VR Headset to Mimic All Five Senses

[CuttingEdge100]

The Headset that Will Mimic all Five Senses and Make the Virtual World as Convincing as Real Life

URL: http://www.puppetgov.com/2009/03/04...the-virtual-world-as-convincing-as-real-life/

Scientists have been developing virtual reality devices for nearly two decades. But until now, most have only been able to recreate sound and vision.

Now a team of British academics from York and Warwick universities have launched a project to create the first authentic VR helmet – a device that stimulates the senses so convincingly they have called in Real Virtuality.

While it undoubtedly sounds cool from a video-game standpoint, there also comes the point where if VR becomes too realistic. I'm not sure if this reaches that step yet, but if VR could be produced that would feel exactly the same as reality, how would you be able to determine reality from Virtual-Reality?


CuttingEdge100

 

[chardman]

By taking the red pill when offered, silly.


BTW, have you considered the possibility that you're ALREADY wearing such a helmet?

 

[Arrqh]

I've always though it odd that people think that the invention of such technology instantly means that any content you're viewing with will be 100% believable. The content you'd be looking at, if it was interactive, wouldn't look any better then a modern video game and generally people aren't fooled when playing games that they're looking at real life. As cool as an idea it is to have a computer magically generate a realistic looking and behaving environment without any artistic input from humans is, it isn't going to happen any time soon.

And at the end of the day, it's still just a helmet. You'll be able to feel your butt on the couch

 

[scotpens]

. . . I'm not sure if this reaches that step yet, but if VR could be produced that would feel exactly the same as reality, how would you be able to determine reality from Virtual-Reality?

You'll see the same cat cross the room twice?

 

[FordSVT]

The Headset that Will Mimic all Five Senses and Make the Virtual World as Convincing as Real Life

URL: http://www.puppetgov.com/2009/03/04...the-virtual-world-as-convincing-as-real-life/

Scientists have been developing virtual reality devices for nearly two decades. But until now, most have only been able to recreate sound and vision.

Now a team of British academics from York and Warwick universities have launched a project to create the first authentic VR helmet – a device that stimulates the senses so convincingly they have called in Real Virtuality.

While it undoubtedly sounds cool from a video-game standpoint, there also comes the point where if VR becomes too realistic. I'm not sure if this reaches that step yet, but if VR could be produced that would feel exactly the same as reality, how would you be able to determine reality from Virtual-Reality?


CuttingEdge100

You're right. They should halt this line of technological progress immediately before we're all in the Matrix and don't even know it.

 

[CuttingEdge100]

FordSVT,

You're right. They should halt this line of technological progress immediately before we're all in the Matrix and we don't even know it.

Maybe it would be for the greater good. I mean, how good do you need a video-game to be?

 

[Owain Taggart]

Oh, you'd know. Just like one gets headaches when viewing 3D for too long a period, your brain would start panicking and giving you a headache which is essentially telling you to stop. At least I think so. I don't think you can override your senses without consequences.

 

[Smiley]

You would still get hungry and thirsty using such a system, among other physiological signals. There is no way that somebody can plug into a VR indefinitely without some serious infrastructure planning beforehand.

 

[Meredith]

Cool, now we have got something we can use to control our surrogates

 

[Robert Maxwell]

FordSVT,

You're right. They should halt this line of technological progress immediately before we're all in the Matrix and we don't even know it.

Maybe it would be for the greater good. I mean, how good do you need a video-game to be?

So we should halt technological development because of the (extremely remote) possibility we might all one day be unknowingly jacked into a virtual world? Are you serious?

 

[CuttingEdge100]

Robert Maxwell,

So we should halt technological development because of the (extremely remote) possibility we might all one day be unknowingly jacked into a virtual world? Are you serious?

While I do believe that this could eventually be used for being able to manipulate a person's perceptions to the point at which a person could not distinguish reality from illusion, I basically wrote Reply #6 out of annoyance/exasperation in regards to FordSVT's statements. He stated in a previous thread more or less than he believed that placing limits on certain technological developments was basically tantamount to halting all scientific research (I explained that I did not believe this); in this thread he asked if I wanted to hypothetically discontinue research in this field insinuating that I wanted to discontinue a lot of lines of scientific research.

 

[FPAlpha]

Unless that thing encompasses the entire body and delivers photorealistic, real time graphics no one will be fooled by it.

It will be an awesome experience for sure and i was wondering for ages why videogame producers haven't already developed VR goggles (would be a hit for action/shooter games) but it is still decades away from fooling all of our senses to mistake it for full reality.

Since a holodeck is so far out technologically (and maybe impossible physics wise) i guess the only option for full VR would be to tap directly into our nervous system and input the data we want overriding our natural reality.

This is technology that could be realistic since we learn more about our bodies each year and are developing man/machine interfaces.

So i guess maybe our grandkids or their grandkids will simply activate their neural interface and enjoy the latest game full on as if they are there.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Unless that thing encompasses the entire body and delivers photorealistic, real time graphics no one will be fooled by it.

It will be an awesome experience for sure and i was wondering for ages why videogame producers haven't already developed VR goggles (would be a hit for action/shooter games) but it is still decades away from fooling all of our senses to mistake it for full reality.

Since a holodeck is so far out technologically (and maybe impossible physics wise) i guess the only option for full VR would be to tap directly into our nervous system and input the data we want overriding our natural reality.

This is technology that could be realistic since we learn more about our bodies each year and are developing man/machine interfaces.

So i guess maybe our grandkids or their grandkids will simply activate their neural interface and enjoy the latest game full on as if they are there.

I highly recommend reading Tad William`s "Otherland" epic novel.
He describes very convincingly the benefits and risks (it is a sci-fi thriller after all) of exactly the technology you mention here.