This blog is a continuation of Episode one’s explanation of what VR is and how it works, here I hope to show you the future of VR, stepping back from just VR headsets and entering a world where full immersion of the 5 senses can make its way into virtual reality
In 1965 Computer Scientist and all round new age pioneer Ian Sutherland was quoted describing his concept of the ‘Ultimate Display.’ He said
“The ultimate display would, of course, be a room within which the computer can control the existence of matter. A chair displayed in such a room would be good enough to sit in. Handcuffs displayed in such a room would be confining, and a bullet displayed in such a room would be fatal.”
Up until this point I have only talked about one of the five senses, companies all over the world are hoping to correlate this virtual reality technology with the other four senses. Spatial audio is something that isn’t a new concept at all, with surround sound systems we have been experiencing spatial audio for a while now. Last year Google bought out Dublin based company Thrive Audio, a company specialising in ultra-realistic spatial audio for virtual reality. On the basis of this I really don’t think it will be too long before Google start integrating ultra-realistic directional sound into the Google Cardboard application, allowing the user to hear sounds from varied distances all around.
The word haptic derives from the Greek word “haptikos” which translates to pertaining to the sense of touch. From a programming point of view touch is more than likely the most difficult to recreate in a virtual world, visual and audio are definitely less problematic to recreate hence the technological advancements in those areas. That’s not to say they haven’t tried, the research that has gone into tactile feedback technology is extremely vast, and we are finally reaching the point where we’re finally in touching distance (no pun intended.) Saying all this haptic technology isn’t actually a new concept, we have been using it in gaming and mobile devices for a while now, every time your phone vibrates or games controller rumbles we are receiving tactile feedback through haptic technology. To give you a glimpse into what the future holds for haptic technology we have to go back to 2009 where researchers from the University of Tokyo developed 3D holograms that can be touched with your bare hands. This was achieved through acoustic radiation pressure which recreates the sensation of pressure against skin. This is bringing us back to Ian Sutherland’s concept of really being able to feel virtual items and sit on virtual chairs, which is definitely the end goal when it comes to this technology.
It’s not just touch that is being researched; companies are also exploring the possibilities of taste and smell in virtual reality. In 2013 new scientist published an article describing how a team from the National University of Singapore have developed an electrode synthesiser that can simulate 4 different tastes (salty, sweet, bitter and sour) by attaching these electrodes to your tongue. They hope this could lead to creating tasting experiences through virtual reality, where people will be able to taste virtual items as well as see and feel them. To get the full experience of tasting, smell will have to come into the equation also; this is where companies like FEELREAL enter into the fold. They have already conceptualised and developed a product that aims to revolutionise the virtual reality experience. The FEELREAL VR mask is an add-on accessory to a VR headset, that not only simulates smells, but also the effects of wind, heat and water mist. The current limitation with the technology is that the user has to buy and insert relevant cartridges to the experience, so for example if it’s a racing experience the user enters the burnt rubber cartridge.
Now can you imagine a world where people can send and recieve virtual promotional products, this would be fantastic in the world of sampling, at the moment virtual samples are an photograph/illustration of the branded product or a sometimes you’ll recieve a 3d rendering, with haptic technology, you could hold the product in your hand, feel the texture of the material and really know the product inside out before it’s even materialised. The next and final installment is all about using current Virtual Reality technology from a promotional product standpoint, I hope you enjoy it!