These alternative, virtual, reality, 3D methods of interacting with the ‘meta-verse’ or ‘computer world’ or ‘another earth’ are fantastical, possible, realistic.
How does a blind person interact with it?
Monthly Archives: April 2012
I do not like sitting at Computers
In the days when I mainly used my Nintendo Entertainment System, then the Commodore Amiga 1200 it consisted of sitting on the floor by the television. This quickly evolved into having my own, smaller, television where I then sat at a desk with the Amiga 1200.
After many years I’ve been prone to the typical pains that blight many users, lower back pain, repetitive strain injury in the wrists, neck, headaches, etc. I think to myself:
“Wouldn’t it be nicer, if using a computer felt more natural to how we interact with everyday objects. Sure, using a mouse or a game-pad can be a fast way to use items but is it not possible for me to walk, to sit, to just think and control a computer?”
I believe it is. Devices such as the OCZ Neural Impulse Actuator have came along, while not believed by many and picked up by few. This is a step in a good direction.
Not only this, though, for I also dislike computer monitors. In fact, they are such a hazard that there is written UK law on the correct installation and use of them in the workplace. So how, then, about using Vuzix Eyewear ? Or how about, Google’s Project Glass ? It’s not entirely science-fiction either as some people have attempted to put it together.
Still, this is not quite full interaction with a computer system. Relying purely on voice. It feels to me that it requires something else, something tangible to interact with. How far away are we, from the type of interaction you can get from Heavy Rain’s ‘ARI’ ?
How would such a system work? Is it possible that a ‘virtual reality’ system such as this could actually interact with the ‘real world’ ? How would it map it?
With technology such as Microsoft’s Kinect that can map an area in 3D, perhaps if it could be made in such a smaller scale or even implemented into standard rooms (or perhaps into something being worn so that it is done as it is viewed) then this can be presented and interacted with as required via some form of eye-wear or, as some are even calling it, ‘wearable computing‘ which it appears, is not an entirely new concept but is being discussed.
Still, we are a little away from the technology depicted within fiction and while the current solutions do not entirely take into account control from the mind, I firmly believe that it is possible to get there and I would love to be able to work with it.
A World without Boundaries
Another Earth is a film which I watched recently, the fantastical idea that there’s another planet on the other side of the Sun where there’s an exact duplicate of the planet we live on and every person in it. Like the typical ‘parallel dimension’ theories that’re often thrown around in TV shows such as Sliders.
What if, though, there is already ‘Another Earth’, but it isn’t populated yet? In fact, it’s still developing and evolving. Here’s an ‘out there’ concept.
It’s (on) the internet.
I’m pretty sure this isn’t a new idea, but I’ll attempt to collect my thoughts on the topic. I feel that the internet was born out of a need to communicate, also to share information. This could be the key part of humanity, communicating, along with surviving of course. So what do I mean that ‘Another Earth’ is ‘the internet’ ?
In the virtual world ‘Second Life’ (and a lot of ‘massively multi-player games’) we can see where a world synthetically created mimics physical reality. Items are bought and sold, people own land and social relations are developed. A key part which I found interesting though is that you can transfer in-game funds to physical reality. So your ‘in game currency’ can be transferred into dollars, subsequently dollars, or any other international currency. People then, were creating characters, purchasing items and taking up jobs in Second Life.
Yes, jobs. Working, earning money in various ways, from socially questionable to being a shop clerk or just using their 3D modelled persona to demonstrate attire. Perhaps then, this is just the beginning.
This isn’t the only virtual reality which allows you to transfer between virtual and physical goods, CCP’s Eve-Online allows you to purchase ‘game time’ with in-game currency, potentially making it so that you never have to use ‘physical’ cash to lengthen your subscription. They’ve also enabled the ability to purchase computer graphics hardware, further extending this example.
So this idea is becoming no longer new, but where can it go from here? Accessing this ‘other Earth’ is quite specialist. You’d have to know about computer systems to acquire hardware to run it suitably, the language the software is presented in (which may well be mainly localised to English) and also have the communication network set up for it to access it.
So for it to advance I think that there’s two main obstacles to overcome. The first is the interface barrier, the second is the language barrier.
With the interface barrier it seems apparent with Second Life as an example that the virtual world mimicking physical reality is the first stepping stone, to access this naturally we have seen ‘VR’ or ‘Virtual Reality’ equipment come into play, which in its early years has been cumbersome, heavy and requires a lot of computing and energy power. However, now technologies such as ‘Google Glass’ and ‘Vuzix Eyewear’ are coming along to help overcome the tie to being sat at a computer monitor with a keyboard and mouse.
The language barrier, imagine you have two people who have a ‘virtual job’ (let’s call it) and they have to communicate with one another, but they speak different languages? Audio recognition is coming along in leaps and bounds which can translate what you say into text, at the very least trained to your voice. So, then, all that is required is for this to be translated from one language to another and played back or even just displayed. This interim technology then breaks down that wall of communication and with it being in the ‘internet virtual world’ then it is nigh on instantaneous.
Jump a few concepts ahead. You have a person, from England, you have another, from Japan. Each walking around with their new method of accessing this ‘other Earth’ active from the physical world. They have a virtual job managing a Russian communication forum, the systems translate into the localised native language for them naturally from their speech.
This could just be a start.