tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/oculus-rift-9613/articles
Oculus Rift – The Conversation
2018-03-23T12:17:01Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/93623
2018-03-23T12:17:01Z
2018-03-23T12:17:01Z
Ready Player One: we are surprisingly close to realising just such a VR dystopia
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211699/original/file-20180323-54872-cilvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Warner Bros.</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>I was fortunate enough to catch a preview screening of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/books/ready-player-one-by-ernest-cline-review.html">Ready Player One</a>, Steven Spielberg’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSp1dM2Vj48">adaptation</a> of Ernest Cline’s futuristic novel. It blew me away. What really caught my attention wasn’t just the awesome references to 1980s pop culture, or the mind-blowing set pieces. It was also the sub-text of the philosophical and cultural impact of gaming and related technologies.</p>
<p>The film is set in a world where humanity is in real crisis. The environment has collapsed, the economy has collapsed. Essentially, society as we know it has collapsed. And what is humanity’s response to these crises? Escapism. Much of human life is spent in a virtual simulation called The Oasis.</p>
<p>In this vision of the future, everything that we currently do in the real world – going to school, going to work, socialising, leisure – is done in this vast virtual environment. This may seem wildly speculative and unlikely – but as my research in gaming shows, we are much nearer to such a reality than it may seem.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211696/original/file-20180323-54881-1lgn1gz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211696/original/file-20180323-54881-1lgn1gz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211696/original/file-20180323-54881-1lgn1gz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211696/original/file-20180323-54881-1lgn1gz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211696/original/file-20180323-54881-1lgn1gz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211696/original/file-20180323-54881-1lgn1gz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211696/original/file-20180323-54881-1lgn1gz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The real world.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Warner Bros.</span></span>
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<h2>The reality of VR</h2>
<p>The main underpinning theme of Ready Player One is mankind’s reliance on a simulated world – The Oasis – which is accessed through virtual reality equipment. While virtual reality has been a concept that has been around <a href="https://www.vrs.org.uk/virtual-reality/history.html">since the 1950s</a>, it has never been more available to the average consumer. Technologies such as Oculus Rift and other mobile based technologies are starting to allow users to further immerse themselves in computer generated alternate realities. This has wonderful applications in the gaming world, but there are some more serious applications that are being researched and are even in use.</p>
<p>For example, Augmented Reality – a kind of virtual reality that mixes what we see around us with overlaid computer-generated imagery – can now enable doctors to <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180124172408.htm">see into a human body</a> without cutting it open. This technology combines CT scans and MRI data, and projects them onto the relevant area of a patient’s body. This has fantastic implications in the medical world, as it means that explorative diagnosis can avoid any unnecessary invasive procedures.</p>
<p>The goal of virtual reality research is to render as realistic an experience as possible. This includes vision through higher and higher definition VR goggles, sound through noise cancelling high definition earpieces, touch through feedback technologies such as the <a href="https://vrgluv.com/">VRgluv</a>, and even <a href="https://www.wareable.com/vr/senses-touch-taste-smell-immersion-7776">taste and smell</a>.</p>
<p>Total immersion is the key and, as you can see, we are already encroaching on this territory.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cSp1dM2Vj48?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<h2>Social computer games</h2>
<p>If we are starting to see technology that could potentially give us access to virtual worlds like The Oasis, we might need to consider how that kind of immersion will affect humanity. We are already aware that immersion into game systems can have a detrimental affect on health. People have even <a href="https://www.thegamer.com/15-people-who-have-died-playing-video-games/">died playing them</a>.</p>
<p>As technology advances to simulate the world with ever higher levels of fidelity, we need to ask whether these virtual worlds could ever become preferable to the standard everyday reality we were born into. If we listen to people like Mark Zuckerberg, who <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/mark-zuckerberg-virtual-reality-better-real-world-comments-vr-a7995546.html">claims</a> that virtual reality could eventually be made better than reality, then this might lead people to spend more time plugged into VR in their daily lives.</p>
<p>This being the case, would society end up turning its back on the problems of the real world? And would this necessarily be a bad thing? After all, that might also mean that human environmental impact could be reduced.</p>
<p>Another aspect alluded to by the premise of Ready Player One are the effects of social media. In the film, society spends much of their waking lives online, leaving only to eat and sleep. In this sense, the Oasis represents a kind of full immersion social media platform with a multitude of applications.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211702/original/file-20180323-54872-1qe68rn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211702/original/file-20180323-54872-1qe68rn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211702/original/file-20180323-54872-1qe68rn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211702/original/file-20180323-54872-1qe68rn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211702/original/file-20180323-54872-1qe68rn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211702/original/file-20180323-54872-1qe68rn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211702/original/file-20180323-54872-1qe68rn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Avatar life.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Warner Bros.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We only need to look around the next crowded area we go to in order to see people browsing social media platforms on their ubiquitous mobile devices. Individuals are spending <a href="https://www.socialmediatoday.com/marketing/how-much-time-do-people-spend-social-media-infographic">more and more time</a> on social media platforms and it is easy to conclude that, if something like The Oasis was released today, the impulse we are seeing in society would very easily translate to this more immersive platform.</p>
<h2>How we place value</h2>
<p>Early in Ready Player One, we discover that the founder of The Oasis has passed away, with no heirs. And so he states in his will that the keys to the controlling stock of The Oasis and his company can be found somewhere in his creation. This sparks a whole new movement in society called “The Hunt” which sees huge numbers of people trawling for clues that might reveal the location of this hidden “Easter Egg”. Indeed, so serious are the implications of this that entire companies are formed just to crack the puzzles left by the founder of The Oasis, and the devious tricks and efforts even spill over into the real world.</p>
<p>And so the film also sheds an interesting light on what we, as human beings, see as valuable. Traditionally, we are used to attaching value to tangible things that we can touch. But we are moving into an age when people are spending money on artefacts that are entirely digital. We only need to look at millionaires like <a href="http://fortune.com/2006/11/27/anshe-chung-first-virtual-millionaire/">Anshe Chung</a> (real name: Ailin Graef), who got rich by selling virtual land and property, to see that people can make millions just by trading in 1s and 0s.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211698/original/file-20180323-54903-xkof4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211698/original/file-20180323-54903-xkof4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211698/original/file-20180323-54903-xkof4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211698/original/file-20180323-54903-xkof4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211698/original/file-20180323-54903-xkof4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211698/original/file-20180323-54903-xkof4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211698/original/file-20180323-54903-xkof4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Plugged in.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Warner Bros.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Additionally, games companies use in-game purchases, as well as <a href="http://www.spilgames.com/game-design/11-monetization-strategies-for-game-developers/">other monetisation strategies</a>, to increase income from products initially distributed for free. And it would be remiss not to mention <a href="https://blockgeeks.com/guides/what-is-cryptocurrency/">cryptocurrencies</a> when we are discussing the fact that value systems are becoming more and more digital.</p>
<p>As our lives become more digital, so are the things that can assist us in this new world that we are prepared to invest in.</p>
<p>Perhaps, then, Ready Player One isn’t as fantastical as you may think. There is plenty of evidence to show that the realisation of this alternate, fully accessible, virtual world may be just a matter of time.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93623/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Craig Weightman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
In this vision of the future, everything that we currently do in the real world – going to school, going to work, socialising, leisure – is done in a vast virtual environment.
Craig Weightman, Lecturer in Games and Visual Effects, Staffordshire University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/91426
2018-02-15T14:24:31Z
2018-02-15T14:24:31Z
Hollywood 360: how virtual reality is poised to take on the traditional movie industry
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206556/original/file-20180215-131021-8i2p95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/into-virtual-reality-world-man-wearing-519713428">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104692/">The Lawnmower Man</a> was the first feature film to depict a new type of technology that enabled characters to explore synthetic, simulated worlds through an emerging new medium called <a href="http://www.realitytechnologies.com/virtual-reality">virtual reality</a> (VR). That was 1992.</p>
<p>Using head-mounted displays (HMD) the size of crash helmets and gloves with sensors, VR users were experiencing computer-generated environments and stories in new ways. Through the idea of “presence” – the feeling of actually being part of an artificially created place – any adventure was now possible, at least if the buzz was to be believed.</p>
<p>The film was a hit; now Hollywood studios were watching, waiting for the technology to mature to a point where they could actually create VR experiences for audiences. This idea of “convergence” between old and new media was a hot topic, and extremely attractive as a potential new revenue stream for studios.</p>
<p>But by 2000, the technology had not progressed substantially. Resolution in headsets was poor and equipment was unreliable and expensive. Many found using VR for more than a few minutes physically nauseating, which <a href="https://killscreen.com/articles/failure-launch/">doomed its fate</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206558/original/file-20180215-130997-m3xgd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206558/original/file-20180215-130997-m3xgd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206558/original/file-20180215-130997-m3xgd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206558/original/file-20180215-130997-m3xgd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206558/original/file-20180215-130997-m3xgd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206558/original/file-20180215-130997-m3xgd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206558/original/file-20180215-130997-m3xgd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">VR has found success in areas such as medicine, where doctors can practise complex surgeries without risk to human life.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/smart-medical-augmented-virtual-reality-technology-753902329">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Hollywood moved its attention elsewhere and VR faded away, maintaining life only through continuing research involving <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/apr/14/cutting-edge-theatre-worlds-first-virtual-reality-operation-goes-live">medical</a> and other <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frederick_Brooks_Jr/publication/30868226_What%27s_Real_About_Virtual_Reality/links/5773a83a08aeb9427e23e0ec/Whats-Real-About-Virtual-Reality.pdf">specialist simulation areas</a> where benefits outweighed the costs.</p>
<h2>New horizons</h2>
<p>Despite growing interest in sci-fi TV shows and films, VR lay dormant for more than a decade. Then in 2012 the landscape changed. A new start-up company called <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1523379957/oculus-rift-step-into-the-game">Oculus</a> announced the development of a new head-mounted display that was lighter, clearer and most importantly, cheaper than past systems.</p>
<p>At first public response was limited, but the announcement sowed the seeds for VR’s return. In 2014, Google announced <a href="https://vr.google.com/cardboard/">Cardboard</a>, a simple and inexpensive (often free) system that enables any modern smartphone to function as an head-mounted display.</p>
<p>Samsung took this idea further through the introduction of <a href="http://www.samsungmobilepress.com/news/samsung-explores-the-world-of-mobile-virtual-reality-with-gear-vr">Gear VR</a>, which uses the Galaxy mobile phone to form its own HMD system. The shift from requiring dedicated hardware to run VR applications to the freedom of using smartphones suddenly expanded the potential VR market to tens of millions.</p>
<p>Offerings from tech giants HTC and Sony soon followed and the VR hype returned. <a href="http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/pages/technology-driving-innovation-folder/virtual-and-augmented-reality/report.pdf">Predictions</a> from Goldman Sachs and others trumpeted a new VR market worth $80 billion by 2025.</p>
<p>Unlike the first wave of VR systems, which relied solely on computer-generated imagery, these new products spurred the development of an additional type of VR content – 360° video or “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture-professionals-network/2015/jan/30/virtual-reality-cinema-experience-vr">Cinematic Virtual Reality</a>” (CVR).</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ws0SOjNboqc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Oculus/YouTube.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Whereas traditional VR allows the user complete autonomy to move within a virtual space, with CVR the user has no real control other than where they look as the video plays. But because it uses pre-rendered pictures and sound, CVR programmes can approach the quality found in high-end television or films, and involve real people shot in actual physical locations. Recognising the power of this new format, YouTube and Vimeo both added 360° video playback services providing the public with easy access to CVR content.</p>
<h2>Big guns on board</h2>
<p>The first major producers of CVR have been news organisations looking to “put viewers in stories” on location. The New York Times is the largest with its free <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/video/the-daily-360">Daily 360 service</a>.</p>
<p>In 2016, it commissioned <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/12/08/magazine/great-performers-la-noir.html">Great Performers: LA Noir</a>, a series of dramatic CVR shorts involving big-name Hollywood talent. Around the same time, the <a href="https://www.sundance.org/festivals/sundance-film-festival/about#/">Sundance Film Festival</a> introduced a VR strand to its New Frontier showcase.</p>
<p>In January 2018, Protozoa Pictures – the production company founded by acclaimed director <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/darren-aronofsky-hollywoods-most-ambitious-director-2185191.html">Darren Aronofsky</a> (Black Swan) – signed <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/vr-film-spheres-huge-sundance-deal/">a seven-figure deal</a> for a new three-part VR series about exploring space, called Spheres.</p>
<p>So does this mean that Hollywood has finally embraced virtual reality? Arguably yes, but the question is, for how long? Disney has invested over US$65m in the CVR portal and distributor <a href="http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/jaunt-virtual-reality-disney-evolution-media-65-million-1201598574/">Jaunt VR</a>, and Facebook, which has been in <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/facebook-netflix-hollywood-original-tv-shows-stream-video-social-network-media-studios-a7807896.html">discussions</a> with major studios to create its own TV productions, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jul/22/facebook-oculus-rift-acquisition-virtual-reality">acquired Oculus for US$2 billion</a>.</p>
<p>Yet there is no indication that significant revenue is flowing. Outlets such as NYT and CNN and the BBC <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3J4jpLFsyMR61kS6HN4nmyT/fight-game-vr">use CVR content</a> to drive traffic to their websites rather than generate income directly, considering value in increased viewer numbers.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206559/original/file-20180215-131021-17nf62c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206559/original/file-20180215-131021-17nf62c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206559/original/file-20180215-131021-17nf62c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206559/original/file-20180215-131021-17nf62c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206559/original/file-20180215-131021-17nf62c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206559/original/file-20180215-131021-17nf62c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206559/original/file-20180215-131021-17nf62c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Early VR headsets made some users feel nauseous.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?src=lb-59856941&offset=3&sort=newestFirst">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Despite the rapid expansion of VR in all its forms, there are still no established distribution mechanisms that enable companies to recoup their investments in VR production, let alone generate profit. In fact, financial analysts have noted that overall, VR industry revenue was lower than expected for much of 2017 although it has started to <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/02/virtual-reality-gets-its-groove-back/">rebound</a>.</p>
<p>So, while deals like Spheres are intriguing and noteworthy, it is far too early to say that virtual reality has become a mainstream medium. Headsets are still cumbersome, and watching VR programmes can still make some nauseous.</p>
<p>The current wave of interest in VR has many similarities with its rise and fall 20 years ago. But we only need look at Hollywood’s numerous dalliances with 3D – yet to be successfully established as an alternative film or television format – to wonder about the fate of VR. Whether the industry ultimately embraces it will depend on the technology winning over audiences with an improved experience that is more comfortable, affordable and engaging.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91426/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Mateer has received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Innovate UK for Knowledge Transfer projects involving the use of digital technologies in feature film production as well as cinematic virtual reality.</span></em></p>
If they get the technology right, it’s a win-win for big studios and audiences alike with this new improved entertainment experience.
John Mateer, Senior Lecturer in Film and Television Production, University of York
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/87305
2017-11-13T23:09:56Z
2017-11-13T23:09:56Z
Oculus and our troubles with (virtual) reality
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194221/original/file-20171111-29352-imh4mm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announces the launch of Oculus Go virtual reality headset in October.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Handout)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last month, Facebook-owned virtual reality company, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/11/oculus-go-announced-by-facebook.html">Oculus, announced its new device, Oculus Go</a>. </p>
<p>Go, the successor to Oculus Rift, is a cheaper standalone virtual reality (VR) headset and controller system set for release in 2018. The company boasts that the new system allows users to immerse themselves in over 1,000 games, social apps and 360˚ experiences, and step inside a personal portable theatre to watch movies, TV shows, sports and play games. </p>
<p>At a much lower cost than the previous iteration (US$199 compared to $599 for the Oculus Rift), Oculus Go is likely to become very popular. </p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/17/16487936/microsoft-windows-mixed-reality-vr-headsets-guide-pricing-features">Microsoft partners, including Acer, Dell, HP and Lenovo, announced their own headsets</a> in the US$299 to $530 range, built to the technology giant’s specifications. And <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/4/16403276/google-daydream-view-vr-headset-price-release-date-features">Google announced its $99 Daydream View</a> — up in price from $79 for the previous smartphone-headset model.</p>
<p>These increasingly affordable devices are likely to excite many. But VR has long been a part of our popular culture. Throughout its history, new VR technologies have forced us to ask questions about its impact on culture and society.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/experts-guide/matthew-flisfeder.html">my research</a> on media, popular culture and ideology, I’ve traced some of the ways that new media have changed how we see and experience reality.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194424/original/file-20171113-27616-1w2qfdj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194424/original/file-20171113-27616-1w2qfdj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194424/original/file-20171113-27616-1w2qfdj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194424/original/file-20171113-27616-1w2qfdj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194424/original/file-20171113-27616-1w2qfdj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194424/original/file-20171113-27616-1w2qfdj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194424/original/file-20171113-27616-1w2qfdj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194424/original/file-20171113-27616-1w2qfdj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Acer is one of several Microsoft partners launching consumer-priced mixed-reality headsets.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Handout)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>VR in popular culture</h2>
<p>Following the arrival of photography in the 1830s, the diorama, and then the panorama, were built structures that reproduced scenes made to look like the real world. Panoramas and dioramas are still used in shopping malls, window displays, museums and galleries to emulate the appearance of the traditional town square.</p>
<p>The arrival of cinema, and then television, truly gave us a new sense of VR. Movies and TV brought scenes, fantasies and fictions closer to us. </p>
<p>The way we tend to imagine new fully immersive VR technology has come from its depiction in popular literature, film and television.</p>
<p>William Gibson’s novel, <em>Neuromancer</em> (1984), deals with a VR “cyberspace” environment called “the matrix.” The book is a precursor to the 1999 film, <em>The Matrix</em>. Other popular sci-fi and cyberpunk films in the 1990s also portray the arrival of immersive VR. These films include Brett Leonard’s <em>The Lawnmower Man</em> (1992), Josef Rusnak’s <em>The Thirteenth Floor</em> (1999), David Cronenberg’s <em>eXistenZ</em> (1999) and Kathryn Bigelow’s <em>Strange Days</em> (1995).</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vKQi3bBA1y8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Matrix film series helped to create a popular vision of virtual reality.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Star Trek: The Next Generation</em>’s (1987-1994) holodeck showed a much more optimistic portrayal of the possibilities of VR. But unlike its depiction on <em>Star Trek</em>, VR is used in other works to question the impact of the media and entertainment in creating alternate and possibly harmful realities. Perhaps that’s a reflection of our suspicions about the dangers of media manipulation.</p>
<h2>Propaganda, “fake news” and “alternative facts”</h2>
<p>Recently, the idea of alternate or alternative realities has moved from the fantasy worlds of the big screen to the small real-time screens of the news. The idea of “alternate realities” has been brought into the spotlight by political commentators observing the presidency of Donald Trump. </p>
<p>Trump shows his disdain for the mainstream mass media by calling it the “fake news.” His former campaign manager and now adviser, Kellyanne Conway, coined the term <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/22/politics/kellyanne-conway-alternative-facts/index.html">“alternative facts”</a> to support the false claims of former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. </p>
<p>Spicer had claimed that Trump’s inauguration was the most highly attended in history. This was not true. The idea of so-called “alternative facts” shows that even fact, truth and reality have become politically divisive and contentious topics.</p>
<p>Much of the discussion around so-called “fake news” and “alternative facts” has also looked at the role of social media, such as <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/mark-zuckerberg-regrets-fake-news-facebook_us_59cc2039e4b05063fe0eed9d">Facebook</a> (the parent company of Oculus). Social media has reportedly played a major role in circulating false information that helped to get Trump <a href="https://www.vox.com/new-money/2016/11/16/13637310/facebook-fake-news-explained">elected</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VSrEEDQgFc8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Donald Trump political adviser Kellyanne Conway coined the term “alternative facts.”</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Part of the problem with social media is that it produces <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/social-media/2016/11/how-burst-your-social-media-bubble">information bubbles</a>. Because of the algorithmic logic of the platform, people end up trapped in feedback loops of information. Users end up only seeing information in their newsfeeds that reinforces — rather than combats or contradicts — their own world views. Because of this, social media seems to have created more opinion-based segregation in society. This flies in the face of the more traditional democratic notion of the public sphere. </p>
<p>In the democratic public sphere, people are supposed to come together to engage in critical rational debate. Instead, corporate new media offers users safe spaces of rhetorical support for their existing conceptions of reality.</p>
<h2>Both sides of the story</h2>
<p>There is also a parallel that runs here with the meaning of “objectivity” in the media — of reporting fairly and without bias. But misconceptions about “objective journalism” might add to the problem. People think that objectivity means showing “both sides” of the story. But what if one side is factually false? </p>
<p>A good example is climate change and the debate between climate scientists, who research the human causes of climate change, and those who deny the “human footprint” in climate change, <a href="https://theconversation.com/eclipse-of-reason-why-do-people-disbelieve-scientists-81068">ignoring the overwhelming majority of research that supports the climate science</a>.</p>
<p>The new U.S. ambassador to Canada, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/us-ambassador-knight-craft-1.4366936">Kelly Craft</a>, has said that she believes “both sides” of the climate science. But this raises the question: If “objectivity” is merely the attempt to give legitimacy equally to different “views,” what then is the impact on reality? Does this mean that there is no single reality? No single, objective truth? </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2UFtm33dLB8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">U.S. ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft says she believes “both sides” of the climate science debate.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Representing reality</h2>
<p>The history of VR and entertainment new media suggests that our experiences of reality are constantly reinscribed and redeployed with each new form. This means that representations of reality in different media affect how we see the world and our place within it. </p>
<p>Reality’s portrayal and depiction varies depending upon how it is being represented, and by who is doing or producing the representation of reality. It affects our ethical judgments about how to act and treat other people in the real world.</p>
<p>In the Charlie Brooker sci-fi series <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/10/black-mirror-season-three-review-netflix-men-against-fire/505040/"><em>Black Mirror</em>‘s “Men Against Fire”</a> episode, soldiers are implanted with augmented reality technology — a not-too-distant variation on existing forms such as Google Glass, or even Pokémon Go. The technology lets soldiers see their enemy as vicious monster mutants called “roaches.” </p>
<p>But once the technology fails, one of the soldiers is able to see the enemy for what they really are: Human, poor people trying to escape genocide by the dominant group.</p>
<p>The episode reverses the line from art historian and cultural critic, John Berger, who says: “The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe.” In the episode, what we know and believe is affected by the way we see things. </p>
<h2>Total entertainment forever</h2>
<p>Obsessions and critiques of new media are already part of popular culture. Green Day’s “American Idiot” talks about media control. Katy Perry’s “Chained to the Rhythm” portrays a culture of conformity led by our new media. Even Father John Misty’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHpV08wI-bw">“Total Entertainment Forever”</a> begins with the lines, “Bedding Taylor Swift/Every night inside the Oculus Rift.” </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eHpV08wI-bw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Father John Misty’s “Total Entertainment Forever” cautions against the perils of virtual reality.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Misty (whose real name is Josh Tillman) sings about the darker side of our emerging new media and entertainment technologies. The song itself is a testament to our over-investment in entertainment and its ability to obscure reality.</p>
<p>As new media and entertainment technologies are normalized, they tend to have an impact on the way that we experience actual reality. This is not to suggest that our entertainment technologies are necessarily dangerous, or that we face a moral conundrum as we enjoy new media. </p>
<p>But it’s worth asking how our mediated practices of enjoyment in the virtual world still have real-world social and political implications. </p>
<p>As VR technologies like Oculus Go become more popular, we might ask ourselves how our immersion in its world of high-definition simulation impacts our experiences of reality.</p>
<p>As we’ve already witnessed through the political implications of Facebook, and its difficulty with so-called “fake news,” such a question is not entirely politically neutral.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dtwpjnuaVTE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The forthcoming film Steven Spielberg film Ready Player One , based on the novel by Ernest Cline, depicts a near future in which people retreat to a virtual reality world called The OASIS.</span></figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87305/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Flisfeder does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Will the arrival and popularity of Oculus Go and other VR systems make us think differently about alternative realities and so-called alternative facts?
Matthew Flisfeder, Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Communications, University of Winnipeg
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/84838
2017-10-12T01:23:23Z
2017-10-12T01:23:23Z
Looking into their computer-generated eyes: dating in virtual reality
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189343/original/file-20171009-6950-11j5e7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">So, will VR dating be a thing?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-young-woman-using-virtual-reality-641474236?src=xdbhBnuNETlqcGho-1ChDA-3-1">TierneyMJ/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Online dating has been around for more than 20 years, but for the most part, the goal has been to eventually meet your new paramour face to face. Virtual reality (VR) could change that.</p>
<p>From Match.com, which <a href="https://www.match.com/help/aboutus.aspx?lid=4">launched in 1995</a>, the idea of meeting and chatting with someone in a digital space has spread to Facebook, Second Life and apps like Tinder.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-virtual-mum-put-me-to-bed-a-view-from-the-vr-future-of-film-84015">'A virtual mum put me to bed': a view from the VR future of film</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>With VR coming of age, we’re about to discover what happens when you combine the two. This is dating where a version of you can spend time in the same virtual space as your love interest, but without physically being there at all. </p>
<p>Unlike chatting with someone on Tinder but never meeting up, it could feel very, very real.</p>
<h2>The beginning of VR immersive dating</h2>
<p>The entertainment industry is already trying to capitalise on the idea of VR and romance. There is a range of shows and apps that indicate how this technology is creating new ideas around dating.</p>
<p>Facebook has launched a show called <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/30/16227238/virtually-dating-conde-nast-facebook-vr-dating-show">Virtually Dating</a>, a version of a blind date using HTC Vive VR technology. </p>
<p>It’s a strange mix, because the people are physically in the same space but can only see each other and interact in VR. The body scanning also has glitches that mean the limbs of their avatar can do strange things, like arms going right through bodies. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/U58rsdA9Aa8?wmode=transparent&start=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Virtual reality blind dates are a thing now.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Then, for those who are struggling with dating altogether, an app for HTC Vive offers <a href="https://www.viveport.com/apps/dca315ba-0d7d-4182-953b-cf38ff2cc723">immersive dating lessons</a>. Dating Lessons tries to coach you on things such as body language and what to say on a date, although the game has been <a href="http://www.refinery29.com/2017/01/135008/sexist-virtual-dating-game">criticised as sexist</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189501/original/file-20171010-10908-1iq54ek.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189501/original/file-20171010-10908-1iq54ek.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189501/original/file-20171010-10908-1iq54ek.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189501/original/file-20171010-10908-1iq54ek.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189501/original/file-20171010-10908-1iq54ek.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189501/original/file-20171010-10908-1iq54ek.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189501/original/file-20171010-10908-1iq54ek.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An image from Dating Lessons, developed by Cerevrum Inc.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.viveport.com/apps/dca315ba-0d7d-4182-953b-cf38ff2cc723">Cerevrum Inc</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Even further from reality, a Japanese gaming company reportedly offers men the chance <a href="https://interestingengineering.com/japanese-man-marries-virtual-reality-anime-real-chapel/">to marry their favourite anime character</a> in a real chapel where physical sensations such as kissing are mimicked using props while the groom carries out the actions in VR.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RYNdiLrvwzA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Man marries anime character.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Where does this all lead?</h2>
<p>The effect VR dating could have on our social structure is still unknown, but research into online dating offers a hint of its possible impact.</p>
<p><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pere.12188/full">A recent study</a> by researchers at West Virginia University and the University of Illinois looked at first physical date success after initial contact through online dating. In many cases, a decline in attraction occurred after the first face to face date, in spite of previously favourable online interactions. </p>
<p>However, this was “tempered” by the amount of online communication before meeting, indicating that the higher this was, the lower the disillusionment on actual contact. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/virtual-reality-could-transform-pornography-but-there-are-dangers-78061">Virtual reality could transform pornography – but there are dangers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Could VR and the immersive presence it offers make this process even more successful? It’s possible. A VR date might be a more intense and personal experience. Moving from screen to VR invokes “presence” – the feeling of actually being in the virtual space itself. </p>
<p>After all, advances in <a href="https://theconversation.com/virtual-reality-sex-is-coming-soon-to-a-headset-near-you-57563">sex-related technology</a> already offer the potential for a couple in VR to engage in a physical-sexual experience.</p>
<p>It isn’t hard to imagine scenarios where this might replace the entirety of physical contact, fulfilling the fictional predictions of novelists such as Ernest Cline <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/books/ready-player-one-by-ernest-cline-review.html">who wrote Ready Player One</a> and invented a world that has become subsumed by virtual experience. </p>
<p>It’s also possible that in the future, the “other person” may not be real but simply a computer-generated avatar. </p>
<p>Either way, two things are certain: VR dating is here to stay, and it will change the way we date.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84838/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr David Evans Bailey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Online dating has been around for more than 20 years, but for the most part, the goal has been to eventually meet your new paramour face to face. Virtual reality could change that.
Dr David Evans Bailey, PhD Researcher in Virtual Reality, Auckland University of Technology
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/57563
2016-05-18T00:48:05Z
2016-05-18T00:48:05Z
Virtual reality sex is coming soon to a headset near you
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122793/original/image-20160517-15924-uv6b7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Your every fantasy can be brought to life.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The 1992 film <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104692/">Lawnmower Man</a> generated a lot of buzz at the time of its release. </p>
<p>As a film about virtual reality (<a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/virtual-reality">VR</a>), you might think that it was the vivid representation of this startling new technology that grabbed people’s attention. In fact, it was the virtual sex scene that made headlines. </p>
<figure>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Sex in a 1990s virtual world.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But while virtual reality sex was largely a fantasy back in the 1990s, it’s becoming a reality today, and it has a potentially fertile future.</p>
<h2>Point of view</h2>
<p>Oscar Wilde is often quoted as <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/6218-everything-in-the-world-is-about-sex-except-sex-sex">having said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Everything in the world is about sex except sex. Sex is about power.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There’s truth in this because sex has an strong presence across many aspects of our lives. So it’s little surprise that it features in our virtual lives as well.</p>
<p>Some might even say that the joining of VR and sex is a dream come true; you can do almost anything you can imagine without ever leaving your living room. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde: you have the power. </p>
<p>As such, it is no surprise that the pornography industry is eager to embrace virtual reality.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://fortune.com/2016/03/23/pornhub-adds-free-virtual-reality-section-for-oculus-google-cardboard/">Fortune Magazine</a>, popular porn website Pornhub gets around 60 million visitors per day. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is investing heavily in VR. </p>
<p>It already features a slew of immersive videos that require Google Cardboard or <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/oculus-rift">Oculus Rift</a>.</p>
<p>The videos are pre-recorded, as with conventional porn, but they are shot with a 180 or 360-degree camera. Using a VR headset, the viewer is then immersed in the scene, often with a central point of view.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hLqVxC6JWIM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">People experience virtual reality sex for the first time.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Spectator porn is also transitioning to include an interactive element. This is where, instead of a static camera, the viewer will have something like a virtual camera that brings things right into the room in real time.</p>
<h2>Teledildonics</h2>
<p>Another growing area is in <a href="http://www.multiplayersexgames.com/adult-games/53-3dxchat-review.html">simulation sex and dating sites</a>. </p>
<p>In these, you can choose to be represented by any number of avatars: male, female, human and nonhuman. You can then interact with other avatars, and engage in a wide range of sexual activities at the click of a mouse button.</p>
<p>This type of site is likely to appeal to those who seek anonymous no strings attached casual sex. Or those who enjoy situating their fantasy within a genuinely <a href="http://bonecraft.net/">fantastic world</a>.</p>
<p>And for those wanting virtual interactive sex with their current partner, the industry is also aiming to satisfy. There is a <a href="http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/most-shocking/10-virtual-reality-sex-toys-you-wont-believe-actually-exist/?view=all">plethora of interactive sex toys</a>, for both men and women, which simply plug into the USB port of your computer. </p>
<p>These devices can be controlled by you or your partner, enabling you to enjoy a level of intimacy irrespective of physical location. I imagine this will particularly appeal to couples separated by continents. </p>
<p>Obviously, the porn industry will also capitalise on these sensory devices. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2iG0QnqpgkI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The best way to have sex in a long distance relationship.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Polyester girl</h2>
<p>One can even combine the virtual with the physical and invest in a robotic sex doll. These are a far cry from the caricature blow-up dolls much loved by stag and hen parties. Nowadays, you can obtain a full synthetic lifelike model with all the appropriate equipment. Some also include animatronic articulation. </p>
<p>In time, it may be possible for the actions of these robots to be remotely controlled, thus adding another dimension to virtual sex.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wLVOnVsLXqw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Building a sex robot.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some may see the development of VR sex diminishing human relations. But there may be advantages to virtual intimacy. For those who are disadvantaged in some way and can’t even leave the house, for instance, or who find it hard to relate to other people intimately, <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/9780061359804/love-and-sex-with-robots">this could be a boon</a>. </p>
<p>This may be particularly important given the skewed gender ratios in some countries, which may leave <a href="http://www.zmescience.com/other/feature-post/china-gender-imbalance-243423/">millions of men</a> unable to find a (human) mate.</p>
<p>Or you could think of VR simply adding a new immersive element to existing virtual text, phone, and webcam sex, all of which are nothing new. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5GBs7udjKhU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Will porn be virtual reality’s killer app?</span></figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/57563/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr David Evans Bailey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
It might not surprise you that virtual reality is already being used for sex. But the diversity of virtual sex options might.
Dr David Evans Bailey, PhD Researcher in Virtual Reality, Auckland University of Technology
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/57422
2016-04-26T20:12:33Z
2016-04-26T20:12:33Z
Up close and personal: virtual reality can be an instrument for social change
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119788/original/image-20160422-4794-1e61rt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Virtual reality can trigger emotions that text can't convey.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sergey Galyonkin/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Virtual reality (<a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/virtual-reality">VR</a>) has arrived. It has already been described as “<a href="http://www.smh.com.au/technology/games/earthlight-one-giant-leap-for-virtual-reality-20160415-go74xj.html">revolutionary</a>” and the “<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/17/technology/the-week-in-tech-the-next-big-thing-according-to-mark-zuckerberg.html">next big thing</a>” in technology. </p>
<p>Its applications extend beyond entertainment and games to include <a href="https://theconversation.com/ten-cool-applications-for-virtual-reality-that-arent-just-games-56365">education, art</a> and a <a href="https://theconversation.com/athletes-look-for-an-edge-in-a-new-place-virtual-reality-56776">range</a> of other innovative uses. </p>
<p>But VR also has the potential to promote social change.</p>
<h2>From words to pictures</h2>
<p>There is a reason we say “a picture is worth a thousand words”. Images can communicate complex ideas and provoke emotions more effectively than descriptions. </p>
<p>For example, take <a href="http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/fact-sheets/who-are-refugees/refugee-stories/aducs-story/">Aduc Barec’s</a> story: she was compelled to leave Sudan in the early 1990s because of the civil war. Her family walked for a month before reaching Ethiopia, where they lived in limbo until they settled in a refugee camp for five years. Aduc and her family were later resettled in Australia. </p>
<p>When we read her story, and those of other refugees, it is often difficult to imagine and understand their experiences.</p>
<p>Here’s another example. Imagine reading for the first time <a href="http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/animals-used-food-factsheets/pigs-intelligent-animals-suffering-factory-farms-slaughterhouses/">reports from the animal rights group PETA</a> (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) about the plight of pigs in factory farms. You would read that, from a young age, piglets are physically mutilated without painkillers, that for most of their lives they are confined indoors in a crowded pen, and that their ultimate fate is the abattoir, where they are stunned and slaughtered. </p>
<p>For some, the details in these examples are provocative enough. But others may find it difficult to empathise and understand when simply reading the descriptions on their own.</p>
<p>Perhaps watching a video of the plight of refugees or that of pigs in factory farms may stimulate greater intellectual and emotional reactions?</p>
<p>Be warned, these videos contain some graphic images. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_GP-nzy1P5M?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Sudan’s Refugees in South Sudan: Amnesty International.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nEKpyzyn6N8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Suffering of Pigs on Factory Farms: PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Images of human and animal suffering can elicit shock, horror, outrage, pity and compassion. Social justice campaigners have known about the power of imagery for some time, which is why it is central to their campaigns.</p>
<h2>Up close and personal</h2>
<p>So how does VR compare? Social justice campaigners, like animal rights activists, are developing virtual experiences and taking them to the physical world. </p>
<p>Since 2014, PETA has exhibited <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/ichicken-virtual-reality-reveals-the-life-of-a-chicken-20150923-gjsxww.html">I, Chicken</a> across hundreds of college campuses and universities in the United States and Australia. </p>
<p>In the three-minute simulation, participants embody a virtual chicken and experience her life, from roaming in a green pasture to then being captured and transported to a slaughterhouse.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119789/original/image-20160422-4791-vtdkr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119789/original/image-20160422-4791-vtdkr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119789/original/image-20160422-4791-vtdkr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119789/original/image-20160422-4791-vtdkr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119789/original/image-20160422-4791-vtdkr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119789/original/image-20160422-4791-vtdkr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119789/original/image-20160422-4791-vtdkr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119789/original/image-20160422-4791-vtdkr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">US college students get a feel for what it’s like to be a battery hen.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">PETA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>During the first two months of the US tour, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_4OvCuX8KI">students were polled as they exited</a>. At one college, participants reported feeling more empathy with the plight of a chicken: “It didn’t feel like a video game anymore at the end.” </p>
<p>Another said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] after they put you in the slaughterhouse, I actually felt kind of afraid. I don’t know why. I knew it was a game, or whatever, but I guess my body reacted internally as like [I was] about to get killed. After the game, I felt that, yeah, chickens have emotions, they’re like humans, they feel pain. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>PETA found that 30% of participants felt “more conflicted” about eating chickens after the three-minute simulation. According to PETA, participants responded more positively as compared to other stalls where people read a leaflet or watched a video. </p>
<h2>Tool for social change</h2>
<p><a href="https://vhil.stanford.edu/mm/2014/ahn-chb-embodied-experiences.pdf">Researchers</a> have also observed this difference. They have discovered that immersive virtual environments allow us to “see, hear, and feel digital stimuli” as if we were in the real world. </p>
<p>In two studies, researchers compared the effects of cutting down a virtual tree against reading a print description or watching a video of the same process. They found that those immersed in virtual reality had greater behavioural changes and consumed 20% less paper than non-VR participants in the follow-up experiment. </p>
<p>Why not explore the VR experience for yourself? If you have a VR headset, or <a href="https://www.google.com/get/cardboard/">Google Cardboard</a>, you can discover the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-VMMotnujM">lives of pigs in factory farms</a> (sorry iPhone users, the Apple YouTube app still does not have a VR function but you can still try the 2D experience). </p>
<p>Android users can also download <a href="http://www.peta.org/misc/virtual-reality-viewer/">iChicken</a>. </p>
<p>Google Cardboard users can also download <a href="http://vrse.com/">Vrse</a> or <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2015/nytvr/">NYT VR</a> and explore “The Displaced” for the moving stories of three children who have been displaced by war and conflict.</p>
<p>VR may be the next big thing in the entertainment industry, but I am more excited about the possibilities it has for stimulating social and political transformations. By itself, it won’t change the world, but it might be a powerful tool we can use for social change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/57422/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gonzalo N Villanueva does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
It can be hard to move people with just text or images. But virtual reality can let people experience others’ lives, making it a potent tool for social change.
Gonzalo N Villanueva, PhD Candidate, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/56776
2016-03-28T10:07:10Z
2016-03-28T10:07:10Z
Athletes look for an edge in a new place: virtual reality
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116431/original/image-20160324-17817-iy2wju.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Indiana University football coach Kevin Wilson explains VR-enabled training to his players</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Indiana University Athletics</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Virtual reality (VR) appears ready to take the entertainment world by storm in 2016. In addition to the much-hyped <a href="https://www.oculus.com/en-us/rift/">Oculus Rift</a>, major corporations such as Facebook, Sony and Samsung are poised to release high-quality VR headsets to the public this year. After years of VR being discussed as the “next big thing,” this may be the year consumers will be able to get their hands on actual products.</p>
<p>It turns out some athletes have already begun exploring the promise of VR. Sports teams – both <a href="http://lbszone.com/2016/02/05/can-super-technology-help-teams-get-super-bowl/">professional</a> and <a href="http://www.biztechmagazine.com/article/2016/03/college-basketball-plays-virtual-reality-it-isn-t-slam-dunk-yet">collegiate</a> – are taking advantage of the unique qualities of VR video to understand games in new and unique ways. <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Virtual-reality-gives-athletes-a-new-view-on-6778059.php">Stanford’s STRIVR system</a>, for example, provides services for its teams as well as for Clemson University and several NFL teams.</p>
<p>As a researcher and teacher of new media technology in sports journalism, I have had my opinion on VR changed dramatically over the course of the last year. My initial feeling was that VR was little more than a new fad that would fade, along the same lines as <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2013/03/3d-tv-without-glasses">3D television</a>. But after using the technology and seeing its applications, I have changed my mind completely on it. VR technology is a radical departure from traditional video presentation, and it has myriad applications in both consumer media and in athletic practice.</p>
<p>We are already seeing certain sports take advantage of these applications. At the Mark Cuban Center for Sports Media and Technology at Indiana University, five sports teams actively use VR, including men’s basketball and football. According to Cuban Center videographer Patrick Dhaene, that number is expected to double next year.</p>
<h1>VR and sports training</h1>
<p>Coaches and players have been using regular two-dimensional video for multiple generations, generally relying on a wide camera angle to capture the entirety of a formation or play. This can make players feel distant from the material they are studying. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EAWwQ0YHJXE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A traditional football team training video session.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>With VR, however, the player is able to put on a headset and experience a play from a much closer vantage point – as if they are inside the play as it takes place.</p>
<p>A quarterback wearing a VR headset can take a simulated snap and physically turn his head left or right in real time as the play progresses, helping him learn both the progressions of his wide receivers and the positioning of the defense.</p>
<p>Players can use VR to help memorize plays and formations <a href="http://iuhoosiers.com/news/2015/8/19/FB_0819154546.aspx">without having to step onto the field</a>, by repeatedly watching different aspects of looped plays within the VR headset. Coaches enjoy the benefits of players using VR to experience play repetitions, <a href="http://fortune.com/2016/03/14/vr-sec-football/">without the potential for injury</a> that comes from being on the practice field.</p>
<h2>How it works</h2>
<p>The video that athletes and coaches see in a VR environment is constructed differently than normal video. Providing the user with an immersive environment requires different types of lenses and cameras, and computers must aid in production.</p>
<p>The typical VR video consists of <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/8/9261745/gopro-google-odyssey-virtual-reality-camera">footage from multiple cameras</a>, shooting and recording in sync with each other. These cameras are generally fastened to a “rig” that holds the cameras in place. The rig is then anchored to a pedestal, allowing it to remain motionless during filming.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116432/original/image-20160324-17857-ft6jxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116432/original/image-20160324-17857-ft6jxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116432/original/image-20160324-17857-ft6jxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116432/original/image-20160324-17857-ft6jxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116432/original/image-20160324-17857-ft6jxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116432/original/image-20160324-17857-ft6jxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116432/original/image-20160324-17857-ft6jxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A virtual reality camera rig.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Indiana University athletics</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To make a VR film of a football practice focused on the offensive side of the ball, for example, the camera rig is stationed near the quarterback in the backfield. Each play is then run as normal, with the quarterback taking the snap, going through his progressions and making a pass. </p>
<p>Once the practice is over, the real work begins for the video crew.</p>
<p>For each play, a VR producer must assemble the footage from all the cameras into a single 180- or 360-degree visual field, a process known as “<a href="http://wistia.com/blog/producing-360-video">stitching</a>.” This is arguably the most important part of the VR process, as improper stitching can render the video unusable.</p>
<p>After a play is properly stitched, players can view it through a VR headset, allowing them to concentrate on different areas of the play. Quarterbacks can even turn their heads away from the line of scrimmage and watch themselves throwing the ball, in order to evaluate their mechanics.</p>
<h2>Does it help?</h2>
<p>Academic research on the effectiveness of VR-aided sports training is still in its preliminary stages. Comments from both college and professional athletes who have experienced VR-aided training have been almost uniformly positive. But only now are scientists entering a stage where broader adoption of the technology will allow proper evaluation of the mental and psychological impacts of VR.</p>
<p>There are certain limitations to VR in the sports training environment. Camera rigs and production computers are expensive to purchase and <a href="http://www.biztechmagazine.com/article/2016/03/college-basketball-plays-virtual-reality-it-isn-t-slam-dunk-yet">difficult to learn how to use</a>. Rigs generally must stay stationary during filming, because moving rigs tend to produce video that causes motion sickness in users. And the need for a pedestal makes capturing in-game VR footage for instructional purposes difficult. </p>
<p>Furthermore, VR isn’t a panacea for real-world practice. Using VR-aided training is unlikely to lead to consistently perfect throws or defenders who sniff out every play before it starts.</p>
<p>However, the comments from players, coaches and VR specialists show a tremendous amount of potential, allowing players an unprecedented perspective on the game that extends on-field practice time into the film room. As the technology continues to mature, we should expect the teams using it to be operating with a competitive advantage.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56776/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Galen Clavio serves as the academic liaison between The Media School at Indiana University and the Cuban Center for Sports Media and Technology. In this role, he works with Cuban Center officials to provide effective educational experiences for students using VR and other technologies.</span></em></p>
Virtual reality technology is a radical departure from traditional video presentation, with myriad applications in both consumer media and in athletic practice.
Galen Clavio, Associate Professor of Sports Media; Director of the National Sports Journalism Center, Indiana University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/54133
2016-02-03T15:34:59Z
2016-02-03T15:34:59Z
Google: big bets on future tech are sign of an empire bidding for immortality
<p>We have got used to Google as a massive global success story. But sometimes the detail is more interesting than the top line. On February 1 an <a href="https://abc.xyz/investor/news/earnings/2015/Q4_google_earnings/index.html">announcement</a> by the firm’s holding company Alphabet gave investors their first real insight into the relative performances of its different parts. And it <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2016/2/1/10887926/google-alphabet-fourth-quarter-q4-2015-earnings">revealed</a> a lot about a section of the operation of which we previously knew very little – the large number of investments into technologies that are some distance from the core businesses. </p>
<p>We now know that these “moonshots”, as they have come to be known, produced an operating loss of $3.6bn (£2.5bn) in 2015. They lost $1.9bn in 2014 and $527m in 2013. You may have heard about the <a href="http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/wearable-tech/google-glass-2-release-date-price-specs-not-dead-io15-hires-design-aura-wearable-3589338/">wearable technology</a> or the <a href="https://www.google.com/selfdrivingcar/">driverless cars</a>, but it goes much further than that. There is <a href="https://fiber.google.com/about/">fibre-optic broadband</a>, <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/explained-what-is-googles-wifi-at-railway-station-project-and-how-will-it-work/">Indian railway wifi</a>, <a href="https://nest.com/uk/">thermostats, IP video cameras and solar-powered drones</a>. Then there is Google’s <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3028156/united-states-of-innovation/the-google-x-factor">X-lab</a>. Initially shrouded in secrecy, it is now known to be working on everything from <a href="http://www.techtimes.com/articles/63868/20150628/google-smart-contact-lens-to-hit-the-market-soon.htm">contact lenses</a> for diabetics that can monitor glucose levels in tears, to <a href="http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/193083-google-x-is-working-on-nanoparticles-that-swim-through-your-blood-identifying-cancer-and-other-diseases">nano-particles</a> that will be able to predict disease. </p>
<p>The revelation about the losses didn’t stop Alphabet from <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/02/google-alphabet-share-price-overtakes-apple-as-most-valuable-company">replacing Apple</a> as the most valuable company on the planet the day after the announcement. So what can we infer from its seemingly voracious appetite for newness?</p>
<p>An initial reaction in the UK might be indignation that a firm which can invest $3.6bn in side-bets recently <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-you-want-google-to-pay-more-tax-change-the-law-53669">agreed to</a> pay only £130m in back taxes to the British tax collector. Beyond this, there are at least two plausible interpretations of the firm’s desire to diversify further and faster than many expected.</p>
<p>First, it could be seen as part of a long-term strategy to ensure continued growth and domination. Many of Alphabet’s core services have more than a billion users and the vast majority of its revenues flow from paid searches and advertising. The firm is now searching for the next billion users. They are likely to be found in emerging markets, predominantly mobile and more diverse, which fits with the idea of spreading the risk capital around. </p>
<p>Many of the investments will turn out to be ineffective, but you usually have no way of knowing in advance. Some technologies or business models will prove unworkable for some as yet unknown reason. Just ask Sir Clive Sinclair – his C5 battery-operated car was in many ways ahead of its time, but <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-28219291">soon became</a> one of the most infamous marketing disasters ever. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0EQetm_qWDg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>The logic might be that – if you have the money to spare – it pays to invest broadly and look out for those early signs of rapid growth. After all, the management team at Google has long since demonstrated the capacity to build a market-leading position. Who would bet against them being able to do so again, especially when they are both better resourced and more experienced?</p>
<h2>Imperial echoes</h2>
<p>A second interpretation of the moonshot strategy could be that the firm’s founders are trying to combine a search for longevity with the adrenaline-fuelled high of creating a new business. But the harsh reality is that it is harder to fake the feel of a start-up when you’re a billionaire. The staggering investment in new ideas is nothing compared to Alphabet’s earnings. In the last three months of 2015 alone, the company made a net profit of $4.9bn. Arguably it doesn’t really matter if these businesses fail because other new ideas will pop up next year and you could fund them instead. </p>
<p>It would be a mistake to think that the future was assured for the company, however. Over the millennia, civilisations have grown to dominant positions and then failed. If it happened to the Incas, the Egyptians and the Romans, why wouldn’t it happen to Google? </p>
<p>The reality is that few firms survive to reach their 100th birthday. Nokia used to be the exemplar case with its narrative tracing an arc from foundation in 1865 as a riverside paper mill in Finland to a position dominating the global smartphone industry. But where is <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23947212">Nokia now</a>?</p>
<p>Indeed it may be the observation that no civilisation, industry, technology or firm has dominated indefinitely that drives co-founder Larry Page to acknowledge that there is no blueprint, no precedent for the kind of business that Google is trying to become. Page has long argued that Google was set up to be different and wanted to avoid becoming overly conventional. The <a href="http://time.com/4060575/alphabet-google-dont-be-evil/">much-vaunted ethos</a> of not doing evil was one reflection of this, but so are the moonshots. These kinds of bets have enabled firms to transition before – take IBM’s gradual move from a hardware business to software and services. Moonshots have also become part of the culture of the American new media giants. Amazon is experimenting with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/b?node=8037720011">drones</a> and <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/bezos-takes-hands-on-role-at-washington-post-1450658089">newspapers</a> while Facebook has bet heavily on <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/10/oculus-rift-facebook-virtual-reality-headset">virtual reality</a>. </p>
<p>Each firm had already accumulated significant wealth by the time it began to diversify, justifying bets that few other listed companies would get away with. This raises a more pessimistic reading of Alphabet’s investment pattern. It could be characteristic of the kind of opulence that occurs at the height of an empire but tends not to last. If so, you can be sure that the management team will be reminded of every last contact-lens investment and solar-powered drone on the way down.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/54133/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert MacIntosh is co-founder of online strategy service Stridesite.com. He sits on the council of the British Academy of Management.
</span></em></p>
The search goliath has spent over $5bn on everything from driverless cars to smart contact lenses in the past three years. The UK tax hounds must be delighted.
Robert MacIntosh, Head of School of Management and Languages, Heriot-Watt University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/44112
2015-07-02T15:23:32Z
2015-07-02T15:23:32Z
Virtual reality tech may make ‘going shopping’ in real life a thing of the past
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87016/original/image-20150701-27111-cpc23f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">'Too much Call of Duty, not enough shopping'.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/pestoverde/15060706109">pestoverde</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>High street shops are well-established online these days and provide new opportunities for interaction between shop and shopper. Consumers have become accustomed to shopping using a range of devices and the immense popularity of smartphones and mobile devices has led to the rise of mobile or <a href="http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/mobile-digital-marketing/m-retailing/1002">m-retailing</a>, with new communication and distribution channels created with these in mind. Perhaps this mix of the real and online worlds are helpful precursors for what may be the “next big thing”: <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/23/us-retail-virtualreality-idUSKBN0P210320150623">virtual reality shopping</a>. </p>
<p>Virtual reality (VR) experiences are typically provided through wearable headgear or goggles that block out the real world and immerse the user in a virtual one. This is distinguished from augmented reality (AR), where layers of digital content can be overlayed on the real world, providing access to both. For example, the digital information displayed on the visor of Google Glass. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87014/original/image-20150701-27143-whdm4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87014/original/image-20150701-27143-whdm4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87014/original/image-20150701-27143-whdm4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87014/original/image-20150701-27143-whdm4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87014/original/image-20150701-27143-whdm4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87014/original/image-20150701-27143-whdm4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87014/original/image-20150701-27143-whdm4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87014/original/image-20150701-27143-whdm4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Apps can provide ‘live’ augmented reality to try on superimposed accessories and clothes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Eawentling</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While AR can work with mobile devices and is <a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-augmented-reality-apps/">already included in some apps</a>, for VR to succeed the headgear needs to be comfortable, stylish and powered by sufficiently capable software so that the immersive visual effects are credible – and useful. It’s possible to add deeper engagement with the virtual world by incorporating other senses, for example tactile hand controls for handling and manipulating objects.</p>
<h2>In-store tech</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87013/original/image-20150701-27131-1gfk1su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87013/original/image-20150701-27131-1gfk1su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87013/original/image-20150701-27131-1gfk1su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87013/original/image-20150701-27131-1gfk1su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87013/original/image-20150701-27131-1gfk1su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87013/original/image-20150701-27131-1gfk1su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87013/original/image-20150701-27131-1gfk1su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87013/original/image-20150701-27131-1gfk1su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Magic mirrors, where how you’d like to look is projected onto your actual appearance.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/intelfreepress/8656830324/">Intel</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, the use of technology by retailers in-store has been patchy. The availability of in-store Wi-Fi has increased, and some stores offer touchscreens and tablets for customers to browse and search for items and look up information. More common are video screens displaying fashion collections, often connected to apps offering inspirational looks. However more cutting edge tech, such as <a href="http://www.magicmirror.me/">magic mirrors</a> that overlay the image of the shopper with the clothes they’ve selected, allowing them to switch style and colour options, are less widespread. Sometimes they’re also less than reliable. </p>
<p>In any case, shoppers tend to appreciate functionality over more playful or whimsical means of interacting with the retailer. New additions are welcome when they are informative and save the shopper time, helping them locate products in the store or at another. Not surprisingly consumers would rather not pay for these services, and prefer to be engaged rather than marketed to. Young fashion shoppers simply use their phones to share photos of potential purchases through Snapchat and Instagram. Image is everything, with the retailer providing the backdrop.</p>
<p>Present trends point to the expansion of <a href="http://thebwd.com/interactive/">interactive shop window displays</a> and in-store communication that uses a combination of GPS, transmitters such as the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-beacon-to-the-future-how-apple-has-enabled-minority-report-shopping-30003">Apple’s iBeacon</a> and other devices using <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-sending-shoppers-ads-by-bluetooth-just-a-bit-creepy-32643">Bluetooth</a> transmissions to interact with shopper’s smartphones. These will take personalisation and micro-marketing to a new level with real-time offers and information dispatched to their phone as they pass near product displays.</p>
<p>To support their brand, retailers will increasingly look at their customer relationships, so stories, images, videos and news – fashion and cosmetic blogs have been particularly successful – is where many new opportunities will arise. However, while creative and technologically novel, these are all at best examples of augmented rather than virtual reality.</p>
<h2>Making a (virtual) impression</h2>
<p>Where does this leave the use of virtual reality? We can expect to see trials as retailers become more comfortable offering content through them. New VR headsets such as from Oculus Rift and Sony will offer more and more realistic immersive environments. Sony, drawing on its Playstation expertise aims to to add movement to the user experience. Some brands have already piloted virtual stores, where VR-equipped shoppers could one day have the same experience of browsing through racks and shelves waiting for something to catch their eye – without needing to leave their home.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/08S86X_5Crs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>VR will provide an opportunity to re-visit and experience retailers’ and desigers’ fashion shows of the past, events and exhibitions. For example, Top Shop recently <a href="http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-02/12/topshop-inition-partnership">transmitted London Fashion week as it happened</a> through Oculus Rift headsets to customers in its Oxford Street store. It may also provide a means for retailer to extend the lifespan of certain promotions to individual customers. </p>
<p>Immersion is particularly promising in the creation or re-creation of 3D environments, which could be especially helpful for those buying furniture, furnishings, paint and decoration for their homes to envisage how it would look. The recently developed <a href="http://www.virtuix.com/">Virtuix</a> virtual reality platform provides a motion controller that translates the users physical movements into equivalents in the virtual environment – a means to, literally, walk around a virtual world. </p>
<p>However, any major step forward will need to make the retailer’s investment worthwhile, and as neither the technology nor shoppers’ complete acceptance of VR is where it needs to be today, there’s some way to go before VR becomes the next big thing in shopping.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44112/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthony Kent does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Is the shopping experience the next for a technological overhaul with virtual reality?
Anthony Kent, Professor of Fashion Marketing, Nottingham Trent University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/41482
2015-05-08T15:19:42Z
2015-05-08T15:19:42Z
Turns out the answer to virtual reality sickness is right in front of your face
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/81015/original/image-20150508-22722-zf4g3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's all in the nose.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Whittinghill/Purdue University</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Virtual reality (VR) equipment has tended to be cumbersome and expensive, all heavy headsets and awkward gloves. Until recently it’s been beyond the reach of the home consumer, but with the appearance of <a href="https://www.oculus.com/rift/">Oculus Rift</a> (since bought by Facebook), Microsoft’s <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-hololens/en-us">HoloLens</a>, and even DIY options such as <a href="https://developers.google.com/cardboard/">Google Cardboard</a>, it seems VR is coming to a living room near you soon.</p>
<p>But there’s a bigger problem with VR than just cost: virtual reality tends to make users feel sick. <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/BenLewisEvans/20140404/214732/Simulation_Sickness_and_VR__What_is_it_and_what_can_developers_and_players_do_to_reduce_it.php">Simulator sickness</a>, symptoms of which include dizziness, nausea, sweating and disorientation, is a well-known problem for virtual reality users. However, researchers from Purdue University have struck upon a novel way of combating virtual reality sickness that draws upon natural methods.</p>
<h2>Sensory scramble</h2>
<p>The computer-generated sensory signals that generate simulated virtual reality experiences manipulate our senses independently. As our usual perceptual experience of the world is multisensory, the difference between what we’re seeing and hearing in the VR headset and information from our other senses causes confusion.</p>
<p>When we walk around in the real world, the stereoscopic images formed by our eyes changes as we move, providing us with clear visual information about where we are going. We also sense the movement of our body directly, largely through the <a href="http://vestibular.org/understanding-vestibular-disorder/human-balance-system">vestibular sense organs</a> that form part of our inner ears. Having multiple senses telling us about where we are going is helpful as it allows us to more accurately keep track of our movement around the world.</p>
<p>In virtual reality, however, these signals become uncoupled. For example, while in the real world you might be slumped on the sofa, in the virtual world you are riding a roller coaster. In which case, while the images projected to your eyes tell you you’re looping the loop, your body knows that it has gone nowhere. These kinds of mixed messages are thought to be the cause of simulator sickness. </p>
<h2>Point of reference</h2>
<p>In many ways, it is the flip-side of sea-sickness – if you’re below decks on a boat rocked by the waves, your body feels the movement while your eyes tell you that you’re motionless. A well-known remedy to sea-sickness is to get out on deck and look at the horizon. This provides a stable reference, bringing your vestibular and visual senses back into agreement.</p>
<p>The answer from the team at Purdue University’s <a href="https://tech.purdue.edu/departments/computer-graphics-technology">Department of Computer Graphics Technology</a> draws from this idea of a point of reference. Their elegant solution involves simply <a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/vr-nasum-virtualis/">adding a virtual nose</a> to the scene. This virtual nose is clearly visible in the bottom right of the left eye’s field of view, and the bottom left of the right eye’s field of view – imitating the experience we’re all familiar with. They found that test subjects were able to use their applications, which included walking around inside a <a href="https://share.oculus.com/app/oculus-tuscany-demo">virtual Tuscan villa</a>, and another in which you rode a <a href="https://share.oculus.com/app/riftcoaster-hd">virtual roller coaster</a>, for considerably longer when the nose was visible.</p>
<p>Exactly how this works biologically speaking is not clear, but it seems likely that the nose, by providing a clear visual reference that moves with the point of view of the observer in the scene, gives a better impression of your motion in the virtual world. </p>
<p>The researchers’ long-term goal is a complete model of simulator sickness, that will allow them to predict the degree of sickness that might be expected from a given application. For now, though, they have provided us with a potentially very easy way to reduce simulator sickness and increase the usability of virtual reality systems. And the take-home message is clear – for a painless virtual experience, just follow your nose.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/41482/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Hibbard receives funding from BBSRC and the British Academy.</span></em></p>
The nose knows how to get a hold of your senses when immersed in virtual reality.
Paul Hibbard, Reader in Psychology, University of Essex
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/31642
2014-10-13T19:17:46Z
2014-10-13T19:17:46Z
Do we want an augmented reality or a transformed reality?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/61008/original/6tt2p5pc-1412658784.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We are only beginning to see what augmented reality can do.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/janitors/14996638702">Flickr/Ka rlis Dambra</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It seems we are headed towards a world where augmented reality (<a href="http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/augmented-reality-AR">AR</a>) systems will be as common as smartphones are today – it’s already about to revolutionise <a href="https://theconversation.com/phantom-menace-augmented-reality-eases-missing-limb-pain-23479">medicine</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-eyewear-to-eyeware-googles-project-glass-and-the-future-of-augmented-reality-6458">entertainment</a>, the lives of <a href="https://theconversation.com/into-the-matrix-the-future-of-augmented-reality-and-you-6675">disabled people</a> and of course <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-eyewear-to-eyeware-googles-project-glass-and-the-future-of-augmented-reality-6458">advertising</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/virtual-changerooms-coming-soon-to-a-smartphone-near-you-18993">shopping</a>.</p>
<p>The big three tech companies have all invested heavily in research and development in the AR domain. Google will be releasing <a href="http://www.google.com/glass/start/what-it-does/">Google Glass</a> later in the year, Microsoft has been working on its <a href="http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/03/report-microsoft-working-on-augmented-reality-headset-for-xbox/">own AR device</a> and <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/5/1/5671178/oculus-rift-facebook-zuckerberg-demo">not long ago</a> Facebook bought the virtual reality (VR) company Oculus Rift.</p>
<p>The notion of AR that these companies are proposing is a kind of “smartphone for the eyes”, as traditional AR and VR <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11042-010-0660-6">converge</a> in the optic realm.</p>
<h2>The reality boost</h2>
<p>We are moving into an era where we will, on a commercial scale, be taking our visual information in real time and integrating this with a wealth of external information to transform our daily lives. This will give us some degree of control over how we see the world, in the fundamental sense.</p>
<p>For example, we might be offered information about people or objects as they pop into our field of view. Or it could introduce into our visual field view things that don’t exist at all in the real world to potentially filter out of our vision things that are in fact there, such as giant advertising billboards (see below).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/61020/original/96zcg6f5-1412663487.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/61020/original/96zcg6f5-1412663487.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/61020/original/96zcg6f5-1412663487.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61020/original/96zcg6f5-1412663487.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61020/original/96zcg6f5-1412663487.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61020/original/96zcg6f5-1412663487.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61020/original/96zcg6f5-1412663487.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61020/original/96zcg6f5-1412663487.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bombarded by dazzling ad billboards, such as this iconic one at Sydney’s Kings Cross …</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/lukezemephotography/7962500986">Flickr/Luke Zeme</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/61092/original/wrht3rsg-1412726201.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/61092/original/wrht3rsg-1412726201.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/61092/original/wrht3rsg-1412726201.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61092/original/wrht3rsg-1412726201.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61092/original/wrht3rsg-1412726201.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61092/original/wrht3rsg-1412726201.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61092/original/wrht3rsg-1412726201.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61092/original/wrht3rsg-1412726201.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">… you might replace the ads with a beach scene or other images in your own transformed reality.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/lukezemephotography/7962500986">Flickr/Luke Zeme (modified)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But this is not just another article about the radical changes that AR is likely to bring about. Rather it’s a call to begin thinking critically about the possibilities AR presents and the idea that perhaps instead of merely augmenting reality, we could transform it.</p>
<h2>The unspoken future</h2>
<p>Extrapolating from the recent history of technology gives us a glimpse of what the future of AR is likely to look like in the hands of the big tech companies.</p>
<p>First, the idea of the “app” will extend into the visual domain, giving us apps that aid us in all the things we already do: building a house, studying at a distance, travelling in a new city and even <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/cyber-sex-on-offer-as-adult-industry-adapts-20110109-19k4d.html">making love</a>.</p>
<p>Second, the price for access to these new services and of having information at our fingertips is likely to involve surrendering ever more of our personal information. Critically, it will open up new markets for advertisers to promote their products and services in both tacit and explicit ways – an extension of the world of “advertising everywhere”.</p>
<p>The increased human consumption of advertising – driven perhaps largely by the increase of screens in the world – has begun to be referred to by some as the pollution of the <a href="https://www.adbusters.org/magazine/90/mckibben-environmental-movement-mind.html">mental environment</a>.</p>
<p>By surrendering control over our immediate field of vision, advertising no longer needs to be limited to a screen or a surface but could become truly ubiquitous.</p>
<h2>Transformed reality?</h2>
<p>The name “augmented reality” gives it away. The vision of AR that we are seeing in the media and in press releases for products such as Google Glass is a vision of our world as we know it, but perhaps made a little easier through this technology. </p>
<p>In contrast, this technology, that can change what we sense in real time, has the potential to fundamentally change how we live. Do we have the imagination to dream about how instead of merely augmenting reality we could be aiming to transform it?</p>
<p>The transformative potential of this technology has begun to be envisioned by a number of different artists. </p>
<p>In the <a href="http://theartvertiser.com/">Artvertiser</a> project, artists have developed an application that replaces billboards within the visual field with images of art. So instead of subconsciously consuming giant advertisements on a billboard from the bank, users could perhaps be consuming artworks by Banksy.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/epKqR9cQfl8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>The example above is just the tip of the iceberg. What kind of a built environment do you want to inhabit? Your AR has the potential to change both the cityscape and the horizon, to overlay worlds upon worlds.</p>
<p>Other artists have begun experimenting with ways that the technology could be used to add <a href="http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=6471051">extra dynamics to public artworks</a>, bringing them to life.</p>
<p>The advent of AR presents a significant choice. Through detection, replacement and synthesis AR has the potential to both add to and subtract from our sensations. Aspects of the environment, even buildings and people could potentially be filtered in or out based on personal preference – our generation is the first in human history that holds this possibility. </p>
<p>The proposal is that rather than simply waiting to see what purposes are dreamed up by the purveyors of this technology, we need to begin thinking about how we want to use it.</p>
<p>Now is the time to start dreaming about how the advent of ubiquitous AR could not merely augment society, but transform it for the better.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/31642/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Kelly does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
It seems we are headed towards a world where augmented reality (AR) systems will be as common as smartphones are today – it’s already about to revolutionise medicine, entertainment, the lives of disabled…
Nick Kelly, Research Fellow, University of Southern Queensland
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/31870
2014-09-19T11:53:57Z
2014-09-19T11:53:57Z
It’s no bubble: insane dotcom valuations reveal how integral tech is to our lives
<p>A recent flurry of business mergers and acquisitions and stock market flotations in the US has prompted some financial commentators <a href="http://qz.com/265782/who-will-get-hurt-if-a-tech-bubble-pops-vcs-and-employees/">to predict a new tech bubble</a>. </p>
<p>The size of these buyouts and IPOs, and the businesses themselves, are so large they are almost beyond comprehension. The recent announcements about <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/shinal/2014/09/15/alibaba-ipo-retail-investors-beware/15676371">Alibaba</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-10-billion-japanese-app-bringing-candy-crush-tactics-to-messaging-29354">Line</a> have had financial analysts in North America, Australia and Europe scratching their heads; the estimated values of their offerings are US$20 billion and US$10 billion respectively, for products that are relatively unknown beyond Asia. </p>
<p>Combined with a general lack of public knowledge about the biggest emerging techs and the various analyses by traders and advisers, the danger of a tech bubble bursting looks all too real. But a closer look would suggest a different, more continuous kind of boom.</p>
<h2>Huge price tags</h2>
<p>Despite the rhetoric of technology commentators about how the internet <a href="http://www.oecd.org/forum/about/Idea-Factory-2014-The-Future-of-the-Internet.pdf">breaks down boundaries</a>, the prospect of an Asian business eclipsing the stock market listings of Facebook or Visa to become the biggest ever still seems daunting to some. But the potential is also enormous. Alibaba has <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2014/05/08/how-did-alibaba-capture-80-of-chinese-e-commerce">captured 80% of China’s e-commerce market</a>, now larger even than that in the US, as well as 10% of all retail in China. But with only 40% of the Chinese population online, the potential for even further growth is very real.</p>
<p>At the same time, the portable virtual reality system Oculus Rift was bought by Facebook for US$2 billion, even though the consumer release date <a href="http://www.franchiseherald.com/articles/6830/20140916/oculus-rift-consumer-version-release-date.htm">is still unclear</a> and will likely come with a price tag of around US$500. This is a financially quantifiable step up from the original US$2.5m raised through their original Kickstarter campaign, which originally had a <a href="http://www.wired.com/2014/05/oculus-rift-4">very modest US$250,000 target</a>. </p>
<p>In a similar move the open-world, sandbox construction game Minecraft was <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/15/microsoft-buys-minecraft-creator-mojang-for-25bn">bought by Microsoft for US$2.5 billion</a>. However, the deal does not bring with it key company personnel, including founder and original author Markus “Notch” Persson. He and the co-founders of the company will <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/samanthasharf/2014/09/15/microsoft-to-buy-minecraft-maker-mojang-for-2-5-billion">now pursue other projects</a>. </p>
<p>The self-destructing video and image messaging app SnapChat has been <a href="http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2014/08/27/snapchat-worth-10-billion-start-up-valuations-stoke-bubble-fears">valued at US$10 billion</a>. Despite the uncertain business model, the 700m images and videos the company claims it sends each day must offer some promise of a return, investors believe, despite the fact the service is free and without adverts.</p>
<h2>High is the new normal</h2>
<p>Looking at these figures it is easy to push comparisons <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUwu5CiESbc">with the tech bubble of 1999</a>, claim over-valuation and the degree to which each of these individual listings and company purchases represent <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/16/tech-bubble-warning-investors-dotcom-losing-money">high levels of financial risk</a>. But 14 years on from the dotcom crash the world has shifted significantly. The wreckage of individual dotcom failures is set against a technology-driven daily experience for an increasing many for whom “<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/aug/23/tech-giants-data">data is the new oil</a>” (although even this claim <a href="http://blogs.hbr.org/2012/11/data-humans-and-the-new-oil/">has been disputed</a>). It is claimed that e-commerce has reached sufficient scale and market penetration that it is <a href="http://www.voice-online.co.uk/article/online-shopping-killing-high-street">killing off the high street</a>. </p>
<p>In short, this is not 1999. We are part of a world that is internet-based and has been experiencing a technology boom since the dotcom crash. Proof of this different world can be seen with Facebook’s listing on the NASDAQ in 2012 which was <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2012/05/23/technology/facebook-ipo-what-went-wrong">initially criticised</a>, but at an estimated valuation of US$184 billion can be seen now as a step in the company’s step into becoming a permanent <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/shinal/2014/03/13/facebook-cracks-market-valuation-oracle-google-apple-microsoft/6343009">tech behemoth</a>.</p>
<p>The threat of a new dotcom bubble does not come from the fact that these very large numbers are all attached to technology businesses. Technology should represent the point of reassurance. What is questionable are the business models that have developed around funding technology startups, with <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/management/raising-funds-for-a-tech-startup-what-you-need-to-know-1249294">heavy use of equity funding</a>. </p>
<p>Even more concerning are the <a href="http://www.techrepublic.com/article/the-dark-side-of-venture-capital-five-things-startups-need-to-know">expectations of failure</a> in the culture of funding technology startups. Individual investors with limited resources, who can only afford to invest in one business, face making a difficult, best guess. For the equity funds seeking out the new Google – or a product that Google will later buy – investing in multiple startups can be compared to spread-betting to lower risk.</p>
<p>For those of us without access to large bundles of cash (that we are also prepared to lose) much of the excitement of supporting new technology can be gained through crowdfunding websites that offer the <a href="https://theconversation.com/kickstarter-is-turning-into-ebay-as-shoppers-play-investors-29798">promise of something tangible</a> at the end of the process. We do need the speculative market of technology startups to drive the development of new features on our phones, tablets and desktops. And for every individual failure, like a hydra, two more innovations will appear in the continuous boom of this digital era of data.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/31870/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gordon Fletcher previously received funding from InnovateUK.</span></em></p>
A recent flurry of business mergers and acquisitions and stock market flotations in the US has prompted some financial commentators to predict a new tech bubble. The size of these buyouts and IPOs, and…
Gordon Fletcher, Centre for Digital Business, University of Salford
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/30113
2014-08-08T05:17:53Z
2014-08-08T05:17:53Z
The virtual reality hype train is starting to make me queasy
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/55716/original/rv4c72d3-1407167289.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">"I honestly can't stand you guys in real life."</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/janus_sandsgaard/13984650409/in/photolist-gwcD7s-gwd4vC-gwdiAF-fnj6rP-j59cBr-nQxPtD-ngLULJ-kUAvFg-edJXa1-oxbkVe-gbL2NN-kY7LDT-jaWUz6-ofENKa-nWqnAH-nWpom3-nbDKDx-ngLWa7-niLZme-ofFEDV-mJuGvz-mJwqCQ-jiDQ8P-fKAb9Z-nv8uHB-nkEA9s-mj4bXk-ov9u3U-oyW1uV-owUjug-ox9x6G-owYh7W-owYhab-oyW18H-ofFEzM-owUjZz-ofGq6n-ofFN3S-ofFNed-oyW1xv-ofFEuX-ox9xiA-ofFEte-ofGpXB-owYh51-owYgYu-ov9u5h-iGTNcL-iGVLzq-iGVPfA">Janus Sandsgaard</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Anyone who subscribes to an online hi-tech gizmo newsfeed can’t have failed to notice a certain preoccupation in the past couple of years on the part of developers to bring viewers close to the action of TV, films and computer games through virtual reality. Every other day, it seems, we hear of yet another allegedly ground-breaking solution in the quest for “immersion”. The next person to claim to have invented a <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2700073/Holodeck-reality-Star-Trek-style-uses-wireless-Oculus-Rift-visit-virtual-worlds.html">Star-Trek-like Holodeck</a> is going to get a Vulcan neck pinch from me. </p>
<p>Frustratingly, this marketing hype actually seems to be working so well that virtually reality headsets, be they binocular, biocular, or monocular (such as Google’s Glass), have become a <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2014/07/25/oculus-samsung-google-sony-virtual-reality/">“must have” item</a>. Even in traditionally sceptical and risk-averse sectors such as defence, aerospace, energy and education, they are fast becoming de rigeur in training exercises.</p>
<p>Many other technology observers, from swooning journalists to corporate futurologists – a good too many of whom appear to believe everything they read or see online – are also fuelling the rush to invest in a holodeck.</p>
<p>It seems inevitable that large investments will be made with little return, giving some of us a distinct sense of déjà vu.</p>
<h2>Adjust headset to ‘history’ view</h2>
<p>We were first exposed to the “wonders” of head-mounted displays in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, when we were told that they would revolutionise virtual reality and telepresence. Even then, head-mounted displays were by no means a new concept. A patent filed as long ago as 1960 described the <a href="http://www.mortonheilig.com/TelesphereMask.pdf">Telesphere Mask</a>, a stereoscopic “television apparatus for individual use” developed by the late, great Mort Heilig – best known for his later Sensorama “kiosk” with its canned stereoscopic films, artificially-generated smells and vibrating seat experience.</p>
<p>A year later, Philco, the US electronics company famous for providing NASA with its early Mission Control consoles, announced Headsight, a single cathode ray tube “telepresence” head-mounted display and in 1968, <a href="http://90.146.8.18/en/archiv_files/19902/E1990b_123.pdf">Ivan Sutherland’s Sword of Damocles</a>, a ceiling-linked, mechanically head-tracked stereoscopic device, enabled users to look around a simple 3D graphic as if it were “floating” in the room in front of them.</p>
<p>But it wasn’t until the late 1980s that commercially available products such as <a href="http://vrwiki.wikispaces.com/VPL+EyePhone">VPL’s EyePhone</a>, <a href="http://www.leepvr.com/cyberface1.php">LEEP’s CyberFace</a>, Virtual Research’s Flight Helmet and the unbelievably unwearable <a href="http://www.mellottsvrpage.com/index.php/tag/virtuality-visette/">Virtuality Visette</a>, with its patented “Ergolock” head restrainer, captured the attention of the press, thus heralding a decade of false promise, high expenditure and end user disappointment.</p>
<p>Big names like Nintendo, Olympus, Phillips and Sony all came, experimented and retreated, either disgruntled at the poor domestic market uptake or concerned about the possibility of litigations over so-called <a href="http://trackingreality.com/2012/02/26/cybersickness/">cybersickness</a>.</p>
<p>Sony’s withdrawal of its early <a href="http://uk.ign.com/articles/2001/10/12/sony-glasstron-plm-a35-review">Glasstron</a> product range came about, allegedly, as a result of health and safety worries yet it is heavily involved in this latest hypefest with the rather expensive HMZ “Personal Viewer” series and, more recently, the Morpheus for the PS4 games system.</p>
<p>I’ve used most of the devices produced since the 1980s and, indeed, have even been involved in the sale of many since the 1990s. Today, my own “Headset Hall of Shame” lecture now consists of four PowerPoint slides with thumbnail images of most (but certainly not all) HMD devices ever to reach existence.</p>
<h2>Won’t somebody think of the humans?</h2>
<p>And that’s why I think the cult status given to the latest generation of virtual reality headsets simply beggars belief. We’ve had more than decades of developments with no real breakthroughs made. And with the possible exception of the defence sector, there has been little evidence that the actual needs and limitations of the end user have been taken into consideration when these devices are being designed.</p>
<p>Since it took the world by storm by achieving a $2.4 million cash injection on Kickstarter, the <a href="http://www.oculusvr.com/">Oculus Rift</a> has become the leading example of how over-hyped marketing and inflated statements by celebrity gaming personalities can influence a generation of potential adopters. We managed to obtain three Rifts for student projects and academic research and it soon became obvious that we, too, had inherited cult status, simply by the gasps and stares that greeted their every appearance at open days. Yet, almost without exception (the exception being a very small handful of hard-line gamers), those who donned the Rift were either unwilling or unable to continue with its use after two minutes or, in many cases, far less.</p>
<p>The Rift is certainly more comfortable than its 1990s ancestors but its image resolution is still limited, it still blurs pixels and it still offers an inadequate field of view.</p>
<p>Users continue to report disorientation and eyestrain, making it hard to imagine how the device can possibly be recommended as an “essential” interface for gamers or anyone else. </p>
<p>In March of this year Oculus was acquired by Facebook for the staggering amount of $2 billion. Many of the people involved in the development of head-mounted devices believe this to be a step in the wrong direction for a variety of reasons – some moral, some technical – but the floodgates have been opened, whichever way you look at it. The frenetic race to beat Oculus at its own game, even with the features of its promised DK2 and consumer editions, is now on. </p>
<p>Technologies come and go but the human user remains the one constant factor. No matter how good the specifications become, it will be some time before a display technology is developed that satisfies the majority of the end user population and it may never happen at all. </p>
<p>Research (summarised in an <a href="http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/college-eps/eece/research/bob-stone/human-factors-guidance.pdf">MoD-sponsored human factors document</a>) has shown that as many as 56% of individuals between the ages of 18 and 38 have one or more problems which can compromise their binocular vision. Individuals with stereoscopic or binocular vision defects cope by exploiting monocular depth and distance cues, such as motion parallax, light and shadows, focus, geometric overlap (interposition), aerial perspective, relative size and size/shape constancies. Even if it becomes possible to screen out users with binocular deficits, this may still not be sufficient to prevent usability and “cybersickness” problems with head-mounted displays.</p>
<p>One of the well-known human factors issues with 3D displays is the mismatch between visual accommodation and convergence. When observing a real-world scene, your eyes will both converge on objects in the scene and re-focus to keep the imagery sharply registered on the retinas as your view changes. But when viewing 3D virtual environments via a display, your eyes begin to behave asynchronously. They converge on the virtual object, but the focus remains more-or-less constant as a result of the fixed position of the plane of the screen (or, indeed, the structure onto which the screen is mounted).</p>
<p>This mismatch can rapidly promote visual fatigue, discomfort and disorientation – three of the key precursors to cybersickness.</p>
<p>The concepts of virtual reality and total immersion are, without doubt, as powerful today as they were when they first appeared in the late 1980s. Of that I have little doubt, and the interactive visualisation and training domains have much to benefit from the real-time interactive quality of today’s virtual reality software toolkits.</p>
<p>But meaningful content design really needs to happen before virtual reality headsets can come anywhere near meeting the high bar being set for them at the moment. Despite ridiculous claims to the contrary, we are sadly nowhere near the day when we can walk into the equivalent of Star Trek’s Holodeck and experience a truly multisensory computer-generated reality without having to endure the cumbersome, and often malaise-causing technologies we are being encouraged to buy today.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/30113/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Stone receives funding for human factors research and consultancy projects from UK Research Councils (EPSRC), the Ministry of Defence (Defence Science & Technology Laboratory) and corporate bodies including BAE Systems and QinetiQ.</span></em></p>
Anyone who subscribes to an online hi-tech gizmo newsfeed can’t have failed to notice a certain preoccupation in the past couple of years on the part of developers to bring viewers close to the action…
Robert Stone, Chair in Interactive Multimedia Systems, University of Birmingham
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/28598
2014-07-02T04:17:05Z
2014-07-02T04:17:05Z
How to build a virtual reality system – in your living room
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52710/original/57vwm6tn-1404187941.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">With an Oculus Rift and a few off-the-shelf items, you can have virtual reality at home.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sergesegal/10166365646">Sergey Galyonkin/Flickr</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Virtual reality is no longer the expensive, cumbersome exercise it once was. <a href="https://developers.google.com/cardboard/">Google Cardboard</a>, launched at last week’s <a href="https://www.google.com/events/io">Google I/O conference</a>, is a no-frills, cardboard frame that, when used with <a href="https://gweb-cardboard.appspot.com/#software">open software</a>, transforms a smartphone into a basic virtual reality headset.</p>
<p>But for a more immersive experience, hobbyists can build their own virtual reality system in their living room using equipment they already have (and if not, can buy relatively inexpensively).</p>
<p>All you need to beam yourself onto the bridge of the <a href="https://share.oculusvr.com/app/the-bridge-of-the-enterprise">USS Enterprise</a> or into <a href="http://jerrysplacevr.com/">Jerry Seinfeld’s apartment</a> is:</p>
<ul>
<li>a computer</li>
<li>an <a href="http://www.oculusvr.com/">Oculus Rift</a> virtual reality headset</li>
<li>a Microsoft <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/kinectforwindows/">Kinect for Windows</a> motion sensor </li>
<li>a battery</li>
<li>headphones</li>
<li>a tablet with software used to create and develop videogames (also know as a <a href="http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/529/what_is_a_game_.php">game engine</a>).</li>
</ul>
<h2>A stroll through virtual reality history</h2>
<p>The term “virtual reality” was initially coined by American computer scientist <a href="http://www.jaronlanier.com/general.html">Jaron Lanier</a> in 1989 to describe a three-dimensional, computer-generated environment which a person can explore and interact with.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/k3_Th589-Pw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Lanier talks about the early days of virtual reality (oh, and the vomit that came with it).</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Virtual reality quickly attracted media attention and inspired films such as the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104692/">The Lawnmower Man</a> in 1992 and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109635/">Disclosure</a> in 1994 – but this fuelled expectations of virtual reality that couldn’t be met by the technology available at the time. </p>
<p>Virtual reality gaming interfaces such as the <a href="http://vrtifacts.com/hmds/all-brawn-virtuality-1000cs-hmd/">Virtuality HMD</a> headset in 1991, <a href="http://vrwiki.wikispaces.com/Victormaxx+CyberMaxx">Cybermaxx VR</a> in 1994 and Nintendo’s <a href="http://nintendo.wikia.com/wiki/Virtual_Boy">Virtual Boy</a> in 1995 left many enthusiasts of the technology disappointed, and often quite dizzy.</p>
<p>Systems that enable users to walk and interact in the space are generally expensive (to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars), unsuited to routine use and obtrusive, so it’s unsurprising that virtual reality has mostly remained in the laboratory.</p>
<h2>Virtual roaming at home</h2>
<p>To make virtual reality practical for home use, you need a system that is inexpensive, easy to set up, does not encumber the user and works in a lounge room-sized area. </p>
<p>The availability of head-mounted displays such as the Oculus Rift, motion tracking devices such as the Microsoft Kinect and game engines such as <a href="http://unity3d.com/">Unity 3D</a> or <a href="https://www.unrealengine.com/products/udk">UDK</a> are a step into the right direction. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52708/original/sbpq896n-1404187289.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52708/original/sbpq896n-1404187289.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52708/original/sbpq896n-1404187289.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52708/original/sbpq896n-1404187289.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52708/original/sbpq896n-1404187289.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52708/original/sbpq896n-1404187289.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52708/original/sbpq896n-1404187289.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52708/original/sbpq896n-1404187289.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Google Cardboard.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/othree/14542673025">othree/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1523379957/oculus-rift-step-into-the-game">Kickstarter success</a> of the Oculus Rift in 2012 reinvigorated the appetite for virtual reality experiences and paved the way for new wave of virtual reality head-mounted displays such as the <a href="http://www.sony.com/SCA/company-news/press-releases/sony-computer-entertainment-america-inc/2014/sony-computer-entertainment-announces-project-morp.shtml">Sony Morpheus</a> and the Google Cardboard.</p>
<p>The Nintendo Wii and the Microsoft Kinect have already started a revolution in home gaming by getting the gamer out of the chair. The Kinect tracks the user’s movement in the living room in seconds without the need for special markers or lengthy calibration. </p>
<p>Ultra-light tablet computers are also becoming more powerful and are now capable to render convincing three dimensional environments at acceptable frame rates.</p>
<h2>OK, I’ve got the goods. Now what?</h2>
<p><a href="http://stefangreuter.info/?page_id=212">SpaceWalk</a> is a platform developed by researchers in the <a href="http://www.geelab.rmit.edu.au/">GEELab</a> at RMIT University that allows a user to physically walk around and interact in a virtual environment. The platform uses two systems: </p>
<ol>
<li>a virtual reality backpack </li>
<li>a separate tracking station. </li>
</ol>
<p>The tracking station consists of a standard desktop computer connected to Kinect. The Kinect has a practical tracking area of approximately 6m<sup>2,</sup> about the size of most people’s living rooms. It can track movements as little as 1.3mm when users are close to the sensor and 6mm at the end of its tracking range.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52712/original/jj7p2r3s-1404188168.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52712/original/jj7p2r3s-1404188168.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52712/original/jj7p2r3s-1404188168.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52712/original/jj7p2r3s-1404188168.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52712/original/jj7p2r3s-1404188168.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52712/original/jj7p2r3s-1404188168.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52712/original/jj7p2r3s-1404188168.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52712/original/jj7p2r3s-1404188168.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">SpaceWalk: setup of tracking station and user.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stefan Greuter</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The user’s backpack contains an external phone charger battery pack [B] connected to the Oculus Rift controller box [C] via a USB to DC Barrel Jack [E] and provides the Oculus Rift [A] with power. The Oculus Rift connects via HDMI [G] to the tablet computer [D].</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52577/original/vjpnzbw9-1404099946.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52577/original/vjpnzbw9-1404099946.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52577/original/vjpnzbw9-1404099946.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52577/original/vjpnzbw9-1404099946.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52577/original/vjpnzbw9-1404099946.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52577/original/vjpnzbw9-1404099946.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52577/original/vjpnzbw9-1404099946.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52577/original/vjpnzbw9-1404099946.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wireless virtual reality backpack setup.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stefan Greuter</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The platform is only meant at this point to serve as an experimental setup and users have to move slowly in the space as particularly fast movements have the potential to induce nausea. Frame rates, screen resolutions, tracking accuracy and latency are expected to improve with the availability of new hardware. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.oculusvr.com/dk2/">Oculus Developer’s Kit 2</a> already promises refresh rates of up to 75Hz and a third higher screen resolution of 960 x 1080 pixels per eye. Similarly, the Kinect 2 for Windows features more accurate user tracking and a larger practical tracking area.</p>
<p>Moving and interacting naturally in virtual reality creates an extraordinary sense of immersion that cannot be experienced sitting down, and the experience of walking and interacting in a virtual game space has been explored by number of recent projects. </p>
<p>Apart from <a href="http://www.worldviz.com/systems/walking-vr">Architectural Visualisation</a> and Industrial Training, defending yourself against a horde of zombies is a popular use case that has been explored by <a href="http://www.projectholodeck.com/">Project Holodeck</a> and <a href="http://zerolatencymedia.com/">ZeroLatency</a>. </p>
<p>On a similar vein, participants could experience vertigo using a setup developed by <a href="http://www.inition.co.uk/case_study/future-3d-5-oculus-rift-virtual-reality-experience/">Inition</a> at the 2013 Digital Shoreditch Festival. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7oqazo3ZEnY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Scared of heights?</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If encountering your worst nightmare within the confines of a few square metres is not enough, users can explore the vast expanse of their virtual world on foot with an <a href="http://www.virtuix.com/">omni-directional treadmill</a>. </p>
<p>To understand how virtual reality can be become a useful extension of our real world, the technology must break the boundaries of the dedicated virtual reality laboratory and become accessible by a wider user group with a variety of backgrounds and motivations. </p>
<p>We have just begun to realise the potential of virtual reality and there are many strange new worlds for us to explore.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/28598/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stefan Greuter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Virtual reality is no longer the expensive, cumbersome exercise it once was. Google Cardboard, launched at last week’s Google I/O conference, is a no-frills, cardboard frame that, when used with open software…
Stefan Greuter, Senior Lecturer in the School of Media and Communication, RMIT University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/24864
2014-03-28T06:13:46Z
2014-03-28T06:13:46Z
Oculus Rift brings a whole new dimension to communication
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44933/original/7qt5jnff-1395931341.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Oh hi Dad, can you put Mum on?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nanpalmero/13013107993/sizes/l">nan palermo</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Mark Zuckerberg’s latest spending spree has landed Facebook an exciting new gadget in the form of the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset that is used by gamers and researchers alike to enhance encounters.</p>
<p><a href="http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2014/03/facebook-to-acquire-oculus/">Announcing a deal worth US$2 billion</a>, Facebook said it plans to move the Oculus Rift beyond gaming, into “communications, media and entertainment, education and other areas”. It also said that it has the potential to be “the next social and communications platform”.</p>
<p>The news has fuelled enormous speculations about what Facebook is planning. Will virtual reality become part of our children’s classrooms kit? Enhance our Internet movie experiences? Will we able to “poke” someone with a virtual wink or play a more compelling version of Farmville?</p>
<p>Introducing a more immersive way to communicate with people remotely is a challenge that companies and researchers alike have pursued for some time, so all eyes are on Facebook to see what it will do.</p>
<p>Oculus Rift is a low-cost device that fits onto the face, allowing the user to experience a 3D version of all kinds of scenarios. Oculus VR sells developer kits and connects with the Unity 3D game engine. Anyone with the right skills and a minimal investment can produce an immersive game or use it for other purposes. To date, 75,000 orders have been placed for the headsets, and interest is growing.</p>
<p>The Oculus Rift have been used for <a href="http://www.shu.ac.uk/research/c3ri/support-business/exploring-virtual-reality-with-prosthetics">research</a> into helping amputees become accustomed to prosthetics and for <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/10540341/The-Oculus-Rift-virtual-reality-is-no-longer-a-joke.html">military and medical training</a>. At my own university, we use it for creating immersive gamified training.</p>
<p>I am also interested in recreating believably social synthetic interactions, and in modelling collective behaviour via intelligent virtual agents, to be used for training and decision making. The Oculus Rift enhances the experience of being there, in the virtual crowd and has the advantage of being affordable.</p>
<p>In these sorts of social applications and more, the Oculus Rift can be used as a way to enhance our experience of remotely located people and places, so it’s little wonder that Facebook sees it as an opportunity to bring people together in a new way.</p>
<p>The device delivers images to the user but more importantly, it gives them a sense of being somewhere else, inside the virtual world. The depth cue provided by the stereoscopic view in the Oculus Rift is very powerful in triggering a suspension of disbelief in the user.</p>
<p>You really feel like you’re driving along a highway or on a tropical island. The experience is completely absorbing and it is easy to forget where you really are. If that feeling can be extended to make you feel like you are really with someone from whom you are physically separated, something quite powerful will have been created.</p>
<p>Oculus Rift won’t be the ultimate solution for face-to-face communication between people who aren’t in the same room at the same time though. There are drawbacks to using the device in this way.</p>
<p>The amount of time one can spend navigating a virtual world visualised in a head-mounted display is limited. This is subjective but after a prolonged time of between 15 and 20 minutes, users can experience motion sickness. That rules out long chats with your mum on your Oculus Rift or virtual holidays with your long-distance love interest.</p>
<p>And while the Oculus Rift has been hailed for bringing virtual reality to the masses, it’s low-cost approach means the quality of the graphics is lower than other more expensive kits. That might trigger motion sickness even earlier on in the experience.</p>
<p>Despite these setbacks, it’s very exciting for researchers and potential users alike to see what has long been a virtual reality starting to become a concrete prospect in the mainstream, not least because it helps us justify the work we do all day on our Oculus Rifts.</p>
<p>In its own statement on the Facebook deal, Oculus VR described the move as: “one of the most important moments for virtual reality” and suggested that, in 10 years, virtual reality will be everywhere and affordable for all. That’s a very alluring prospect, but I hope it will take less.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/24864/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniela Romano has received funding for her research in the past from EPSRC, DTI, MoD, DSTL, AHRC, Royal Academy of Engineering, ITaU. She is currently seconded to Costain. She is a Board member of the Women Engineering Society, a Member of BCS.</span></em></p>
Mark Zuckerberg’s latest spending spree has landed Facebook an exciting new gadget in the form of the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset that is used by gamers and researchers alike to enhance encounters…
Daniela Romano, Senior Lecturer in Computer Science, University of Sheffield
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.