It’s been almost 40 years since Princess Leia’s hologram first told Obi-Wan Kenobi that he was her only hope (Star Wars: Episode IV release). We are now on the brink of having that very technology right here on Earth. Which is more exciting: wielding a lightsaber on a virtual planet or a holographic Skype call that happens right in your living room? Either way, the technologies that will soon allow these very things are on the horizon.
The first real introduction of virtual reality (VR) to the general population is known as the Oculus Rift. It allows you to become completely immersed in fictional surroundings: look around and experience the virtual world as you would the real world. With the additional use of a controller, you can interact more completely, becoming a part of your surroundings rather than ghosting through them. The technology is currently in a developers-only release (and indefinitely so), but Facebook has already bought it for some 2 billion dollars.[i] What Facebook intends to do with the technology remains to be seen, but what developers intend to do with the technology is far-reaching and impressive.
Microsoft’s VR headset (to be released in conjunction with Windows 10) is less VR and more of a mixture of the real and the virtual: Augmented Reality (AR). Called the Hololens, it will bring holograms like good old Princess Leia into your home via a pair of glasses that are way cooler than Google Glass. It may seem a little lame to have a hologram of a calendar pinned to your wall when you could just put up a real one instead, but Microsoft shows that the Hololens will do more than that. The Skype call I mentioned earlier is more than just seeing your friend’s face floating around your living room: it will also allow them to see what you see and draw pictures and arrows that you can then see as holographs. It blends the real world with your computer and you get to interact with it through nothing but your eyes and hands, touching and moving things intuitively.[ii]
While VR began with the purpose of enhancing video games, developers are already working on other applications of the technology: Oculus Rift’s Story Studio is working on creating cinematic VR experiences for users to enjoy (not quite movies, but in a similar realm)[iii]. Other expansions into the consumer market may include virtual tourism (see the Eiffel tower from bed!), teaching (interact with “live” students within a virtual world), and more! Some similar experiences can already be had through current technology on the market right now. For about $25 you can buy a Google Cardboard[iv] (the literal cardboard version of a VR headset), plug in your smartphone (after downloading some VR apps) and ride a roller coaster, meander around a villa in Tuscany, attend a Paul McCartney concert, and more, all through a cardboard case strapped to your face. These experiences are less interactive than the real things, and far less streamlined and powerful, but they give a good idea of what is to come.
The Oculus Rift hangs in pre-consumer-release limbo, awaiting further additions such as a controller to go along with it (can’t have a lightsaber battle without a controller); other companies’ headsets are still in the prototype stage. It’s been almost 40 years, but the outlook is good that we likely won’t have to wait another 40 before this technology reaches the consumer market.
[i] Dredge, Stuart. “Facebook Closes Its $2bn Oculus Rift Acquisition. What Next?” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 22 July 2014. Web. 10 Feb. 2015. <http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jul/22/facebook-oculus-rift-acquisition-virtual-reality>.
[ii] “Microsoft HoloLens.” Microsoft HoloLens. Web. 18 Feb. 2015. <http://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-hololens/en-us>.
[iii] “Oculus Story Studio.” Oculus Story Studio. Web. 19 Feb. 2015. <https://www.oculus.com/storystudio/>.
[iv] “Cardboard.” Google – Google. Web. 19 Feb. 2015. <https://www.google.com/get/cardboard/>.
[v] [Virtual Reality]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.billboard.com/files/media/virtual-reality-gear-helmet-2016-billboard-1548.jpg
