You can’t beat reality
I had a blast writing an article for one of my very favorite science magazines, New Scientist, about the future of virtual worlds. It was the third part in a series that focused mostly on SecondLife — I broke the mold with my article by arguing that SecondLife is not the future of the virtual. Instead, I think we’re headed towards a state of “augmented reality,” where we don’t plunge into cyberspace but instead bring elements of cyberspace out of the Web and into the real world.
Here’s an example. Five years from now, you might have a pair of Web-enabled glasses that provide a data-rich overlay on your environment, providing you with directions to the nearest bus shelter in the form of arrows that tell you when to turn — or they might offer instant translations of signs you’re looking at if you’re traveling in an area where you don’t read the language. Your real world experience will be virtualized or augmented by data from the Web. Sure there will be a place for immersive entertainment worlds like SecondLife or World of Warcraft in the future. But most of us will be busy turning the real world into a version of cyberspace.
Want to find out more, and hear what futurists and tinkerers like Amy Jo Kim, Mikel Maron, and Stewart Brand have to say about all this? You can read a PDF version of the article.
September 20th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Annalee — great piece, I read it in NS and think that, by and large, you’re right that AR (or “blended reality”) is the most likely proximate path.
Did you see the Metaverse Roadmap Overview?
http://www.metaverseroadmap.org/overview/
September 20th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
[...] You can read the PDF of the article on Techsploitation. [...]
September 21st, 2007 at 4:53 pm
@Jamais thanks! I did see the Metaverse Roadmap Overview, and thought it was really interesting. For those who want to check it out, you can find it at http://www.metaverseroadmap.org/.
September 27th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Annalee,
Great article. I am working in this area and have published a couple of essays on it in terms of thinking of the interface as an analog to the complex integration and processing speed of the eye to mind and how this organic sense of integration is the future. I think you are right on.
It is also the logical destination of locative media working with virtual reality and augmented reality in a full integration of their key elements in a fluid interface that is adjustable, able
to augment in infinite ways and be intuitive as to one’s needs as to augmentation.