VR Week 6: Looking Back From 5 Years in the Future

Accurate/Prophetic/Powerful Articles:

- - The article talks about how the VR industry, though best known for its gaming market, is being applied to other fields, namely, the medical industry. Virtual Reality, as mentioned in the article, is being utilized as a tool in the observing and planning of cardiac surgeries. The 3D environment that is created within the VR system allows for complete understandings of the situation at hand and the precautions that follow with the planning of such life-threatening situations. What placed this article in this category, however, was how it mentioned that “VR is still not the cure-all that it sounds like, and is mostly reserved for extremely special cases where an extra perspective is needed”. I agree with this statement, as it squashes the intentions of those who strongly believe that technology is better than human engagement. It places caution on the subject of VR in medical and surgery industries, which is much needed.

- - I strongly agree with this essay as I believe that up to this point, the world of education and its act of learning has yet to be opened and utilized in the VR World. I feel that this realm of Virtual Reality usage is that of a pandora box, just waiting to be discovered and built to perfection, allowing the market for VR to really boom across all demographics. I agree that VR will come into usage with not only visual representation but also the necessary communications for educational purposes. It can encompass both tangible and intangible content to various discipline that span from history, to art and to languages.

- - I find this article topic to be one that would be on anybody’s list of accurate and powerful articles of the future. Just the thought of being able to add an additional layer of sensory touch and engagement to the VR experience is truly forward-thinking. I find that in many cases, unlike real life, VR is only able to stimulate 2 of our senses. The first being, our sight, and the second, which has been done quite poorly, sound. To limit our VR experiences down to these two basic senses is unsatisfying and unrepresentative, considering how we utilize so many senses on a day to day basis, and are innate to us as homo sapiens. If VR wishes to become realistic and its ways, to be able to trick more people with its system, it would definitely need to strive for more ways to implement such sensory additions, as portrayed in the potential of these electronic vibrations.

Off-Track/Clueless/Ridiculous Articles:

How Virtual Reality Is Changing The Live Music Experience

- - I understand that the concept of live music from the comforts of my room when I am unable to attend an event is enticing and useful. I agree, as it grants an experience that is otherwise unavailable. But when given the choice between actually attending a live concert as compared to the usage of VR to tune in, the first would win by a landslide. For many people, including myself, we choose to attend live concerts and listen to live music, not simply for the music itself, but to bask in the atmosphere that is created within the venues. It is to become in unison with your fellow listeners, and to enjoy the time together, which should be what live music is about. But I feel that with this creation, and even in the future, they are stripping the people’s right to attend such events and obtain said feelings. People will be isolated in their own rooms, having no interaction with anyone other than themselves. The importance and essence of live music are evaded and stripped away entirely.

- - This first article that I have placed within the off-track category, has been given its position not due to misinformation but because of how the current information that is accurate, may or may not be incorrect in the next 5 years. The article lists, in order, gaming, training, experiencing something otherwise unavailable and traveling as its top 4 picks for the uses of a VR Headset. I feel that the article is missing various functions such as education and so on. But I believe the major problem lies within the top choice of gaming. It is true that gaming is currently the biggest market and incentive for the VR community, but I do not believe that this is where Virtual Reality will continue to remain throughout the next years of its development. I strongly believe that virtual reality will continue on to other means such as education, social gatherings, etc, but this does not mean that gaming will cease to be a content provider of VR usage. It may just not be the top use.

- - I personally do not find the food industry a promising factor in the future of VR entertainment and usage. I can see these new experiences as challenges and fun memories to chat about with relatives and friends, but it would ultimately only be a one-time experience. I do not see the point for a ‘foodie’ to have to experience food in Virtual Reality multiple times, as I assume that the feelings that arise with the visions would remain the same each time. When I am eating, I like to savor my food and I like to admire its beauty in physical existence, but I would assume that within Virtual Reality, the aspect of the experience is all too artificial. The article mentions how ‘floating objects and oversized foods” appear in thin air, dancing through the air. To me, it feels as if the attention is being away from the food itself, which is what I believe the food industry is all about and will continue to be about in the next 5 or 10 years.