Is VR possible?

[Greeneyes]

Okay first off for the bear minimum we need to see in a virtual world and move in a virtual world... For the seeing in a virtual world they are creating a bionic eye to repair vision in blind or partially blind patients and they do this by connecting something to the part of the brain that processes images, to a camera on a pair of glasses (this is over simplified explanation.) and than basically they see what the camera sees instead of connecting, to a camera, connect it to a computer and code it so they see through the "camera" that would be on the head of a player model and you can see in that virtual world.. Now to move in that virtual world we would need to connect our other parts of the brain for moving limbs to a computer and code it so when a signal is sent from your brain to move an arm it would move in that world. to not hook up directly to brains we could use the New BMI tech that D.A.R.P.A created to hook up our brain to a computer without surgery.. There was a study done where they hooked up monkeys brains to a computer and they were able to move an arm to touch a target on 2d screen.

What do you think?

Links to studies and information:

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608844/blind-patients-to-test-bionic-eye-brain-implants/

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/feb/28/brains-rats-connected-share-information

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27869-animal-brains-connected-up-to-make-mind-melded-computer/

[efaardvark]

I've been following this stuff too.  There's still problems to be sure.  For one thing, the resolution on the current technology is horrible.  A 64x64 pixel "display" with 4 intensity levels per pixel (i.e monchome) was state of the art last time I checked.  That's wonderful if you're blind.  It leaves something to be desired if you're wanting to play games and are used to 1920x1080 HD.  We have to do all the other senses too.  Cochlear implants have similar issues in terms of frequency response.  Again, great if you're profoundly deaf, but you're not going to be able to fully appreciate your MP3 collection in your virtual living room any time soon.  Then there's touch, taste, and smell to work on.

That said, I do think this sort of VR will get here eventually, and hopefully I will still be around to see it.  I don't think it'll be ready as an entertainment medium for at least a few decades however.  Even when it becomes possible, it will probably be very expensive, at least at first.

[Beocat]

Implants require surgery, which is expensive and invasive and full of risk. I don't see it becoming a mainstream media thing ever. Then imagine the security threat if the implant could be hacked.

 

I will say that there are some games with interesting perspectives on this. The one that immediately comes to mind is Dreamfall, where they use a hallucinogenic drug in conjunction with a console to create the effect (as well as brainwash people with it). I don't see haalucinogenics becoming mainstream in gaming technologies either though lol....

[efaardvark]

5 hours ago, Wedgy said:

maybe some good can come of it

At the very least I'm sure it will be appreciated by anyone who is profoundly paralyzed, blind, deaf, etc.  Even if it is expensive and/or dangerous, given the alternative.....

[animechat]

How changes thoughts about VR and do you using it?

Edited March 23 by animechat

[efaardvark]

I'm still interested in it.  I kind of lost a bit of enthusiasm for it however for several reasons.  Oculus being bought and assimilated by Facebook (Meta) is a big part of that.  Price is another big deal, especially with GPU prices during covid.  I mean, the most capable VR gear is still in the $1k+ range.  Add to that a $500-$1000 gfx card and that's basically a deal-killer right there.

Then there's the actual computer.    For me personally my "old" computer here would also need to be updated to do VR well so I've been tempering my interest until I can do my next major system upgrade.

I'd also like to see some sort of "killer app" before I take the plunge, at least at current prices.  There's VR mods for games like Minecraft and KSP that I play, and people have talked about hi-fidelity VR recordings and broadcasts of things like concerts but is that kind of thing worth the cost of entry for the gear and the hassle of setting it all up?  I'm sure VR would be fun for a techie like me to play with but I really can't justify the expense, both in terms of money and time.

Bottom line for me is I still really like the idea of VR but most of the cool gear is too expensive and/or locks you into some proprietary ecosystem without a clear, gotta-have application to justify the purchase.