As all major piece of engineering and innovative work that has gained popularity in the last few years, it all started on Kickstarter around mid-2012; an idea that would change our perception of reality and bring us a lot closer to what we saw in The Matrix.
I'm talking about the Oculus Rift. Yes. It's been almost 4 years and finally, the company is releasing a consumer version of its very famous headset.
Now, lets talk about the implications of this new-ish type of product. Companies such as Sony, Canon, HTC, etc. all have their own virtual reality headset. These are normally popularized as gaming platforms, but they are also used as training, engineering, medical or military tools.
The most sophisticated of these devices can easily track your head, eye and hand movements to recreate the environment around the user as accurately as possible.
All of this comes from the need people have of deforming the reality that surrounds them. The dream is a lot older than technology itself. People love to dream. Everyone would love to build, do or create anything they like and these godly powers are obtainable when using a virtual reality headset. Do you dream of flying? Of living in the biggest mansion ever built? Of running on the Everest? Of visiting places you see in movies? Of being inside a video game? Look no further.
BUT, we still have a good way to go before things are perfectly the way you imagine it. The headsets are not perfect, and people still get motion sickness, lag or not so good synchronization but that will go away eventually.
In addition to the headset, new gear is being developed to add to the experience. For example, full body virtual reality suits will let you feel the game and better control a character or an avatar. The suit allows the user to feel the atmosphere around him or her and will produce sensations using electrical nodes.
The rest already exists. You want to play a shooting game? Here is the headset that will recreate the reality of the game. Here is a pad of which you can run without really covering distance. Here is a gun that is connected to the virtual reality and here is a suit that helps the avatar mimic your movements and shows you where you get injured. What else could you want?
As much as this sounds exciting, it might be tempting to embrace virtual reality and completely forget about the real world around you. That is the problem when you can be God in a virtual world that happens inside a world where you are only human.
I introduced this topic by mentioning The Matrix. And, in a way, we are getting closer and closer to mimicking our reality perfectly. When that happens, let's hope that robots won't be controlling the headsets and that we will still be able to recognize the Real from the Unreal.
For a bit more drops of future, visit:
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