CyberSightings

I am really excited about the recent interest in virtual reality (VR), since I have been a fan of this technology for quite some time. As the majority of readers of this journal probably know, the term ‘‘virtual reality’’ was introduced by Jaron Lanier in 1989 (although the concept emerged long before that time), referring to a computer-generated three-dimensional world that allows a user to interact in real time with simulated objects. Although this technology became very popular in the following decade, thanks in part to blockbusters such as The Lawnmower Man and The Matrix, today we cannot say that VR has kept its promises. Although this technology has been successfully experimented in several different fields, ranging from medicine to manufacturing industry to the military, most of its applications have been limited to the labs, and only a few have entered the real world. The reasons of this scarce adoption of VR are mostly related to the high costs and technical limitations of hardware components, which offer simulations that are far from a realistic reproduction of real-world sensations. With the exception of the visual channel, in which there has been substantial progress toward increased photorealism, less impressive advances have been observed in multimodal interfaces such as haptic, tactile, and olfactive/gustatory interfaces. However, thanks to the enormous development of the video gaming industry, research on VR has never really stopped. Actually, players are desperately looking for low-cost interfaces, which are able to increase their feeling of ‘‘being there’’ inside the game and offer them more engaging synthetic experiences. Now their dream may eventually come true thanks to some breakthrough technological innovations that were disclosed early this year, the most impressing of which is, without doubt, the ‘‘king’’ of all head-mounted displays—the Oculus Rift (www.oculusvr.com/). Funded through a Kickstarter campaign, the Oculus features a field of view (FOV) of more than 90 horizontal, which is more than double the FOV of most competing devices. It is intended to almost fill the wearer’s entire FOV, and the real world is completely blocked out, to create a strong sense of immersion. The panel’s resolution is expected to be upgraded to 1920 · 1080 for the final consumer version (source: Wikipedia). I had the privilege of trying out the Oculus, and I must say, it’s just amazing. The last time I had this feeling was when I tested a CAVE system for the first time—more than 10 years ago. The price of the consumer version of the Oculus Rift is still unknown. However, if rumors are confirmed (<$300), the device has the potential to be the next big thing in the gaming industry (and not only there). However, the emerging landscape of consumer VR platforms is not only being shaped by the Oculus Rift. The Omni VR gaming device (www.virtuix.com/) launched a funding campaign in Kickstarter, and in few weeks, it was able to reach more than $1,000,000 pledged of its $150,000 goal. The impressive success of the crowdfunding campaign of the Omni is more understandable, perhaps even predictable, if one looks at the video demo of the system. The Omni allows the user to stand up and walk through virtual environments with the natural use of their own feet. The player can move naturally in the simulated environment and explore it as if it was a real physical space. When used in combination with the Oculus Rift, the Omni offers an unprecedented degree of immersion. The new wave of VR systems is rising and has the potential to open exciting new applications, which extend from the gaming industry to medical, educational, and research fields. The hope is that also cyberpsychology and cybertherapy researchers/practictioners will be able to take advantage of these new developments in virtual technologies.