VR, AR, and AI in our Virtual Future
At its most basic, Virtual Reality (VR) is simply a simulation of a 3D environment. But on a deeper level, when we step into an immersive space, we are transforming human experience. VR could profoundly impact the way we work, learn, and play, creating new opportunities and potent ethical challenges.
Unlike augmented reality, with VR, the real world is entirely replaced by the simulated environment. Virtual Reality requires additional technology such as Smartphones and low-cost VR headsets (from Google Cardboard to the Samsung Gear VR and Oculus Go) to high-end systems such as Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive, and PlayStationVR. Content ranges from 360-degree photos and videos (though this is not fully VR) to deeply immersive geo-located environments with haptic feedback (that relies on gloves, vests, and full-body suits).
With the rapid advance of the technology supporting Virtual Reality, new standalone VR headsets are arriving – especially the new Oculus Quest which offers full-motion, untethered, virtual experiences. We will soon see a convergence of immersive technologies with AI, making our current virtual experiences seem simplistic. These technologies will feed off of one another, creating the virtual worlds of the future.
VR is creating fascinating opportunities for Education, Media, Storytelling, Journalism, Work, and Retail environments. It is already beginning to transform entertainment and learning even though we are in the first steps of a long journey. In the end, it will impact society far more than the development of the graphical interface at the Xerox PARC labs in the 1970s for computing.
We are only now beginning to identify the ethical issues that will be raised by Virtual Reality. What we do know is that technology will continue to progress, eventually blurring the boundary between the real world and the virtual. It is precisely this intersection of the real and the virtual that both fascinates and concerns us. It is where Digital Bodies resides.
We’ll be out in California next week for the Oculus Connect 6 conference on September 25-26. With the speculation on Facebook’s AR initiatives and the next steps for the Quest standalone HMD, it promises to be …
If you’re still on the fence whether mobile VR can meet the standards of high-end tethered HMDs, just stop it. It’s time to come down. Vertical Robot’s port of Red Matter on Oculus Quest is a …
Read more Red Matter on Oculus Quest: Stunning Visuals Set a New Standard
This fall marks the third year of VR at the 76th Venice Film Festival, or what is now known as Venice Virtual Reality. The works are divided into two tracks, one focusing on linear 360 videos …
Read more 39 Innovative VR Projects at the Venice Film Festival
With virtual reality, artists continue to push the boundaries of art and performance in fascinating ways. Tomorrow (Monday, August 26), you’ll have the chance to see the incredibly energetic violinist Lindsey Stirling do a live performance …
Read more Violinist Lindsey Stirling to do Live Performance in VR
Two German engineers have addressed a missing element in haptic feedback – the sensation of weight in VR. Up to now, our haptic devices have focused on our hands and body. You feel like you are …
As Joshua Barone notes in The New York Times, VR in classical music hasn’t resulted in the most exciting immersive projects. Like other disciplines, both opera and classical music wrestle with how to integrate this new …
Read more VR in Classical Music – Michel van der Aa’s Breakthrough Project
Here’s a fascinating immersive experience that lets you visualize code in virtual reality. It’s a platform from Primitive, a startup that pitched at an HTC venture capital accelerator this week in San Francisco. According to the …
Scratch another immersive technology development off the list. After high hopes and promises of a ubiquitous mobile VR platform, Google Daydream is essentially over. The HMD is still available on the Google Store, but you have …
If you’re looking for something unique to do in virtual reality Wednesday night, May 8th, hop over to AltSpace VR for a conversation on VR with Brett Leonard. The well-known director of the 1992 Sci-fi classic, The …
Read more A Conversation on VR with Brett Leonard, Director of The Lawnmower Man
The Oculus Quest is here, promising to be the next generation of VR. We finally get a mass-market headset that’s relatively low-cost, has 6DOF functionality and doesn’t need to be tethered to an expensive computer. Despite …
A report in Engadget reveals that Microsoft has been working on visual accessibility issues in VR. SeeingVR is an innovative tool kit for Unity developers to help people with low vision. It includes a bifocal lens …
Read more Microsoft Tackles Visual Accessibility Issues in VR