Jacobs from the Bishop's Stortford High School wanted to delve deeper into the history of Virtual Reality, as this disruptive technology has deeper roots than one would initially think. Here we share his article:

Believe it or not, Virtual Reality (VR) has been around since 1968, when computer scientist Ivan Sutherland created the first head-mounted display. Many would hear the phrase “VR” and think of the hardware prevalent in 2016, such as the Oculus Rift or the Samsung Gear headset, but the head-mounted display (HMD) is in fact a piece of technology that has existed for nearly fifty years prior to its recent hype. In 2018, Gartner removed VR from its hype cycle, saying that it is “rapidly approaching a much more mature stage” and that it is no longer an emerging technology.

As mobile technologies are increasingly evolving into 'wearables', Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) solutions continue to capture the imaginations of millions and are expected to exceed 24 million in device sales by 2018. Whilst on work experience Gabriella Freeman (Yr10 student) from St. Mary's Catholic School looked into its many possibilities for enhancing and improving the education system.

Augmented Reality is the technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user's view of the real world. This is highly popular within the gaming world as seen through the popularity of the Pokémon game: Pokémon Go. 

Data will continue to be the fuel of the digital economy and this year it underpins all our tech themes. We believe blockchain technology has only just started to revolutionise industries, IoT adoption will surge as it drives productivity and government regulation will have to move fast to catch up with past innovation. A year on from our Ten Tech Trends for 2017 - A quantum leap the digital revolution continues to displace and disrupt. 

‘The digital revolution is the new industrial revolution’. Digital disruption continues to shape our world of today and our future of tomorrow. Following on from our research on Ten Technology Themes to watch in 2016, here are the ten tech trends we shall be tracking in 2017.

iPhone sales have decreased by 50% since 2015. Max O'Reilly, Year 10 student from The Bishops Stortford High School on work experience at Delta2020, decided to look into the diminishing role of the smartphone in the future mobile device industry.

Since the first iPhone was announced in 2007, there have been 21 different variations on the original iPhone model. But, while there is obvious change, the designs have never substantially moved on.

The Corona pandemic will impact every industry. Whilst most have been hit negatively; there are however some that will benefit or actually be 'born' through this adversity. Therefore, Lucas Griffiths Yr11 student from Malmesbury School, Wiltshire decided to research an alternative option to the traditional Summer Holiday!  

To begin, what is Virtual Tourism?  

In brief, it’s a way for someone to travel somewhere with the aid of technology, all without having to take a single step. It comes in a multitude of forms, ranging from something as simple as a guided tour on YouTube, to a fully immersive state-of-the-art virtual reality setup. Virtual tourism refers to a broad spectrum of digitally augmented realities, but the most commonly used devices are computers and VR headsets.

With the implementation of 5G currently underway in the UK, Charlotte Cavanagh Yr10 student from The Herts & Essex High School wanted to explore the potential of this emerging technology and how it will affect our lives going forward.

The advances in technology in the past 40 years have been more drastic than we could’ve ever expected. From 1G, launched in the 1980s, finally allowing mobile voice calls, to 2G giving us SMS, to 3G which brought mobile browsing, and then to 4G with much higher speeds and the ability to make conference calls, watch HD TV and use gaming services all on our mobile phones. However, 5G has surpassed these earlier technological advancements that will change our world more than ever before.