Virtual Reality. Is it really happening?

[Kyriakos]

I believe VR has a long way become a valid replacement for reallity. Eventually it will, if it finally takes off and become a mainstream tech like internet.

However, right now, that many people is experimenting punctually is a momentaneous state of mind which has been called "presence" which basically happens when our subconcient is totally tricked and believes VR is real. Nobody have been able to describe it acuratelly though, but it is not that we call vulgar "immersion", but something much deeper. It is an intermitent thing usually lasting few seconds, and nobody knows how exactly it is triggered, possibly by a mix of things: low latency, interaction, image, sound, even smells...

The day they make a VR environment where this "presence" is continous VR is going to become dangerous...

Not only if it is continuous. Reminds me a bit of a book by Baidelaire about why he was against using mind-altering drugs for imagination. If your mind is 'tricked', this will potentially not just be a blink on your screen so to speak. Most people don't occupy themselves much with issues of consciousness, so VR tricking you even momentarily WILL have serious side-effects for (imo) the large majority of users. A bit (not entirely, of course) analogous to drug use which causes hallucinations one can think are 'real'. They may not be real external enviornments, but they are something themselves, and not many are good at falling inside rabbit holes /vr

 

[Thorgalaeg]

Well VR has been around some time and nobody has gone crazy yet. It is not LSD after all. It does not affect brain chemically. If something in his current state it may cause psicological adiction as normal gaming or TV, drugs are much more powerful in this sense including real physical effects.

And speaking of drugs it seems that the best way to increase the chance of experimenting "presence" is combining VR and laughing cigarettes. Old tech coming in the aid of new tech.

 

[EgonSpengler]

I wonder how far the art lags behind the technology. 3D movies, for example, haven't really arrived, imo. Thus far, I haven't seen a single movie in 3D that I thought really used it well. They've all been 2D movies, in 3D. There have been similar lags in history. A lot of early movies look like stage plays, filmed. Sound seems to have been something that movies understood and jumped on immediately, with music and sound effects.

The few reviews of VR that I've heard seem to be about things that make you want to throw up (motion, height, etc). I get vertigo from heights anyway, so that's not for me. If someone can create a VR experience of watching a UFC fight from inside the cage, or being out in a hurricane without getting shredded by debris, I might be interested.

 

[Thorgalaeg]

I wonder how far the art lags behind the technology. 3D movies, for example, haven't really arrived, imo. Thus far, I haven't seen a single movie in 3D that I thought really used it well. They've all been 2D movies, in 3D. There have been similar lags in history. A lot of early movies look like stage plays, filmed. Sound seems to have been something that movies understood and jumped on immediately, with music and sound effects.

The few reviews of VR that I've heard seem to be about things that make you want to throw up (motion, height, etc). I get vertigo from heights anyway, so that's not for me. If someone can create a VR experience of watching a UFC fight from inside the cage, or being out in a hurricane without getting shredded by debris, I might be interested.

Werner Herzog on VR:
https://vimeo.com/126137905.

What about a virtual remake of Aguirre the Wrath of God? With a CGI Klauss Kinski. They did it with Gollum, this cant be too different.

 

[Kyriakos]

Well VR has been around some time and nobody has gone crazy yet. It is not LSD after all. It does not affect brain chemically. If something in his current state it may cause psicological adiction as normal gaming or TV, drugs are much more powerful in this sense including real physical effects.

And speaking of drugs it seems that the best way to increase the chance of experimenting "presence" is combining VR and laughing cigarettes. Old tech coming in the aid of new tech.

While drugs are different in many ways to this, there still will be lasting effects from exposure to certainty you are in 'reality' when in VR. Think of a person waking up from a dream and being unsure he now isn't in the dream. Prolonged, or happening many times, this surely will lead to a fascination with stuff most users of the VR don't have familiarity with, ie their own consciousness as a delicate and complex state

(and obviously new synapse formations feeding this new focus, are physical phenomena as well)

 

[Thorgalaeg]

While drugs are different in many ways to this, there still will be lasting effects from exposure to certainty you are in 'reality' when in VR. Think of a person waking up from a dream and being unsure he now isn't in the dream. Prolonged, or happening many times, this surely will lead to a fascination with stuff most users of the VR don't have familiarity with, ie their own consciousness as a delicate and complex state

(and obviously new synapse formations feeding this new focus, are physical phenomena as well)

In fact "presence" has been described for some as similar to having a lucid dream and i think it is esentiallly that. Your inner reptilian brain thinks it is somewhere in space piloting a starship while your cortex, where rationallity resides, knows perfectly you are at home with the hmd on your head. I dont see why that should damage your mind since you dont lose contact with reality at a conscient level in any moment. Drugs otoh affect your whole brain in unnatural ways generating real alucinations you cant separate from reality. That can drive anyone mad.

The danger i see is people becoming addicted to presence and finally rejecting reality intentionally, as in the Uncanny Valley short movie, which would hypotetically happen with a long sustained "presential" experience.

 

[bhavv]

Unfortunately medicinal sleep inducing drugs cause nightmares as a side effect. I can attest to them not being very fun, and as such I'm not taking mirtazapine while out of work, and really only on the nights before work days previously.

On the other hand, taking them every day nullifies the sleep inducing effect as the brain gets used to it, so that's also no use.

 

[Thorgalaeg]

Read somewhere VR may be used in the future to treat sleep diseases.

 

[bhavv]

And how exactly is one meant to sleep with a VR thing strapped around their head?

 

[Thorgalaeg]

Dont know how it would work. Maybe it is useful for "training the brain for dreaming" since both things seems to use similar psicological mechanism.

BTW, this guy just spent 48 hours in VR non-stop. Sleeping included.

http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/48-hours-in-vr.

 

[KevinLandwaster]

I think it's definitely here with the Oculus. It needs some slight improvements, but in 10 years I think it will be main stream, like how all new movies are released in 3d IMAX now, as opposed to 15 years ago when this was very rare.

 

[Wolfbeckett]

And how exactly is one meant to sleep with a VR thing strapped around their head?

People learn to sleep with c-pap machines strapped around their face, they could learn to do it with this too.

 

[Thorgalaeg]

I think it's definitely here with the Oculus. It needs some slight improvements, but in 10 years I think it will be main stream, like how all new movies are released in 3d IMAX now, as opposed to 15 years ago when this was very rare.

I hope it doesnt need 10 years! In 3-4 years we will have second or third generation HMDs, most current shortcomings will be resolved and thanks to OLEDs and other components being mainstream at a fraction of current cost, also average PCs will be able to run VR nicely. I think VR will be a big stimulus for PC hardware development which has been a bit bogged down lately.

 

[Thorgalaeg]

http://uploadvr.com/smi-hands-on-250hz-eye-tracking/

Eye tracking and thus foveated rendering is closer than first thought! This means much lower gpu requeriments since only the area which your eyes are looking at is fully rendered, making it possible to have 4k or even 8k resolutions with current graphic cards. It will also help wireless since less bandwith is needed. And all at around 10$. Call me incurable optimist but i think we will have this tech in second generation HMDs, as soon as 2017 and maybe wireless for 2018-19.

 

[BvBPL]

New war helmets now come equipped with VR/AR.

 

[Kyriakos]

New war helmets now come equipped with VR/AR.

Iirc the Harkonnen soldiers always used that ^^

 

[Thorgalaeg]

Google Earth VR just released. It is a major surprise gift for Vive users.

Just went for a walk around my city. At human scale it is a very strange experience, like being in a post apocalyptic world.

 

[BvBPL]

You took a walk in virtual reality around the place you live in actual reality?

 

[Thorgalaeg]

Of course. Looking home is the first thing everybody does when using Google Earth the first time.

 

[Kyriakos]

Only thing i find interesting in VR is the story potential for people unaware they are in VR.