Deep Tech Chapter 3

1. The Metaverse

1.1. Some companies had made the shift from ZOOM to Virtual/Augmented reality during the COVID 19 lockdown. In doing so, this gave employees the ability to feel like they were around one another, bringing back a sense of camaraderie and making the work like while in isolation more enjoyable. VR/AR technologies have come a long way from being a lost cause, now to being common devices found in many households.

2. The Many Ways to Extend Reality

2.1. Virtual Reality- Virtual reality is a simulated experience where you are exposed to an immersive world. With the new VR technology and capabilities such as 6DoF, you are now able to move around in a fixed space. Furthermore, since the screen is so close to your face, increased FoV and 4k and 8k resolutions are available to reduce the screen-door effect (Effect where pixels are too big and too close to your face).

2.2. Augmented Reality- Augmented reality is a technology where it modifies the current reality you are in and adds helpful tools while being engaged in the real world. AR makes use of a heads up display (HUD) which is an overlay on reality. This can include looking at a building and having the name of the building written somewhere near it, indicating which building it is.

2.3. Mixed Reality- Mixed reality similar to Augmented reality tries to make digital objects indistinguishable from the real world.

3. The Promise

3.1. Microsoft, Google, and Facebook are all trying to jump on the AR/MR train. While Google wants to be an assistant, Facebook wants all of the user's attention, and Microsoft wants to be somewhere in the middle. Microsoft produced the "HoloLens 2", Google produced "Google Glass", and Facebook produced the "Oculus Quest."

3.1.1. Gaming- Through the use of these new technologies, the gaming industry profited quite a large amount. With these new VR/AR/MR/XR uses, gamers can enjoy being immersed in their gaming universes rather than sitting behind a screen and using a controller to dictate what they want to do. Instead, people can use goggles, or lenses to play whatever, where ever they want.

3.1.2. Tourism and Education- VR can eliminate the heavy costs of traveling and allows you to go anywhere in the world from the comfort of your home. Also, if you are to travel, you can get VR tours of where you're going to stay to get a better feel for it beforehand. Education wise, students can travel in class through the use of VR. As mentioned in the book, the authors kids went and visited the great pyramids through VR and got to examine them up close while being in class.

3.1.3. Virtual Shopping and Augmented Retail- The use of VR has made shopping and retail experiences flip on their head. In the app Obsess, you are able to walk through a virtual store that actually feels like being in a store, music and all. Other brands have made use of AR as well like IKEA. IKEA allows you to see what piece of furniture you are buying in AR before you make the decision to purchase it. Same with Nike, they allow you to see the sneaker on your foot without it physically being there.

3.2. XR Industrial Development- Over the years, industries have been using these new technologies to their advantage and developing new products with ease.

3.3. Healthcare and Mental Health- VR has enabled doctors and medical care providers from around the world to interact with each other while an operation is going on or a consultation. The human anatomy can be labeled, and doctors can write things on screen to help procedures get done. While this is effective, others use this for ways to treat their mental health. In the book, they talked about how people face their phobias through the use of VR. Phobias like a fear of heights can be combatted by putting the user in places where they are high off the ground.

4. More Tech to Extend XR

4.1. Contact Lenses- Smart contact lenses have been an idea for the longest time up until recently where companies began developing new smart technology that enhances user experience.

4.2. Full Body Haptics- Through the use of omnidirectional treadmills, VR users now have the ability to move around more freely in their virtual worlds rather than having to worry about running into a wall. The end goal for this is for the user to have a fully immersive experience and to feel the sensations from the game, and making the games more realistic.

4.3. Brain Machine Interface- In the future, it is hoped that new technology can capture brain signals to further enhance the experience without the use of other technologies (Treadmill, controllers). Elon Musk is currently in the works of creating Neuralink which directly links with the brains neurons which then get connected to a computer. In a sense, making humans into cyborgs.

5. Problems in XR

5.1. Getting People to Care- By now, it was thought that hundreds of millions would have these products in their homes and make use of them on a daily basis however, that point has not been reached yet. People need to understand how these products can be used efficiently enhance their day to day lives.

5.2. Addiction- Negative things can result from overuse of gaming or VR in general. People can use VR as an escape from the real world, ignoring all of the things they have to deal with in reality. It all boils down to one's self control, and if they have any sort of responsibility. Now since VR is prominent, people use it for a plethora of reasons. In the end, it's all for pleasure.

5.3. Trauma and Torture- In game trauma can result from the use of VR. VR is beginning to feel even more real than ever before which is leading to an uptick in traumatic experiences. These traumatic experiences can result from the VR world itself, or from other users tormenting them by doing horrific things that they'd be locked up for in reality.

5.4. Security- Now that within the virtual world, you can buy, sell, and trade things, rules and regulations must be put in place to combat things being stolen or vandalized. Since users can claim ownership over virtual items, laws are going to have to be placed.

5.5. Technical- With the new devices, there are new hurdles that must be taken on. Some of these new problems include external battery use, motion sickness, and cyber sickness. Over the next decade, these problems are bound to subside.

6. Closer with VR

6.1. VR can bring humanity together in a whole different way once VR picks up more traction. Through the use of AR/VR, people are going to be able to be face to face and experience things that nothing else can create. Instead of us connecting through our phones, we will be connecting and interacting with each other face to face in a virtual reality.