Is VR (Virtual Reality) the start of something massive.

FoxEye said:
Remember that in the 70s they all thought we'd be driving flying cars and living on other worlds by now. The tendency to over-estimate progress is an easy trap to fall in.
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Yes but that does not preclude progress at all. It just takes longer. How many people 200 years ago would have thought the ISS was possible? Or that we could communicate with other people anywhere in the world via a screen only a few mm thick, or a handheld device where if we want to know something we just type it in and we get answers?

Whilst the timelines for flying cars a la Bladerunner / 5th Element et al are a way off yet, they are potentially no further away than space flight was to people a few hundred years ago (IE an inconceivable dream that became a reality - it just took time :) ).
 
The current itterations of VR will never be massive.

Even if certain technological issues are solved (motion sickness, powerful machines for low prices), the fact that it cuts you off from the outside world means it will be very difficult to convince the large majority of potential customers.

I want to have my tea or a sandwich, watch my kid as they are sleeping, alt+tab to read the news or post a cat picture on FB. I'm a gamer and I love getting lost in the worlds created through gaming but not to the point where I need to take off a heavy helmet for that to happen. Most people are the same and these VR kits will never be much more than niche products.
 
BuffetSlayer said:
Yes but that does not preclude progress at all. It just takes longer. How many people 200 years ago would have thought the ISS was possible? Or that we could communicate with other people anywhere in the world via a screen only a few mm thick, or a handheld device where if we want to know something we just type it in and we get answers?

Whilst the timelines for flying cars a la Bladerunner / 5th Element et al are a way off yet, they are potentially no further away than space flight was to people a few hundred years ago (IE an inconceivable dream that became a reality - it just took time :) ).
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The point is this is "not in our lifetime" technology, at best.

That applies to holodecks/ the Matrix/ Total Recall stuff.

In fact I'd guess that some of it may never happen. Perhaps a holodeck just does not fit with the physical laws of our universe?

Just because we can imagine it does not mean that it is in fact possible - now or ever.
 
I'd hardly call the Rift or even Vive heavy, they are no heavier than a decent set of headphones with the exception of the cable. They are also likely to have pass through cameras for AR so you can see what your doing still.

As for motion sickness, that is all but eliminated on the current crop of VR sets Vive, Crescent Bay (Rift), but you will never totally eliminate it though because some people are just susceptible to motion sickness, just like some people can't read while in a car, or even travel long distance in a car.
 
Forget the revolutionary things, for now at least. It could surely do a far better job than a TV for most people? Imagine a documentary when you're effectively stood next to a polar bear. Or a sports match where you're stood in the stands or on the pitch. Or being at a concert?

I've only used it briefly via a Samsung Note and was pretty impressed. Clearly the software is going to be the decider but it does look promising. Even if it's not a game-changer, it's certainly a form of entertainment/communication that can be useful and offers something that no other technology does.

If it would be possible to create a stand where you could move about on the spot (most current devices look terrible) then it really would be amazing.
 
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I think there are two substantially different forms of VR being mashed together a bit:

1) Plausible extension of existing technology. Two screens blocking the user's view of reality, devices to translate real-world movement into the virtual world, powerful enough hardware to create a usable and bearable depiction of the virtual world and a convenient user interface.

2) Bona fide VR, a thing indistinguishable from reality to all senses. That would require direct interfacing with the user's brain, i.e. presenting the virtual world to the user in exactly the same way as they perceive the real world.

The former might happen in the next decade or three. Or it might not. The headsets are looking plausibly possible for getting sight and sound and the hardware is looking plausibly possible for having enough processing power to generate the virtual world with good enough graphics, but the input devices are lacking. Multi-directional treadmills with safety rails and a harness are the best that's being worked on and they're inherently not very good for the job especially in terms of widespread use. Then there's the issue of physicality. If you're using a VR like that, physicality is part of it. You control your interaction with the VR with physical movement - that's a significant part of the immersion. So games will require physical fitness and will be significant exercise. Walking will be walking, running will be running, swinging a sword will be a similar movement. Pressing buttons doesn't really cut it for immersive VR. That would be great for physical exercise but not so great for mass-market gaming.

The latter would be a very different problem. Why go into the real world when the virtual one would be better for almost everyone? Let the computers and robots deal with the real world.
 
Raymond Lin said:
You are taking quite a leap from VR into connecting your neuro pathway into electrical signals in a machine.

One is reality, one is fiction.
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+1

However the thought of actual see, touch, smell through VR... it leads to some interesting avenues of thought, as in, my life is useless here's all my cash plug me in until I die, I want to be X forever. People could give up on "real" life for a life that, for all intents and purposes, is equally real.
 
No1newts said:
+1

However the thought of actual see, touch, smell through VR... it leads to some interesting avenues of thought, as in, my life is useless here's all my cash plug me in until I die, I want to be X forever. People could give up on "real" life for a life that, for all intents and purposes, is equally real.
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I've just misread your name as 'Holonewts' due to the VR -> holodeck connection in my brain.

Which gave me another idea regarding the bona fide VR you're referring to - is it actually possible at all? People frequently make strange associations and detect non-existent patterns. Is it even theoretically possible to completely fake a person's perception of reality?

I like the term 'holonewts' for bugs in a VR :)
 
Angilion said:
I've just misread your name as 'Holonewts' due to the VR -> holodeck connection in my brain.

Which gave me another idea regarding the bona fide VR you're referring to - is it actually possible at all? People frequently make strange associations and detect non-existent patterns. Is it even theoretically possible to completely fake a person's perception of reality?

I like the term 'holonewts' for bugs in a VR :)
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I should patent it :p
 
Angilion said:
Is it even theoretically possible to completely fake a person's perception of reality?
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Nope. If you're talking Matrix like scenarios then you'd need Borg-like invasive surgery to control all input/output to and from the brain, which just isn't going to happen in this millennium, or ever.

Then think of the processing power you'd need to simulate a fake world to the standard required to trick someone into believing it was real. We won't have computers like that for eons - again, if ever.

The whole thing is a non-starter.
 
FoxEye said:
Nope. If you're talking Matrix like scenarios then you'd need Borg-like invasive surgery to control all input/output to and from the brain, which just isn't going to happen in this millennium, or ever.

Then think of the processing power you'd need to simulate a fake world to the standard required to trick someone into believing it was real. We won't have computers like that for eons - again, if ever.

The whole thing is a non-starter.
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By that point we would be as well shedding our human bodies anyway.
 
I tried that very headset, the experience is very weird, you clearly understand it's not real and the screen is far too low resolution to make it realistic. And even the 3D effect feels weak. But somehow your body expects to be touched if something comes at you and you can't help but either try to move out of the way or flinch. So it does feel real in that since, your body thinks it's real but your brain is saying "it's not real stupid" but it doesn't matter
 
robgmun same goes screamer horrors you know its coming but it still will make you jump :)

My first VR experience was with
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like 15 years ago i played Duke 3D and Quake 1 and i knew i will buy it as soon as i can afford one. TIME HAS COME !!!!
 
See now, with the Occulus, I just thought it was a gimmick.

But then I tried it.... and damn.

It's amazing, and I think it's just what gaming needs.

Especially with Value doing their own headset and VR controllers.

(I'm so excited)
 
The Oculus is amazing, I mean seriously amazing. Yes there are flaws with it like the resolution not being high enough just yet but the thing is something else. For me it blew my mind, like totally, I was actually there in the game... in person. Things felt so tense. Unreal, I'm looking forward to seeing how it progresses and will be throwing as much money as is needed to get the ultimate VR experience.
 
Yeah, i think when the screen is 4k (As opposed to 1440p right now) It's reach the water line and fly off the sheaves, we'll see that within the next 18months is my guess
 
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