Those, who already read my old weblog _notizen, will probably know that I don't necessarily believe in a Matrix-like scenario as the endpoint of virtual worlds development (where people place their bodies in some liquid nutrient in live their lifes in a virtual space exclusively). But ... who knows ...
What seems very plausible to me, though, is a scenario, where at least one part of humanity will be able to switch on a 'virtual overlay' over physical reality any time they wish to. This is called Augmented Reality and is a kind of mashup between virtual and physical reality. A part of what I see is 'really' (sic!) physical reality. Another part is rendered by a computer from a model of a virtual world - which is based on the shape of the physical world in this case - but with some extras. That way, it is possible, for example, to see other peoples avatars beside me (even though I am not in a virtual world), to present millions of products in a 'real' store or to see myself in a mirror with a piece of clothing that I have selected in an online catalogue (without having that piece of clothing delivered to me first). Check Virtuelle Welten + Augmented Reality: Der ultimative Mashup (in German) for a more detailed description of the basic principles of Augmented Reality - and the challenges of implementing it.
The basis technology is already used in (expensive) industrial applications (factory modeling, for example). Before Augmented Reality will see widespread use, there are still a few technological hurdles to overcome. We need lightweight LCD eyeglasses or contact lenses, for example, perfect motion sensors and very powerful, lightweight PCs which can be embedded in our clothing (wearable computers). If you would like to see a very believable description of a world and culture which is shaped by such technology, try Vernor Vinge's latest novel Rainbows End.
I found a great demonstration of what is already possible with todays technology, at HITlab's Website (through my former colleague, clever Klaas Bollhöfer's site).
Incredibly cool. I really have to find a chance to check this out myself. What I am mostly interested in, is, what visual quality if possible with cheap hardware today and how they have managed to circumvent the dreaded latency problem which can easily make you puke just wandering through a virtual world ;)
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