“They look ridiculous”, “I would never wear that because it isolates you”, “who wants to have a computer in their face all the time?”, These are some of the most common phrases among general users when they think about the development of virtual or augmented reality helmets or glasses. However, despite how complex, isolating or uncomfortable that experience could be, the undeniable thing is that these technologies are the main way in which we will interact with our digital universe in the next five decades.
These technologies will allow us to do more than what makes us human. And that is the fundamental reason why I believe that a VR / AR will be the dominant technology throughout our entire digital life. It will shake up the next 50 years, every bit we interact with, as much as personal computing, and it is critical that that future be shaped in the most positive and responsible way possible, which will require the participation and collaboration of all of society, ”said Michael. Abrash, Lead Scientist at Facebook Reality Labs.
In a closed meeting to which you had access Forbes Colombia, Abrash explained that what we have to understand is that VR / AR will completely change our lives because even before these technologies our interaction with digital information only occurred in 2 dimensions and it was impossible to create a real connection with our brain.
“We interact with the digital world flat in two dimensions by touching the screen of our smartphones or our computers. Clicking or tapping prevents our brain perception from releasing our full potential. In contrast, making the virtual world completely three-dimensional via virtual or augmented reality will allow us to access information in the way it was designed to work with it. Mix the real and the virtual freely and that will allow us to learn to connect, collaborate and solve problems more effectively ”, he commented.
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The researcher, who confesses that he realized the potential of virtual reality when he put on a VR headset and when climbing a cliff and looking over the cliff: “I looked over the edge and instantly felt my knees lock. My conscious mind knew that there was no real danger except that unconscious processing. “
But more than for video game enthusiasts, as it is now, Abrash explained that Facebook’s research labs are working on making these types of devices “the replacement for the PC.”
That is, to give the user the possibility of putting on one of these helmets to enter their workspace where their screen, keyboard and mouse most likely do not physically exist, but are digital representations that respond to the movements of our fingers. or to electrical impulses from our brain.
And that at the moment that the user wishes, he can “take in his hands” that digital content and manipulate or combine it to his liking, without being limited to the space of a monitor or screen.
“That solo workspace would certainly be a good thing,” says Abrash but adds that “the truly transformative aspect would be the ability to share virtual spaces. With other people, no matter where they are, that would have the potential to be the most productive collaborative environment. ”
As part of the Facebook session, he showed his progress in the development of “ultra-realistic” virtual avatars and places that through the use of cameras, facial recognition software and advanced graphics can give the feeling that we are interacting with another human being and not with your digital persona.
Although the expert acknowledges that many of these technologies are just under development and that it is still difficult to define when they will reach the market, their potential goes beyond collaboration.
“In the future you will no longer have to live close to work to go to the office, think about the potential in quality of life or environmental impact by reducing all trips or transfers. Your talent could be used all over the world, so a well-paid job would no longer be limited in part by where you were born, ”he commented.
Augmented reality but with style
The social network wants to have a foot both in virtual worlds and in the trend of extending our physical reality with digital objects. Sue Young, Director of Augmented Reality Product Management, commented at the meeting with Forbes Mexico that the product for that future are glasses or spectacles.
In late 2020, Facebook announced a collaboration with Essilor Luxottica to develop the new regeneration of smart glasses under the RayBan brand that are expected to be unveiled in 2021.
And although glasses do not exist, Young assured that people already feel comfortable with augmented reality. According to data from Facebook and Instagram, every month more than 600 million people use AR filters on both networks and in April 2021, Brazil and Mexico were in the Top 10 of countries with the most active users of SPARK AR creators on Instagram .
Today the program that allows you to create those famous filters that add objects, change or create effects on users’ faces has more than 400,000 creators in 190 countries have developed more than 1.2 million Spark AR effects for Facebook and Instagram.
However, there is still a huge limitation for its use: the friction that exists today when users want to interact with digital content that they are forced to “look down or take out their smartphones, consult or interact with the content.”
The promise of augmented reality and research like Facebook it is in being able to do everything we do today with our mobiles but without having to disconnect from our environment.
Both experts recognized that the existence of these devices is even a little more distant than that of virtual reality. Partly because there is a huge concern of people about user privacy, the data collection that these technologies need and the contexts in which they will or will not deliver information to the user.
“The next decades we will experience very exciting changes. This is the beginning of a long journey that will change all the concepts we have about our digital lives ”, he explained.
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