Like many technologies that have their roots in psychedelic science fiction, virtual reality is one of the most sought after technologies that may soon become a reality.

The Google Glass, the Oculus Rift, and Microsoft’s HoloLens are all apart of this new trend. Though they’re not quite entire realities within a computer, they are all forms of altered reality.  The Google Glass displays different information about the things you see, like a poster for an event, that doesn’t actually physically exist.

The future might be now, but does the future actually work?  People who have used the Google Glass and Oculus Rift have commented on unresponsiveness of motion commands and poor screen quality and resolution. There have  been complaints that the devices did not seem realistic.

The price of these devices is also one to question.  The Google Glass is $1,500, a price most people aren’t willing to spend on a device that has functions most modern phones are capable of.  So far, complete virtual reality is still a decent ways off, and the current technologies seem to be toys only the affluent can afford.

The potential benefits of new technology are always exciting, but the virtual revolution might not be here quite yet.