Virtual Reality is a Reality
Advances in Virtual Reality (VR) technology provide individuals with the opportunity to live in a computer generated world. How this effects the society in which we live in depends upon how VR is used within it.
Initially the term ‘Virtual Reality’ referred to the user being completely immersed in an artificial computer generated three-dimensional environment (Beier, 2004). However VR has diverged into a number of different directions.
According to Heim (1997) there are seven different directions in which VR is developing: Simulation which requires a high standard of computer graphics and 3-D sound; Interaction which lets the user control the environment in some manner; Artificiality meaning that everything about the ‘virtual world’ has been designed and created; Immersion which is the development of hardware and software - such as a head-mounted display (HMD) and glove - allowing the user interact with the ‘virtual world’; Telepresence which lets the user access and control a robotic presence at a distant location; Full-body immersion that requires the user to wear a full-body suit equipped with a visor and a number of sensors; and Networked communications which allows users to communicate directly with others through a network of computers.
While VR has developed in different directions, all have in common the separation of mind from the body (Cooney, 2004). While the body stays in the real world the mind – through VR technology – is free to explore and interact with the VR world. The concept of dualism of the mind and body proposed by Descartes in the seventeenth century proposes that the body is constrained by the physical laws of nature while the mind is free to think and choose (Weston, Burton, & Kowalski, 2006). VR technology has taken Cartesian thinking into the ‘real’ world.
Reported as being one of the most successful computer games ever to be developed SIMS (http://www.thesimis.ea.com/) requires players to create their own world complete with characters designed by the user. It was the first computer game that does not require a player to win in order to finish the game. Instead players learn to create and manipulate a virtual world.
This idea has been built upon further through the development of interactive internet sites such as Second Life (http://www.secondlife.com) and Active Worlds (http://www.activeworlds.com/) which allow users to enter a VR world through their desktop computers in order to interact with other users. Second Life is a 3-D virtual world in which the residents build their own virtual homes, go to virtual work, buy sell and trade with other residents, and even earn virtual money (which can be converted into real currency), Second Life started in 2003 and now inhabited by over 6.2 million people.
Desktop VR allows uses to interact with a virtual environment without being immersed in it, and is one of three categories that all VR systems fall into (Bilawchuk, 2004). The others being Video Mapping VR which uses cameras to track and capture images of the user into a computer program, and Immersive VR which uses HMD and a data-glove. Bilawchuk states that “When the user cannot distinguish between what is real and what is not, then immersive VR has succeeded.”
The standard immersive VR that all developers try to emulate is the Holodeck from Star Trek. The Holo-Dek centre in Hampton, New Hampshire USA has built a video gaming centre with sixteen, 73inch screens (Christensen, 2004). However the University of Warwick developed a Cybersphere in order to bring Star Trek’s Holodeck closer to reality (“Cybersphere Brings Star…, 2000). The system consisted of a 3.5m diameter translucent sphere supported on a ring of bearings which allows the user inside to walk in any direction. The sphere is then backlight with a projector.
Although it seems that VR development is for the benefit of computer gamers and the entertainment industry, VR is now being extensively used as a training tool in various industries. The U.S. Air Force uses immersion VR into train its pilots. The computers generate information in a cockpit simulator in much the same way the pilot would experience in a real plane (Heim, 1997). And studies show that surgeons who have had VR training show improved Operating Room performance (Seymour et al., 2002). There was also a study done by Christine Youngblut of Virtual Reality and Education Laboratory, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina USA in 1997 that suggests that “Existing data does suggest that this technology (VR) offers significant, positive support for education.”
Another system that should be mentioned is that of Augmented Reality. This works through augmented eyewear that has a display system built into them. Clark (2003) uses the example of using augmented reality when looking for a library. The user enters the word library and puts on the glasses, as he looks around he sees a building with a big green arrow above it, flashing and pointing. As he looks down he sees a series of small arrows on the ground leading to the library. The augmented reality allows the user to see both the real world and to see images from a virtual world super imposed over the top of it.
So where does VR go from here? Currently users of this technology do so willingly. They can access VR worlds through their desktop computers. They can put on HMD and data gloves, or even full body suits. And while all of these technologies keep advancing over time, the next step is the use of implants with a computer controlling stimuli directly to the brain. This would give the user a VR experience that would be indistinguishable from real life, as in the film The Matrix. The film draws parallels to Plato’s Cave (Cooney, 2004) in that the goal of both stories is to liberate the mind from a virtual reality to a true reality. In both stories the ‘prisoners’ who live in a VR are unaware of it until they are liberated, at which point they can’t understand the true nature of reality.
Loosing one’s way in the real world is one aspect of VR that is detrimental to the individual who becomes immersed in it. People are using VR to create a new life for themselves in cyberspace through desktop VR like Second Life. They are using immersive VR to help develop skills such as those required by surgeons and pilots. Video games are using VR to make them more realistic. The more VR technology advances the more accessible it will become and more people will use it for longer. This may well help our culture to advance as long as we retain the option to look away from the cave wall and into the fire.
References
Beier, K. P. (2004). Virtual Reality: A short Introduction. Retrieved May 9, 2007, from http://www-vrl.umich.edu/intro/index.html
Bilawchuk, M. (2004). Virtual Reality. Retrieved May 9, 2007, from http://www.bilawchuk.com/mark/technology.html
Bell, D., Loader, B. D., Pleace, N. & Schuler, D. (Eds.). (2004). Cyberculture: The Key Concepts. London: Routledge.
Christensen, B. (2004). Holo-Dek - A Unique Real-World Virtual Venue. Retrieved May 10, 2007, from http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=272
Clark, A. (2003). Natural-Born Cyborgs: Minds, Technologies, and the Future of Human Intelligence. New York: Oxford University Press.
Cooney, B. (2004). Posthumanity: Thinking philosophically about the Future. Lanham, Maryland: Rowan & Littlefield.
Cybersphere Brings Star Trek’s Holodeck Closer to Reality. (2000). Retrieved May 10, 2007, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/10/001022202243.htm
Heim, M. H. (1997). Heidegger and McLuhan and the essence of Virtual Reality. In R. C. Scharff, V. Dusek (Eds.), Philosophy of Technology: The Technological Condition (pp.546-554). Melbourne, Australia: Blackwell Publishing.
McKie, D. (1994). Virtual Reality fakes the Future: Cybersex, lies and Computer Games. In L. Green, & R. Guinery (Eds.), Framing Technology: Society, choice & change (pp.15-25). St Leonards, Australia: Allen & Unwin.
Seymour, N. E., Gallagher, A. G., Roman, S. A., O’Brien, M. K., Bansal, V. K., Andersen, D. K., et al. (2002). Virtual Reality Training Improves Operating Room Performance: Results of a Randomized, Double-Blinded Study. Retrieved May 9, 2007, from http://www.annalsofsurgery.com/pt/re/annos/abstract.00000658-200210000-00008.htm
Western, D., Burton, L., Kowalski R. (2006). Psychology: Australian and New Zealand edition. Milton, Australia: John Wiley & Sons Australia.
Youngblut, C. (1998). Educational uses of Virtual Reality Technology. Institute for Defense Analyses, 76-77. Retrieved May 9, 2007, from http://www.hitl.washington.edu/scivw/youngblut-edvr/D2128.pdf
Advances in Virtual Reality (VR) technology provide individuals with the opportunity to live in a computer generated world. How this effects the society in which we live in depends upon how VR is used within it.
Initially the term ‘Virtual Reality’ referred to the user being completely immersed in an artificial computer generated three-dimensional environment (Beier, 2004). However VR has diverged into a number of different directions.
According to Heim (1997) there are seven different directions in which VR is developing: Simulation which requires a high standard of computer graphics and 3-D sound; Interaction which lets the user control the environment in some manner; Artificiality meaning that everything about the ‘virtual world’ has been designed and created; Immersion which is the development of hardware and software - such as a head-mounted display (HMD) and glove - allowing the user interact with the ‘virtual world’; Telepresence which lets the user access and control a robotic presence at a distant location; Full-body immersion that requires the user to wear a full-body suit equipped with a visor and a number of sensors; and Networked communications which allows users to communicate directly with others through a network of computers.
While VR has developed in different directions, all have in common the separation of mind from the body (Cooney, 2004). While the body stays in the real world the mind – through VR technology – is free to explore and interact with the VR world. The concept of dualism of the mind and body proposed by Descartes in the seventeenth century proposes that the body is constrained by the physical laws of nature while the mind is free to think and choose (Weston, Burton, & Kowalski, 2006). VR technology has taken Cartesian thinking into the ‘real’ world.
Reported as being one of the most successful computer games ever to be developed SIMS (http://www.thesimis.ea.com/) requires players to create their own world complete with characters designed by the user. It was the first computer game that does not require a player to win in order to finish the game. Instead players learn to create and manipulate a virtual world.
This idea has been built upon further through the development of interactive internet sites such as Second Life (http://www.secondlife.com) and Active Worlds (http://www.activeworlds.com/) which allow users to enter a VR world through their desktop computers in order to interact with other users. Second Life is a 3-D virtual world in which the residents build their own virtual homes, go to virtual work, buy sell and trade with other residents, and even earn virtual money (which can be converted into real currency), Second Life started in 2003 and now inhabited by over 6.2 million people.
Desktop VR allows uses to interact with a virtual environment without being immersed in it, and is one of three categories that all VR systems fall into (Bilawchuk, 2004). The others being Video Mapping VR which uses cameras to track and capture images of the user into a computer program, and Immersive VR which uses HMD and a data-glove. Bilawchuk states that “When the user cannot distinguish between what is real and what is not, then immersive VR has succeeded.”
The standard immersive VR that all developers try to emulate is the Holodeck from Star Trek. The Holo-Dek centre in Hampton, New Hampshire USA has built a video gaming centre with sixteen, 73inch screens (Christensen, 2004). However the University of Warwick developed a Cybersphere in order to bring Star Trek’s Holodeck closer to reality (“Cybersphere Brings Star…, 2000). The system consisted of a 3.5m diameter translucent sphere supported on a ring of bearings which allows the user inside to walk in any direction. The sphere is then backlight with a projector.
Although it seems that VR development is for the benefit of computer gamers and the entertainment industry, VR is now being extensively used as a training tool in various industries. The U.S. Air Force uses immersion VR into train its pilots. The computers generate information in a cockpit simulator in much the same way the pilot would experience in a real plane (Heim, 1997). And studies show that surgeons who have had VR training show improved Operating Room performance (Seymour et al., 2002). There was also a study done by Christine Youngblut of Virtual Reality and Education Laboratory, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina USA in 1997 that suggests that “Existing data does suggest that this technology (VR) offers significant, positive support for education.”
Another system that should be mentioned is that of Augmented Reality. This works through augmented eyewear that has a display system built into them. Clark (2003) uses the example of using augmented reality when looking for a library. The user enters the word library and puts on the glasses, as he looks around he sees a building with a big green arrow above it, flashing and pointing. As he looks down he sees a series of small arrows on the ground leading to the library. The augmented reality allows the user to see both the real world and to see images from a virtual world super imposed over the top of it.
So where does VR go from here? Currently users of this technology do so willingly. They can access VR worlds through their desktop computers. They can put on HMD and data gloves, or even full body suits. And while all of these technologies keep advancing over time, the next step is the use of implants with a computer controlling stimuli directly to the brain. This would give the user a VR experience that would be indistinguishable from real life, as in the film The Matrix. The film draws parallels to Plato’s Cave (Cooney, 2004) in that the goal of both stories is to liberate the mind from a virtual reality to a true reality. In both stories the ‘prisoners’ who live in a VR are unaware of it until they are liberated, at which point they can’t understand the true nature of reality.
Loosing one’s way in the real world is one aspect of VR that is detrimental to the individual who becomes immersed in it. People are using VR to create a new life for themselves in cyberspace through desktop VR like Second Life. They are using immersive VR to help develop skills such as those required by surgeons and pilots. Video games are using VR to make them more realistic. The more VR technology advances the more accessible it will become and more people will use it for longer. This may well help our culture to advance as long as we retain the option to look away from the cave wall and into the fire.
References
Beier, K. P. (2004). Virtual Reality: A short Introduction. Retrieved May 9, 2007, from http://www-vrl.umich.edu/intro/index.html
Bilawchuk, M. (2004). Virtual Reality. Retrieved May 9, 2007, from http://www.bilawchuk.com/mark/technology.html
Bell, D., Loader, B. D., Pleace, N. & Schuler, D. (Eds.). (2004). Cyberculture: The Key Concepts. London: Routledge.
Christensen, B. (2004). Holo-Dek - A Unique Real-World Virtual Venue. Retrieved May 10, 2007, from http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=272
Clark, A. (2003). Natural-Born Cyborgs: Minds, Technologies, and the Future of Human Intelligence. New York: Oxford University Press.
Cooney, B. (2004). Posthumanity: Thinking philosophically about the Future. Lanham, Maryland: Rowan & Littlefield.
Cybersphere Brings Star Trek’s Holodeck Closer to Reality. (2000). Retrieved May 10, 2007, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/10/001022202243.htm
Heim, M. H. (1997). Heidegger and McLuhan and the essence of Virtual Reality. In R. C. Scharff, V. Dusek (Eds.), Philosophy of Technology: The Technological Condition (pp.546-554). Melbourne, Australia: Blackwell Publishing.
McKie, D. (1994). Virtual Reality fakes the Future: Cybersex, lies and Computer Games. In L. Green, & R. Guinery (Eds.), Framing Technology: Society, choice & change (pp.15-25). St Leonards, Australia: Allen & Unwin.
Seymour, N. E., Gallagher, A. G., Roman, S. A., O’Brien, M. K., Bansal, V. K., Andersen, D. K., et al. (2002). Virtual Reality Training Improves Operating Room Performance: Results of a Randomized, Double-Blinded Study. Retrieved May 9, 2007, from http://www.annalsofsurgery.com/pt/re/annos/abstract.00000658-200210000-00008.htm
Western, D., Burton, L., Kowalski R. (2006). Psychology: Australian and New Zealand edition. Milton, Australia: John Wiley & Sons Australia.
Youngblut, C. (1998). Educational uses of Virtual Reality Technology. Institute for Defense Analyses, 76-77. Retrieved May 9, 2007, from http://www.hitl.washington.edu/scivw/youngblut-edvr/D2128.pdf
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