1 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:12,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Hey there, 2 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:15,880 Speaker 1: and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. 3 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:19,000 Speaker 1: I'm an executive producer with iHeart Podcasts and How the 4 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:24,040 Speaker 1: tech are You? And as the poets of Stained once said, 5 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:28,120 Speaker 1: it's been a while since I did an episode dedicated 6 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:31,520 Speaker 1: to virtual reality, but I thought it would do one 7 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 1: this week because I actually saw a cool video that 8 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 1: showed Disney imagineer and now Inventor Hall of Famer Lanny 9 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:43,640 Speaker 1: Smoot show off an invention called the hollow tile floor, 10 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:47,519 Speaker 1: which could, among other things, potentially provide a solution for 11 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 1: folks who want to explore a virtual space while simultaneously 12 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 1: moving around their very real, you know, physical environments with 13 00:00:55,880 --> 00:01:00,200 Speaker 1: their actual physical bodies here in the real world, you know, 14 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 1: without bumping into things. And that prompted me to think 15 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:07,640 Speaker 1: of the challenges that inventors face when designing those kinds 16 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 1: of systems. But let's lay it out. Even though some 17 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: of this is pretty obvious stuff. As I'm sure all 18 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:17,840 Speaker 1: of you know, virtual reality is on one end of 19 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 1: the spectrum of mixed reality. So with virtual reality, you 20 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:26,959 Speaker 1: have replaced some or maybe even all, sensory input from 21 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:31,400 Speaker 1: the real world with computer generated material instead. So it's 22 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: possible that with a VR system you could have all 23 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:40,160 Speaker 1: visual and audio data provided by computers, but you might 24 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:42,959 Speaker 1: also have other stuff too. A computer might control a 25 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:46,080 Speaker 1: selection of fans to blow air at you to simulate 26 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:49,080 Speaker 1: wind or you know, rushing air if you're flying, or 27 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 1: something like that. You might even have a system that 28 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: releases certain sense, sort of how Disney's soaring over California 29 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,200 Speaker 1: will blast riders with the smell of oranges as you 30 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 1: appear to fly over a grove of fruit trees. You 31 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: can have haptic feedback systems. These are ones that give 32 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 1: you some sort of tactile feedback, so you might have 33 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:15,800 Speaker 1: like a vest that vibrates when you are encountering a 34 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:18,919 Speaker 1: dangerous situation or something like that. They're all sorts of 35 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:23,240 Speaker 1: different ways where a computer could provide the sensory input 36 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:26,919 Speaker 1: that your body normally would get just through navigating through 37 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:30,720 Speaker 1: a physical space. But the thing to remember is that 38 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: the computer is providing all this input. The computer is 39 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 1: replacing whatever is actually in your real world environment with 40 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:44,799 Speaker 1: computer generated alternatives to that, right, and these things can 41 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:49,760 Speaker 1: be very convincing. People have felt scared or anxious while 42 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:53,560 Speaker 1: walking up to a virtual cliff side, even though they 43 00:02:53,639 --> 00:02:57,080 Speaker 1: know that in reality they're standing on a solid floor 44 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:01,080 Speaker 1: in a room. There's no chance of them plummeting off 45 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:03,840 Speaker 1: the side of a cliff because there's no cliff there. 46 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:07,679 Speaker 1: But the experience of seeing it in virtual reality can 47 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 1: still be convincing enough to prompt your body to go 48 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:13,880 Speaker 1: into a stress response. In fact, it could be so 49 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 1: convincing that some mental health professionals actually use VR systems 50 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:23,639 Speaker 1: and scenarios as part of immersion therapy with patients who 51 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:29,400 Speaker 1: experienced various phobias. I remember interviewing one psychiatrist many years 52 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:32,240 Speaker 1: ago when I was working on a piece about VR 53 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: in medicine, and this psychiatrist actually used an airport scenario, 54 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:41,320 Speaker 1: a virtual airport scenario, to help patients who have a 55 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:45,720 Speaker 1: fear of flying go through a simulated process of going 56 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:48,960 Speaker 1: to an airport, walking through the airport, making their way 57 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:52,280 Speaker 1: to the departure gate, all the steps they would actually 58 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 1: have to do in real life if they were going 59 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:57,240 Speaker 1: on an airplane trip, and it was all meant to 60 00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 1: kind of gently confess front the experience, and patients would 61 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:07,400 Speaker 1: report feeling similar sensations of anxiety and fear while they 62 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 1: were doing so, even though they knew deep down that 63 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: they weren't actually in an airport. But the scenarios gave 64 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:16,280 Speaker 1: those patients the opportunity to experience these situations in a 65 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:20,039 Speaker 1: safe and controlled space and gave them confidence to build 66 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:23,320 Speaker 1: up their tolerance and understanding of the situation so that 67 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,160 Speaker 1: they could ultimately go and do it in the real 68 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,719 Speaker 1: world further down in their therapy. And it was a 69 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 1: really cool thing to learn about. In many ways, it 70 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:38,960 Speaker 1: reminds me of how thrill seekers enjoy things like roller coasters, right, 71 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 1: because roller coasters, assuming that they are properly designed, simulate 72 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:48,279 Speaker 1: dangerous situations. Right, That's where the thrill comes from. You're 73 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:53,279 Speaker 1: not in control, You're going along a track at high speeds, 74 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:56,760 Speaker 1: up and down, maybe in twists and loops, all this 75 00:04:56,839 --> 00:05:01,120 Speaker 1: sort of stuff. It simulates being in a dangerous situation, 76 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:03,200 Speaker 1: and thus it is thrilling, but at the same time, 77 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:07,320 Speaker 1: we ultimately know, or at least we certainly hope that 78 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:09,920 Speaker 1: the ride is safe and that we're not in any 79 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:14,080 Speaker 1: real danger. It's very similar in that regard, But there 80 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:16,720 Speaker 1: are a lot of different challenges that come along with 81 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:20,040 Speaker 1: virtual reality, and I think That's one of the many 82 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:24,240 Speaker 1: reasons that virtual reality still isn't as widely adopted as 83 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:28,040 Speaker 1: you might expect it to be considering how long VR 84 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:30,680 Speaker 1: has actually been around. For those of you who are 85 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:33,120 Speaker 1: old enough to remember, you might recall that back in 86 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:37,839 Speaker 1: the nineteen nineties, when VR was first starting to become 87 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:41,599 Speaker 1: a big deal, that a lot of money was poured 88 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 1: into research and development, but ultimately it kind of petered out. 89 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:49,880 Speaker 1: Some folks even opened up VR arcades that gave the 90 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:54,440 Speaker 1: general public the opportunity to experience it for themselves. In fact, 91 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:57,760 Speaker 1: I did this. There was a mall that was, you know, 92 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:01,720 Speaker 1: not too far from where I lived called Gwinet Play Small, 93 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:05,000 Speaker 1: and they had a little VR arcade. You could go 94 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:07,480 Speaker 1: there and I think it was like five or ten 95 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:12,000 Speaker 1: bucks for like five minutes of playtime and you would 96 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:14,760 Speaker 1: play the game. I remember. It's one that lots of 97 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:17,960 Speaker 1: people know about from that time period called Dactyl Nightmare, 98 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:23,080 Speaker 1: and you were fighting against polygonal pterodactyls as well as 99 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 1: other players while navigating through a very simple geometric space. 100 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:33,320 Speaker 1: It wasn't terribly compelling from a graphics standpoint, but it 101 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:37,520 Speaker 1: was really neat to quote unquote inhabit a game. However, 102 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:41,560 Speaker 1: the limitations like those graphical limitations and the fact that 103 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 1: you really couldn't do that much in the games. The 104 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:48,160 Speaker 1: games were pretty darn simple and limited because of how 105 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:52,480 Speaker 1: much computational processing power was required for it to actually work. 106 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:55,599 Speaker 1: It meant that people found out that we had a 107 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:59,560 Speaker 1: really long way to go to make VR what it 108 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 1: had been kind of hyped up to be. The expectation 109 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:07,480 Speaker 1: of what VR could do was at a huge gap 110 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:11,880 Speaker 1: compared to what it could actually do. And you got 111 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 1: to remember, like there were a lot of limitations. The 112 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:17,320 Speaker 1: headsets back then were huge, and they were heavy. In fact, 113 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:19,960 Speaker 1: they were so heavy that most of the time you 114 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:24,080 Speaker 1: were talking about a headset that would be suspended from 115 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:27,960 Speaker 1: a frame in the ceiling. The suspension would let you 116 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:31,400 Speaker 1: turn left or right, so it's not like you were 117 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:33,640 Speaker 1: stuck in place. You weren't like in a static position. 118 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:36,560 Speaker 1: You could turn left or right, but you couldn't really 119 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 1: move forward or backward because you had this harness essentially 120 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:44,920 Speaker 1: that was carrying much of the weight of the headset. 121 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: If it weren't, then it would be far too heavy 122 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:49,240 Speaker 1: for you to wear it comfortably, especially for like five 123 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:53,920 Speaker 1: minutes so in order to keep you in place, you 124 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:57,320 Speaker 1: also would end up standing on a pedestal that had 125 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,240 Speaker 1: a rail around it at about waste height, and this 126 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,000 Speaker 1: would keep you from toppling off the side right, so 127 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:06,800 Speaker 1: you could turn left and right, but you couldn't actually 128 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:09,640 Speaker 1: step forward or backward or anything like that. There were 129 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:13,720 Speaker 1: other issues too. Some systems struggled with latency. That's the 130 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:16,960 Speaker 1: delay between when you take in action and when you 131 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,640 Speaker 1: see it reflected on the screen in front of you. 132 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:24,080 Speaker 1: That delay creates this swimmy effect that for lots of people, 133 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:27,840 Speaker 1: including me, can lead to motion sickness, and it is 134 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:32,640 Speaker 1: incredibly unpleasant. So the various limitations sapped away a lot 135 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:36,199 Speaker 1: of the enthusiasm around VR, and so funding dried up 136 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:38,880 Speaker 1: not long after that. There were still folks who were 137 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:42,000 Speaker 1: working in the field of virtual reality, but they really 138 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:44,839 Speaker 1: had to scramble to get funding in order to push 139 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:48,360 Speaker 1: research forward. So progress slowed way down because there just 140 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:51,680 Speaker 1: wasn't enough financial support to keep it going at a 141 00:08:51,679 --> 00:08:55,000 Speaker 1: good pace. But some other tech fields ended up doing 142 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:58,000 Speaker 1: quite well, and the VR industry would end up taking 143 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:02,360 Speaker 1: notes essentially scavenging, in order to get things that other 144 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:06,840 Speaker 1: tech fields had developed and repurposing them for the needs 145 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:09,640 Speaker 1: of VR, and one of the big ones would be 146 00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 1: home video games, specifically home video game consoles that became 147 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:18,480 Speaker 1: a popular source for innovation and equipment that VR would 148 00:09:18,559 --> 00:09:23,000 Speaker 1: end up repurposing. And those advances were meant to enhance 149 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:28,200 Speaker 1: console systems and to create competitive advantages against other console systems, 150 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:30,880 Speaker 1: but the VR space would appropriate the technology to help 151 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:35,120 Speaker 1: advance their own research, so stuff like motion controls and 152 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:38,400 Speaker 1: camera systems and light guns and all sorts of other 153 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:42,040 Speaker 1: peripherals and control systems and functions would find a second 154 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:45,600 Speaker 1: life over in VR research. We're talking about things like 155 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:48,960 Speaker 1: even the Nintendo Power Glove, which admittedly was a pretty 156 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:53,000 Speaker 1: lack luster video game controller, even though it looked cool 157 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:55,720 Speaker 1: and every kid I knew wanted one because I grew 158 00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:58,880 Speaker 1: up in the era of the Nintendo, and when the 159 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:01,320 Speaker 1: Nintendo Power Glove came out, everyone thought that was the 160 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:05,120 Speaker 1: coolest thing ever. Turned out to not be the most 161 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:08,880 Speaker 1: practical control system, but it was something that ended up 162 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:12,760 Speaker 1: being useful over with VR research. Now, eventually we get 163 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:15,640 Speaker 1: up to the twenty tens, when a teenager named Palmer 164 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:19,560 Speaker 1: Lucky It produced a prototype VR headset that would eventually 165 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:23,640 Speaker 1: become known as the Oculus Rift. Later on Facebook, Slash 166 00:10:23,679 --> 00:10:29,120 Speaker 1: Meta would acquire Oculus and these days what used to 167 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:31,960 Speaker 1: be the Oculus Quest is now the Meta Quest. So 168 00:10:32,679 --> 00:10:36,040 Speaker 1: it all dates back to the early twenty tens. Lucky 169 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:38,800 Speaker 1: was confident that he was onto something, and he even 170 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:42,040 Speaker 1: dropped out of college in an effort to develop a 171 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:47,920 Speaker 1: mass produced VR headset that could become a consumer electronics item. 172 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:50,079 Speaker 1: Like it wouldn't just be something that you would find 173 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:54,840 Speaker 1: in you a VR arcade or an amusement park or something. 174 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:56,840 Speaker 1: It could be something that people could actually own and 175 00:10:56,960 --> 00:11:00,040 Speaker 1: use in their own homes and VR could explode. So 176 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:03,480 Speaker 1: again into the whole Oculus story would require an episode, 177 00:11:03,559 --> 00:11:06,839 Speaker 1: at least one, probably a couple plus. Then we would 178 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:09,520 Speaker 1: probably have to acknowledge that Palmer Lucky has said and 179 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:12,440 Speaker 1: done some stuff that has rubbed some people the wrong 180 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:15,320 Speaker 1: way to put it lightly. But rather than get bogged 181 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:17,520 Speaker 1: down in all of that, let's just take a little 182 00:11:17,559 --> 00:11:20,200 Speaker 1: side step. Well, just mention that at this point in 183 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:22,800 Speaker 1: the twenty tens we started to see a real push 184 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:27,600 Speaker 1: to get VR to the consumer space, and that's still 185 00:11:27,640 --> 00:11:30,360 Speaker 1: where we are today. For certain elements of VR, there 186 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:35,040 Speaker 1: have been tons of advancements. The headset technology has really 187 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:37,840 Speaker 1: come a long way to the point where now you 188 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:40,679 Speaker 1: don't even need to have a tethered headset. So for 189 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:43,400 Speaker 1: a very long time, if you wanted to have the 190 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:47,439 Speaker 1: performance capabilities needed to have a good VR experience, your 191 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:51,120 Speaker 1: headset needed to have a physical connection to a very 192 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:55,880 Speaker 1: powerful computer. That requirement has kind of faded away over 193 00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:58,600 Speaker 1: the last half a decade, where now you can have 194 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:04,040 Speaker 1: an untethered headset. That's a huge, huge leap forward, and 195 00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:08,040 Speaker 1: you know, it's possible now to make a headset that 196 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:10,800 Speaker 1: someone can wear at least for a short gaming session 197 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:14,120 Speaker 1: without having to mount it to the ceiling right like you. 198 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:18,520 Speaker 1: They're no longer these enormous, clunky, heavy things, although they 199 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:22,600 Speaker 1: are still significant, like you can't just wear one all 200 00:12:22,679 --> 00:12:26,480 Speaker 1: day and not feel it. They will start to wear 201 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:29,560 Speaker 1: on you after a while, but you can at least 202 00:12:29,559 --> 00:12:31,920 Speaker 1: play for you know, a half hour or an hour 203 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:38,000 Speaker 1: typically without it being too much of a burden, so 204 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:41,800 Speaker 1: to speak. Controllers were getting better too. Nintendo and Sony 205 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:46,160 Speaker 1: had both created control systems that used cameras and gyroscopes 206 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:49,640 Speaker 1: and sensors and other technology to let players interface with 207 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:54,360 Speaker 1: games by using gesture controls and waving controllers around rather 208 00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:57,720 Speaker 1: than just manipulating a joystick or a direction pad or 209 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:00,880 Speaker 1: something like that. And this was seen as an important 210 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:03,680 Speaker 1: component for VR as well, because anything that lets you 211 00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:07,400 Speaker 1: move closer to the way you would if you were 212 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:09,960 Speaker 1: actually doing the same sort of stuff in the real 213 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:13,760 Speaker 1: world really supports immersion when you're in the virtual world. 214 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:16,439 Speaker 1: If the only way you can interact with the virtual 215 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:20,200 Speaker 1: world around you is to hold a traditional game pad 216 00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:24,000 Speaker 1: in your hands and use joysticks and buttons, that creates 217 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:27,480 Speaker 1: a kind of layer of abstraction that interferes with immersion. 218 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:31,760 Speaker 1: It doesn't necessarily break it entirely, but it's not helpful, 219 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:33,840 Speaker 1: right because that's not how we interact with the real 220 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:37,679 Speaker 1: world when we're going around all the time. Plus, controllers 221 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:40,680 Speaker 1: act as a kind of barrier to entry because for 222 00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:44,240 Speaker 1: non video game players having to use a game controller, 223 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:47,840 Speaker 1: it can be an obstacle. It's an unfamiliar experience. In fact, 224 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:50,760 Speaker 1: I would argue that one of the big reasons that 225 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:54,760 Speaker 1: Nintendo we became so popular when it first came out 226 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:58,720 Speaker 1: is that Nintendo created a few non traditional motion based 227 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:02,360 Speaker 1: methods to interact with the game system, and that really 228 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:05,079 Speaker 1: appealed to people who had never played video games before. 229 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:09,320 Speaker 1: Because it didn't have this barrier to entry. You could 230 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:12,800 Speaker 1: move around and that was controlling the game, and I 231 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:15,280 Speaker 1: think that was a big reason why the we took off, 232 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:20,000 Speaker 1: and it's one of the reasons why VR companies look 233 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:26,080 Speaker 1: for ways to kind of reduce that barrier of entry. Well, clearly, 234 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:30,160 Speaker 1: all those motion controls were very useful for VR, but 235 00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:33,960 Speaker 1: there's another challenge that relates to this. How do you 236 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:40,560 Speaker 1: actually navigate around a virtual space while inhabiting a physical one. 237 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:43,240 Speaker 1: That's what we're really going to focus on for the 238 00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:47,400 Speaker 1: rest of this episode. Before we get into all of that, however, 239 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:49,400 Speaker 1: we need to take a quick break to thank our 240 00:14:49,440 --> 00:15:02,840 Speaker 1: sponsors and we'll be right back. Okay, so you're in 241 00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:06,160 Speaker 1: a physical space, but you want to play a virtual 242 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:08,640 Speaker 1: experience of some sort. Maybe it's a game, maybe it's 243 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:11,800 Speaker 1: a virtual tour, whatever it might be. How do you 244 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:16,480 Speaker 1: move around once you're inside the virtual space? Is there 245 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:19,360 Speaker 1: a way to make it feel like you're actually moving 246 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:22,800 Speaker 1: through a real space even though it's all virtual? Can 247 00:15:22,880 --> 00:15:26,200 Speaker 1: you do that? Or are you stuck using video game 248 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:30,040 Speaker 1: controllers to either virtually walk or as a lot of 249 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:34,320 Speaker 1: games and experiences do teleport short distances as you navigate 250 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:38,360 Speaker 1: through the environment, so that instead of physically moving, you 251 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:41,160 Speaker 1: point a controller at a space that you can see 252 00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:45,080 Speaker 1: on your screen, and you select it and it zaps 253 00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:47,160 Speaker 1: you there, and then you can turn around and look. 254 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:49,840 Speaker 1: Maybe you interact a little bit, and then when you 255 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:52,200 Speaker 1: want to move, you do it again. Like that's obviously 256 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:54,200 Speaker 1: not how we really move. I wish it were. I 257 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:57,280 Speaker 1: would love to be able to teleport, even if it's 258 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:00,160 Speaker 1: just line of sight. It would be super cool. That's 259 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:02,760 Speaker 1: not how the real world works, and so it is 260 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:06,680 Speaker 1: a bit of an immersion breaking experience. So creating an 261 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:10,920 Speaker 1: alternative to a controller based system is a non trivial problem. 262 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:17,240 Speaker 1: People are experiencing these virtual reality scenarios inside real physical spaces, 263 00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:21,400 Speaker 1: and these spaces have real obstacles in them, like furniture 264 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:26,520 Speaker 1: or walls. Meanwhile, the person in VR can't see these 265 00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:30,960 Speaker 1: real obstacles right because everything they're seeing is coming courtesy 266 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:33,560 Speaker 1: of a computer system. It's not reflective of the real 267 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:36,200 Speaker 1: world at all. It's all what the computer has generated, 268 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:38,440 Speaker 1: and the computer might not be generating the fact that 269 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:40,720 Speaker 1: there's a coffee table in front of you or a 270 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:44,360 Speaker 1: wall immediately to your left. So while in VR it 271 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:47,200 Speaker 1: might seem like you're in a meadow of flowers, in reality, 272 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:48,920 Speaker 1: you could be a step and a half away from 273 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:52,080 Speaker 1: a footstool that's just waiting to ruin your whole afternoon. 274 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:57,000 Speaker 1: So moving physically through a space while you appear to 275 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:01,880 Speaker 1: be in a virtual environment is dangerous. This danger becomes 276 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:05,920 Speaker 1: compounded if you want more than one person moving around 277 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:09,879 Speaker 1: within that same physical environment at the same time. So 278 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:13,359 Speaker 1: for a VR experience involving multiple people, you have to 279 00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:15,840 Speaker 1: actually figure out how can you have all of these 280 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:20,200 Speaker 1: people come together safely within that virtual environment. Now, one 281 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:23,200 Speaker 1: option is to only allow people to join over a 282 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 1: network connection, so they're not actually in the same physical 283 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:30,040 Speaker 1: space at all, right, like you could each be in say, 284 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:33,720 Speaker 1: your own homes or in adjoining rooms or whatever. But 285 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:37,600 Speaker 1: what if you actually want to have people grouped together physically, 286 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:40,639 Speaker 1: because there are times when you might want that. Imagine 287 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:44,760 Speaker 1: that you're doing a military training simulation and you're moving 288 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:47,919 Speaker 1: with a squad of soldiers, or maybe you're playing a 289 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:51,760 Speaker 1: fantasy RPG style computer game and you're with a party 290 00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:54,080 Speaker 1: of adventurers and you're all in the same space and 291 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:57,320 Speaker 1: you're all working together. You can even reach over and 292 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:01,320 Speaker 1: tap your friend's shoulders silently to indicate it's time for 293 00:18:01,359 --> 00:18:04,320 Speaker 1: them to move forward. That would be pretty cool, but 294 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:06,520 Speaker 1: you would have to have a way to orient everyone 295 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:09,280 Speaker 1: together and to keep them from running into each other. 296 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:12,880 Speaker 1: This is a non trivial problem. For one thing you'd 297 00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:16,159 Speaker 1: have to build in the orientation feature. I'll explain this 298 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:18,159 Speaker 1: in an example. So let's say that you and I 299 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:21,160 Speaker 1: are together and we want to play a cooperative VR game, 300 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:23,640 Speaker 1: which sounds awesome. I would love to play a game 301 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:25,960 Speaker 1: with you, and so we each put on our headsets. 302 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:28,560 Speaker 1: We're in the same physical space. But let's say just 303 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:31,280 Speaker 1: because the way we're standing and putting on our headsets, 304 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:34,800 Speaker 1: we're not really paying attention. You're facing the north wall 305 00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:38,000 Speaker 1: of this physical room, and I happen to be facing 306 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:41,520 Speaker 1: the east wall of this physical space, this physical room, 307 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:44,960 Speaker 1: and we put our headsets on, but the game just 308 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:48,520 Speaker 1: establishes that we're both facing the same direction within the 309 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:52,119 Speaker 1: virtual world, even though physically we're at right angles to 310 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:55,600 Speaker 1: each other. So the game thinks that the north wall 311 00:18:55,760 --> 00:18:59,800 Speaker 1: is your current version of forward, the east wall is 312 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:03,440 Speaker 1: my current version of forward, and unfortunately, it thinks we're 313 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:08,560 Speaker 1: both facing the same forward. So within the game, if 314 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:10,720 Speaker 1: I were to look over to my side, I would 315 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:12,439 Speaker 1: see you and it would look like you were facing 316 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:14,879 Speaker 1: the same direction. I am same for you. If you 317 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:16,879 Speaker 1: were to look over, you would see me, and it 318 00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:19,320 Speaker 1: looks like we're both facing the same direction. If I 319 00:19:19,359 --> 00:19:21,600 Speaker 1: stepped toward the east wall to you, it would look 320 00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:23,879 Speaker 1: like I took a step forward. If you took a 321 00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:26,040 Speaker 1: step toward the north wall, to me, it would look 322 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:28,640 Speaker 1: like you took a step forward, even though we're now 323 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:32,080 Speaker 1: moving within right angles to each other in the real world. 324 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:34,639 Speaker 1: Now you can correct for this, this is not like 325 00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:39,000 Speaker 1: an unsolvable issue. You can build in what is essentially 326 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:43,160 Speaker 1: a compass within the equipment so that it knows what 327 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:46,680 Speaker 1: physical direction you're facing, and that compass can feed the 328 00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:49,960 Speaker 1: VR system information, letting it know that the two players 329 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:53,199 Speaker 1: are actually facing different directions in the physical world, so 330 00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:56,439 Speaker 1: the game can feed each of us a different view, 331 00:19:56,880 --> 00:19:59,680 Speaker 1: so that in the game, we would be facing different 332 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:01,680 Speaker 1: directions and I would see, oh, I'm at a right 333 00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:04,040 Speaker 1: angle to you, I need to switch. I need to 334 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:07,200 Speaker 1: turn ninety degrees so that we're facing the same way, 335 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:10,680 Speaker 1: and then that solves the issue. Right The hardware could 336 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:12,879 Speaker 1: also instead of using a compass, it could use some 337 00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:15,760 Speaker 1: other method like cameras. Right, you could have a camera 338 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:20,000 Speaker 1: system both externally like on the system itself, and you 339 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:23,440 Speaker 1: could also have cameras built into the headsets, and together 340 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:26,879 Speaker 1: these can establish which way we're facing within the real world, 341 00:20:27,119 --> 00:20:30,200 Speaker 1: and that can feed into our experience in the virtual one, 342 00:20:30,440 --> 00:20:33,439 Speaker 1: so that we don't have this issue. So it is 343 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:36,320 Speaker 1: possible to work around it, but the point is you 344 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:40,359 Speaker 1: have to build it in. It's not just naturally there. 345 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:43,159 Speaker 1: Otherwise you end up with like an mcsher kind of 346 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:46,199 Speaker 1: situation as people are moving in different directions in the 347 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:48,560 Speaker 1: real world in order to move in the same direction 348 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:52,320 Speaker 1: in the virtual one. The old VR arcades had a 349 00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:55,080 Speaker 1: real elegant solution for all this because the players were 350 00:20:55,119 --> 00:20:58,639 Speaker 1: held captive on those pedestals. Right. You were standing on 351 00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:01,639 Speaker 1: a little platform and you had to rail around you, 352 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:05,160 Speaker 1: so you couldn't go anywhere. The headsets were all tethered 353 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:08,240 Speaker 1: to the VR system. You had these huge cables that 354 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:12,080 Speaker 1: would descend connecting to the headsets, but that also provided 355 00:21:12,119 --> 00:21:17,040 Speaker 1: a solution for orientation. You physically couldn't move around the room, 356 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:19,359 Speaker 1: and the headsets were wired in such a way that 357 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:21,680 Speaker 1: they could show a specific point of view depending upon 358 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:24,680 Speaker 1: which way your head was pointed. But that doesn't work 359 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:27,160 Speaker 1: so well if you want a more flexible and free experience, 360 00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:30,239 Speaker 1: if you want a bunch of untethered systems that are 361 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:34,040 Speaker 1: all connected together in the same physical space. Now, there 362 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:39,600 Speaker 1: have been numerous attempts to translate physical movement into virtual commands, 363 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:41,879 Speaker 1: and one of them relies largely on the fact that 364 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:44,879 Speaker 1: we human beings are not terribly good at walking in 365 00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:48,320 Speaker 1: a straight line. When we're blindfolded, we have a tendency 366 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:52,800 Speaker 1: to veer off. We don't walk in a straight line. Typically, 367 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:57,080 Speaker 1: when we're blindfolded, we walk in a more curved path. Now, 368 00:21:57,119 --> 00:21:59,240 Speaker 1: you can overcome this with a lot of practice. I'm 369 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:02,720 Speaker 1: not saying that there's no way to walk a straight line, 370 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:06,800 Speaker 1: it's just not how we typically move. If we aren't 371 00:22:07,119 --> 00:22:09,800 Speaker 1: using our eyes to give virtual cues so that we 372 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:13,920 Speaker 1: stay on track, Generally speaking, we're prone to walk in circles. 373 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:17,120 Speaker 1: But with the right approach in VR, it's actually possible 374 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:20,640 Speaker 1: to take advantage of this and turn it into a feature, 375 00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:24,879 Speaker 1: not a bug. By presenting subtle visual cues within the 376 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:29,840 Speaker 1: virtual environment, you can influence how a person perceives their 377 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:34,600 Speaker 1: surroundings and by extension, how they move through those surroundings 378 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:39,560 Speaker 1: by changing visual distances between points by small amounts, or 379 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:42,000 Speaker 1: by adjusting the arc of how much your point of 380 00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:45,280 Speaker 1: view changes as you turn your head. These tweaks can 381 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:48,480 Speaker 1: be subtle enough so that they don't seem strange to us, 382 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:51,760 Speaker 1: and yet they can affect how we move through the space. 383 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 1: So we would perceive that we're moving in a straight line, 384 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:59,040 Speaker 1: but in fact the system is very subtly moving us 385 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:03,119 Speaker 1: in a curve so that we are able to continue 386 00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:07,840 Speaker 1: forward progression, but we're not in danger of walking so 387 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,640 Speaker 1: far that we slam into the wall. And this method 388 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:15,159 Speaker 1: is called redirected walking, which makes sense right, and it 389 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:18,760 Speaker 1: does work, but only up to a point. You can't 390 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:22,800 Speaker 1: design a VR experience that moves people in a really 391 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:26,040 Speaker 1: tight curve and then convince them that they're walking on 392 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:29,760 Speaker 1: a straight tightrope. That just doesn't work. So there's a 393 00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:33,440 Speaker 1: limit to how much you can redirect someone before they 394 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:35,440 Speaker 1: no longer feel like they're walking in a straight line. 395 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:37,600 Speaker 1: There's going to be a disconnect from what they see 396 00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:41,359 Speaker 1: and what they're feeling. So redirected walking actually requires a 397 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:45,560 Speaker 1: pretty large physical space to allow for that kind of movement, right, 398 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:48,400 Speaker 1: because you need to have enough space where a gentle 399 00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:51,760 Speaker 1: curve is still enough to keep someone from being in 400 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:55,040 Speaker 1: a collision course with a wall. Most of us don't 401 00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:58,359 Speaker 1: live in palatial estates, and so if you do have 402 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:01,080 Speaker 1: a room that you have set as for VR, or 403 00:24:01,119 --> 00:24:04,080 Speaker 1: one that you can use for VR, chances are it's 404 00:24:04,119 --> 00:24:07,720 Speaker 1: not so big that it would allow for redirected walking 405 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:12,680 Speaker 1: in any meaningful way. Also, I imagine that redirected walking 406 00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:15,960 Speaker 1: is much easier to implement if you've built out an 407 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:21,639 Speaker 1: experience that's intended for a specific physical space. That is 408 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:25,760 Speaker 1: that the VR system quote unquote knows how large the 409 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:29,280 Speaker 1: physical room is, and so it can adjust the virtual 410 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:34,080 Speaker 1: cues accordingly, and everything is hunky dory. I imagine it 411 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:36,520 Speaker 1: would be a lot more challenging to have a system 412 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:40,560 Speaker 1: that could adapt to any given physical space and thus 413 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:43,840 Speaker 1: make appropriate adjustments to those visual cues with regard to 414 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:46,680 Speaker 1: how much room is available. That's a lot of complicated math, right, 415 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:51,080 Speaker 1: Like if you were to port an experience from a 416 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:54,760 Speaker 1: room that's maybe let's say twenty feet to a side, 417 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:57,240 Speaker 1: it's a big, big room. It's twenty feet to a side, 418 00:24:57,320 --> 00:24:59,479 Speaker 1: but then you move it into one that's you know, 419 00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:03,480 Speaker 1: made be fifteen feet to a side. I don't know 420 00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:05,600 Speaker 1: how easy it would be to have a system that 421 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:11,760 Speaker 1: could readjust for that reduced amount of physical space and 422 00:25:12,359 --> 00:25:15,919 Speaker 1: plan out new versions of visual cues to keep you 423 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:18,640 Speaker 1: from running into walls. I'm sure it's possible, and I'm 424 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:22,479 Speaker 1: sure it's been done, but I bet it's hard, and 425 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:24,800 Speaker 1: it's got to be even harder if you're talking about 426 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:27,800 Speaker 1: your typical consumer space, because again, most of us don't 427 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:31,440 Speaker 1: have access to these really big rooms that would be 428 00:25:31,960 --> 00:25:35,560 Speaker 1: very useful for redirected walking. It is possible. It's something 429 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:37,520 Speaker 1: that's been going on and I'm just not aware of it. 430 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:42,199 Speaker 1: One common strategy in VR is to make use of 431 00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:45,240 Speaker 1: cameras to keep an eye on people within a physical 432 00:25:45,359 --> 00:25:50,000 Speaker 1: environment as they move through the virtual environment. And the 433 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:53,240 Speaker 1: cameras could include some that are mounted in static positions 434 00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:55,479 Speaker 1: around the room, right like you might have some that 435 00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:59,159 Speaker 1: you have mounted on shelves, on the walls or close 436 00:25:59,200 --> 00:26:05,280 Speaker 1: to a one specific location. And then you typically also, 437 00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:07,560 Speaker 1: like I said, have a camera like a forward facing 438 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:12,000 Speaker 1: camera in a headset itself, and collectively these cameras can 439 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:14,359 Speaker 1: keep an eye on where a person is in relation 440 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:18,520 Speaker 1: to their physical walls or other obstacles around them, and 441 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:22,320 Speaker 1: these systems typically will give the user a visual queue 442 00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:27,040 Speaker 1: within the virtual experience if they start getting a little 443 00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:30,119 Speaker 1: too close to these barriers. So you might be walking 444 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:35,399 Speaker 1: through a space and then in this like virtual space 445 00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:39,160 Speaker 1: that you're walking through, you'll see suddenly a grid outline 446 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:42,960 Speaker 1: of a wall, and that could break the immersion right 447 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:45,280 Speaker 1: like now you're suddenly seeing It's kind of like in 448 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:47,320 Speaker 1: Star Trek you see the wall of the hola deck 449 00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:50,359 Speaker 1: or something. It breaks the immersion, but it also helps 450 00:26:50,359 --> 00:26:54,040 Speaker 1: you avoid breaking your nose on a wall or something else. 451 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:57,440 Speaker 1: This is not an ideal solution, because in a perfect 452 00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:00,560 Speaker 1: world you would avoid anything that would take you out 453 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:04,840 Speaker 1: of the virtual experience, but it's certainly preferable to an injury. 454 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:10,080 Speaker 1: For example, the Meta Quest formerly known as the Oculus Quest, 455 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:13,439 Speaker 1: allows users to set up boundaries and they call the 456 00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:16,879 Speaker 1: system guardian. The system gives the user the freedom to 457 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:20,560 Speaker 1: define a play area within a physical room, and Meta 458 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:23,240 Speaker 1: stresses that you really need six and a half feet 459 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:26,480 Speaker 1: by six and a half feet or larger to have 460 00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:30,520 Speaker 1: this workout well. Otherwise you should probably play VR in 461 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:34,520 Speaker 1: a stationary position, either seated or standing up, so smaller 462 00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:36,120 Speaker 1: than six and a half feet to a side, you're 463 00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:39,359 Speaker 1: going to encounter some frustration. The setup includes something that 464 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:41,359 Speaker 1: you might not have thought about. You actually have to 465 00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:44,480 Speaker 1: establish the height of the floor. Now, the way meta 466 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:47,520 Speaker 1: handles this is that you put on the headset and 467 00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:50,600 Speaker 1: you lower a controller down to the floor, and you 468 00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:53,760 Speaker 1: look at the controller, and this lets the system establish 469 00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:56,199 Speaker 1: where the floor is with relation to the rest of 470 00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:59,680 Speaker 1: the environment. Metaquest then lets you define the play area 471 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:02,840 Speaker 1: by showing you pass through video in the headset. So 472 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:05,840 Speaker 1: this is sort of like turning the Metaquest into an 473 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:11,920 Speaker 1: augmented reality headset rather than a virtual reality headset. Augmented reality, 474 00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:15,239 Speaker 1: or AR, is when you have a view of the 475 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:19,720 Speaker 1: real world around you over which digital information can be laid. 476 00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:22,919 Speaker 1: It doesn't necessarily have to involve a display. That is 477 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:27,320 Speaker 1: the typical way we think of AR, but it's a 478 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:31,800 Speaker 1: pretty common to do the display version now. In many ways, 479 00:28:32,600 --> 00:28:35,200 Speaker 1: AR gets around a lot of the challenges that you've 480 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:38,320 Speaker 1: come across in VR when it comes to movement, because 481 00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:41,840 Speaker 1: the person who's using an AR system can still actually 482 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:45,000 Speaker 1: see the real world around them, including the people who 483 00:28:45,040 --> 00:28:47,719 Speaker 1: are in it, it's just that the extra digital stuff 484 00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:51,240 Speaker 1: gets thrown in there too. Anyway, Using pass through video, 485 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:54,920 Speaker 1: the player uses a controller and they use that to 486 00:28:55,440 --> 00:28:58,280 Speaker 1: kind of shoot a beam to trace the outline of 487 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:02,360 Speaker 1: their intended play area within the physical room where they'll 488 00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:06,040 Speaker 1: be playing their VR stuff. So to an outside observer, 489 00:29:06,120 --> 00:29:07,760 Speaker 1: it would just look like the player is pointing a 490 00:29:07,800 --> 00:29:11,200 Speaker 1: controller and moving in a slow circle. But to the player, 491 00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:14,240 Speaker 1: they would see they were generating an outline which ultimately 492 00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:17,760 Speaker 1: would form into a box, and this becomes the defined 493 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:20,440 Speaker 1: play area. So if the player were to walk close 494 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:23,000 Speaker 1: to one of the boundaries of that play area, that's 495 00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:25,160 Speaker 1: when they would see the warning indicator, letting them know 496 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:27,440 Speaker 1: they're getting a little too close to being out of bounds. 497 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:31,400 Speaker 1: The boundary solution is functional for smaller spaces, but it's 498 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:36,120 Speaker 1: not necessarily ideal for multiplayer implementations. For those, you still 499 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:38,600 Speaker 1: need a way to keep people safely in their own 500 00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:42,560 Speaker 1: little physical bubble where they're not likely to slam into 501 00:29:42,640 --> 00:29:45,960 Speaker 1: each other blindly at full speed. And that will bring 502 00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:50,400 Speaker 1: us to another method, the treadmill. Before we get into that, 503 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:54,440 Speaker 1: we need to take another quick break to thank our sponsors. 504 00:30:03,800 --> 00:30:08,440 Speaker 1: We're back, so treadmills in many ways, are a little 505 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:11,840 Speaker 1: similar to those old pedestal solutions of the VR arcades 506 00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:14,000 Speaker 1: I've talked about a couple of times in this episode. 507 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:18,400 Speaker 1: They keep each individual player confined to a physical space 508 00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:22,440 Speaker 1: within the environment, But unlike those pedestals I talked about, 509 00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:26,560 Speaker 1: the treadmills allow players to physically walk and to have 510 00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:32,440 Speaker 1: that physical motion translate into the VR experience as VR locomotion. 511 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:36,480 Speaker 1: Some of the treadmills allow players to turn and change 512 00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:40,080 Speaker 1: direction while walking. In fact, some of them allow players 513 00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:45,000 Speaker 1: to even run. These omnidirectional treadmills tend to be pretty 514 00:30:45,120 --> 00:30:49,000 Speaker 1: darn expensive, and they also attempt to address several of 515 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:51,880 Speaker 1: the barriers in the way of people moving freely in 516 00:30:51,920 --> 00:30:55,840 Speaker 1: a physical location while exploring a virtual one. There are 517 00:30:55,840 --> 00:30:58,440 Speaker 1: a couple of products either out on the market right 518 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:02,880 Speaker 1: now or that are scheduled to launch very soon. Some 519 00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:05,240 Speaker 1: of them have been in development for the better part 520 00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:08,760 Speaker 1: of a decade. The ones that I'll mention here just 521 00:31:08,840 --> 00:31:12,160 Speaker 1: because they are similar and one of them is on 522 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:14,400 Speaker 1: the market now and the other ones going to launch 523 00:31:14,440 --> 00:31:19,560 Speaker 1: soon would be the cat kat Walk C two Core 524 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:24,360 Speaker 1: that's one, and the virtueix Omni one. So the C 525 00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:28,160 Speaker 1: two Core is something you can purchase right now. It's 526 00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:31,440 Speaker 1: at a hefty nine hundred ninety nine dollars. The Omni 527 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:35,760 Speaker 1: one is available for pre order for a whopping two thousand, 528 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:39,520 Speaker 1: five hundred and ninety five dollars. And considering that these 529 00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:43,680 Speaker 1: are peripherals, right, these do not include the actual VR setup. 530 00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:46,680 Speaker 1: That is a huge price tag. Right, You still have 531 00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:48,479 Speaker 1: to have the computer system. You still have to have 532 00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:52,520 Speaker 1: the VR hardware, or at least the VR hardware. There's 533 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:55,479 Speaker 1: now standalone VR hardware. Back in the day, you had 534 00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:59,320 Speaker 1: to have a computer that was really a chonker in 535 00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:01,720 Speaker 1: order to run V. It's a little different today, but 536 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:05,080 Speaker 1: you still have to have those base systems before you 537 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:09,160 Speaker 1: even worry about these these treadmills. It's also this would 538 00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:12,360 Speaker 1: be another reason why VR in general hasn't seen widespread adoption, 539 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:17,479 Speaker 1: because it be expensive, y'all. It is a high price 540 00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:20,280 Speaker 1: to enter, and that's before you even start thinking about 541 00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:24,360 Speaker 1: a library of content that you can actually use. Now, 542 00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:28,000 Speaker 1: at a casual glance, these two systems, the C two 543 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:32,600 Speaker 1: Core and the Omni one, seem pretty darn similar. Both 544 00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:35,840 Speaker 1: consist of a treadmill quote unquote a treadmill that actually 545 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:38,760 Speaker 1: looks more like a dish, like an upturned satellite dish, 546 00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:42,480 Speaker 1: or maybe like a very very shallow walk And both 547 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:46,760 Speaker 1: of them have an arm that's mounted on the platform 548 00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:51,320 Speaker 1: that has that holds the dish. This arm is a 549 00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:54,800 Speaker 1: vertical arm, so it extends upward and it also can 550 00:32:54,920 --> 00:32:59,800 Speaker 1: rotate along the perimeter of the dish. And mounted at 551 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:03,320 Speaker 1: the end of that arm is a harness that you 552 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:07,000 Speaker 1: are to put on when you're using the device. So 553 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:09,160 Speaker 1: as I said, the arm can actually rotate around the 554 00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:12,040 Speaker 1: whole perimeter of the dish. That lets you turn in 555 00:33:12,160 --> 00:33:16,200 Speaker 1: place while you're wearing the harness and you're using the treadmill, 556 00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:20,240 Speaker 1: and that harness keeps you from falling over or tripping 557 00:33:20,320 --> 00:33:22,640 Speaker 1: off the side of the treadmill, and also lets you 558 00:33:23,040 --> 00:33:25,040 Speaker 1: have that stability you need if you want to do 559 00:33:25,080 --> 00:33:27,440 Speaker 1: something like try and run in place. Obviously, like if 560 00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:29,840 Speaker 1: you've got something obscuring your vision in the real world, 561 00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:32,360 Speaker 1: your body is not going to want to run, right. 562 00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:36,120 Speaker 1: Your body's going to say, heck no, it's stupid to 563 00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:38,560 Speaker 1: run when I can't actually see the environment around me. 564 00:33:39,040 --> 00:33:42,520 Speaker 1: That harness and that arm is meant to restrain you, 565 00:33:42,640 --> 00:33:45,960 Speaker 1: so that you can feel confident that you can make 566 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:48,680 Speaker 1: those kind of motions, that you can run in place 567 00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:51,680 Speaker 1: and it's not going to have you, you know, do 568 00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:54,240 Speaker 1: a kool Aid Man through the wall of your room 569 00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:58,400 Speaker 1: or anything like that. These arms are also articulated, so 570 00:33:58,800 --> 00:34:01,840 Speaker 1: they can extend up or downward. They allow you to 571 00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:04,760 Speaker 1: do things like you can squat, or you can kneel, 572 00:34:05,360 --> 00:34:07,560 Speaker 1: so if you're playing like a shooter game or something, 573 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:12,480 Speaker 1: you're not just stuck at one vertical level. You can 574 00:34:12,480 --> 00:34:14,879 Speaker 1: do things like squat down. Like if a game has 575 00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:18,520 Speaker 1: that capability where you can, you know, squinch down and 576 00:34:18,640 --> 00:34:23,040 Speaker 1: get underneath a barrier, then you can actually do that 577 00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:26,960 Speaker 1: within the physical space because the treadmills allow you to 578 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:30,120 Speaker 1: do that. So both systems act like controllers. From what 579 00:34:30,200 --> 00:34:34,280 Speaker 1: I understand, they are mostly compatible with existing VR titles, 580 00:34:34,280 --> 00:34:37,960 Speaker 1: to varying degrees of effectiveness. At least the ones that 581 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:42,160 Speaker 1: allow you to navigate through the VR experience using a controller. 582 00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:45,360 Speaker 1: Most of them work pretty well from what I understand. 583 00:34:45,440 --> 00:34:48,439 Speaker 1: I have not had personal experience with either of these, 584 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:51,480 Speaker 1: so I can't say from that regard, but from what 585 00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:56,480 Speaker 1: I read, it sounds like, reasonably speaking, they're fairly compatible 586 00:34:56,520 --> 00:34:59,400 Speaker 1: with a lot of these titles. They do all the 587 00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:03,000 Speaker 1: conversion for you, so there's not like extensive setup that 588 00:35:03,040 --> 00:35:06,040 Speaker 1: you need to do. In most cases, there are a 589 00:35:06,080 --> 00:35:10,640 Speaker 1: couple of differences between the two besides the price. So 590 00:35:10,680 --> 00:35:13,680 Speaker 1: the C two Core, for example, requires players to wear 591 00:35:13,880 --> 00:35:18,600 Speaker 1: special shoes. You have shoes that come with the platform, 592 00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:20,680 Speaker 1: and those are what you need to wear when you're 593 00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:25,160 Speaker 1: using the device. These shoes have sensors and the bottom 594 00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:27,760 Speaker 1: of the shoes that face downward. It's kind of similar 595 00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:29,840 Speaker 1: to how a laser mouse has a sensor on the 596 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:33,320 Speaker 1: underside of the mouse that what helps it detect movement 597 00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:35,840 Speaker 1: and position. So you can't just hop onto a C 598 00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:39,319 Speaker 1: two Core with your normal kicks. I found an Ask 599 00:35:39,440 --> 00:35:42,640 Speaker 1: Me Anything on Reddit where a user going by the 600 00:35:42,640 --> 00:35:46,680 Speaker 1: handle of a tickle Monster five twenty eight explained how 601 00:35:46,800 --> 00:35:49,640 Speaker 1: they had put a thin pair of socks or stockings 602 00:35:50,200 --> 00:35:53,240 Speaker 1: around these shoes in order to improve how they slide 603 00:35:53,239 --> 00:35:55,640 Speaker 1: against the surface of the treadmill itself, and that as 604 00:35:55,680 --> 00:36:00,440 Speaker 1: long as it was thin enough, it didn't inhibit the 605 00:36:00,520 --> 00:36:04,560 Speaker 1: sensor's performance on the treadmill itself, but it made it 606 00:36:04,600 --> 00:36:08,080 Speaker 1: way easier to walk and or run on the surface 607 00:36:08,120 --> 00:36:12,400 Speaker 1: of the treadmill. The Omni one does not require you 608 00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:17,440 Speaker 1: to wear special shoes, but it does come with overshoes. 609 00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:21,160 Speaker 1: They kind of look like sandals that slip on and 610 00:36:21,239 --> 00:36:24,200 Speaker 1: snap on on top of your normal shoes. They have 611 00:36:24,239 --> 00:36:26,840 Speaker 1: straps and everything. You strap them to the underside of 612 00:36:26,880 --> 00:36:30,040 Speaker 1: your shoes, and that's what you use to run against 613 00:36:30,040 --> 00:36:34,240 Speaker 1: the Omni one treadmill. Otherwise, in many ways, it seems 614 00:36:34,320 --> 00:36:37,400 Speaker 1: pretty darn similar to the C two Core. They're not identical. 615 00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:40,080 Speaker 1: They do have differences, and I'm sure there are also 616 00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:44,799 Speaker 1: differences as far as compatibility and performance are concerned with 617 00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:47,920 Speaker 1: VR titles, But without the opportunity to try them out 618 00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:51,040 Speaker 1: for myself, I can't really compare and contrast, so I 619 00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:56,239 Speaker 1: can't say one is definitively better than the other, or 620 00:36:56,360 --> 00:36:59,960 Speaker 1: performs more consistently than the other one does I don't know. 621 00:37:00,160 --> 00:37:02,839 Speaker 1: I know that both of them, at least according to 622 00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:07,560 Speaker 1: other folks who have used these devices, can occasionally have 623 00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:11,720 Speaker 1: performance issues where things get a little janky. It's still, 624 00:37:11,960 --> 00:37:16,279 Speaker 1: from what I understand, incredibly immersive and really effective in 625 00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:19,359 Speaker 1: most situations. It's just once in a while you might 626 00:37:19,480 --> 00:37:23,120 Speaker 1: encounter a situation where you take a step forward, but 627 00:37:23,200 --> 00:37:26,160 Speaker 1: what you see reflected in the game or the experience 628 00:37:26,800 --> 00:37:30,080 Speaker 1: isn't a one to one match with what you were 629 00:37:30,080 --> 00:37:32,799 Speaker 1: doing in the physical space. So within the discourse of 630 00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:35,000 Speaker 1: the VR community, there does seem to be a mixture 631 00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:40,440 Speaker 1: of enthusiasm and skepticism around these products. Some are heralding 632 00:37:40,560 --> 00:37:43,920 Speaker 1: them as the bridge that turns VR from an interesting 633 00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:49,240 Speaker 1: diversion and a niche interest among a hobbyist community into 634 00:37:49,320 --> 00:37:55,960 Speaker 1: a compelling activity that has mainstream appeal and something that 635 00:37:56,200 --> 00:37:59,560 Speaker 1: could end up becoming an important part not just for 636 00:37:59,600 --> 00:38:04,720 Speaker 1: stuff like entertainment, but maybe in fields like fitness. Others 637 00:38:04,760 --> 00:38:10,480 Speaker 1: are arguing that this technology, this omni treadmill approach technology, 638 00:38:10,800 --> 00:38:13,400 Speaker 1: is not yet refined to a point where it's fun 639 00:38:13,520 --> 00:38:18,520 Speaker 1: to use, Like, clearly the potential is there, but it's 640 00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:23,120 Speaker 1: not ready for actual prime time yet, and that once 641 00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:26,640 Speaker 1: the shine wears off from getting something like this and 642 00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:30,480 Speaker 1: getting to try it, the limitations become more evident and 643 00:38:30,560 --> 00:38:35,360 Speaker 1: can become aggravating, and that maybe it's better to wait 644 00:38:35,560 --> 00:38:39,959 Speaker 1: a bit longer for the technology to mature. And that's 645 00:38:40,040 --> 00:38:43,080 Speaker 1: tough because that's kind of what the argument was for 646 00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:46,040 Speaker 1: VR back in the nineties, and it was understandable at 647 00:38:46,040 --> 00:38:51,360 Speaker 1: the time, but Waiting for something to mature requires that 648 00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:56,480 Speaker 1: the technology still have the support necessary to continue to develop. Right. 649 00:38:56,560 --> 00:38:59,680 Speaker 1: You still need the money and the talent in order 650 00:38:59,719 --> 00:39:02,799 Speaker 1: for the tech to advance. It doesn't just do it 651 00:39:02,840 --> 00:39:08,320 Speaker 1: on its own. And so if everybody holds off and says, 652 00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:11,439 Speaker 1: you know, it's interesting, but I don't think it's ready yet, 653 00:39:12,080 --> 00:39:15,239 Speaker 1: then you don't have the money coming in that will 654 00:39:15,320 --> 00:39:18,319 Speaker 1: fund the next generation of the technology. Meanwhile, if you 655 00:39:18,400 --> 00:39:21,760 Speaker 1: have everyone rush in, they might try it and say 656 00:39:21,800 --> 00:39:23,759 Speaker 1: this isn't what I want it at all, and then 657 00:39:23,800 --> 00:39:27,520 Speaker 1: they just abandon the technology entirely. You know, there's no 658 00:39:27,680 --> 00:39:30,200 Speaker 1: easy solution here. But this does bring us up to 659 00:39:30,280 --> 00:39:33,239 Speaker 1: the hollow tile invention that I mentioned at the top 660 00:39:33,280 --> 00:39:36,920 Speaker 1: of the show. The hollow tile approach uses a collection 661 00:39:37,440 --> 00:39:41,960 Speaker 1: of tiny hexagonal tiles I'm talking about like they look 662 00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:44,200 Speaker 1: like they're about the size of maybe a half dollar 663 00:39:44,520 --> 00:39:47,960 Speaker 1: if you're familiar with that. So each of these tiles 664 00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:50,480 Speaker 1: can act like a treadmill, and it's a treadmill that 665 00:39:50,520 --> 00:39:54,680 Speaker 1: can move in any given direction, and collectively, these tiles 666 00:39:54,680 --> 00:39:58,480 Speaker 1: can keep someone within a relatively stable position on the 667 00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:02,120 Speaker 1: floor as the person attempts to walk around a virtual environment. 668 00:40:02,719 --> 00:40:05,000 Speaker 1: So If you were to watch this, you would see 669 00:40:05,120 --> 00:40:08,080 Speaker 1: someone standing on what looks like almost like a carpet 670 00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:12,360 Speaker 1: of hexagonal tiles, and as they're moving in various directions, 671 00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:17,600 Speaker 1: they're not actually traveling anywhere physically right because the treadmill 672 00:40:17,719 --> 00:40:21,360 Speaker 1: is keeping them in the same relative position physically, but 673 00:40:21,440 --> 00:40:25,480 Speaker 1: within the virtual environment, they could be traveling wherever they're going. Now, 674 00:40:25,520 --> 00:40:29,600 Speaker 1: the demonstration was really limited. There was an early view 675 00:40:29,760 --> 00:40:33,560 Speaker 1: of this technology. It showed users walking very slowly and 676 00:40:33,680 --> 00:40:37,719 Speaker 1: using very small steps, and that implies to me that 677 00:40:38,320 --> 00:40:42,320 Speaker 1: it's very early in this technologies infancy. It cannot handle 678 00:40:42,760 --> 00:40:46,400 Speaker 1: someone just walking at a normal pace. You have to 679 00:40:46,440 --> 00:40:49,840 Speaker 1: be walking at like, you know, a quarter speed with 680 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:53,200 Speaker 1: small steps in order for it to work as it 681 00:40:53,400 --> 00:40:59,000 Speaker 1: is designed right now. But the potential is pretty darn cool. 682 00:40:59,440 --> 00:41:02,799 Speaker 1: Imagine that we've reached a point where this technology can 683 00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:06,399 Speaker 1: handle people walking or maybe even running, and yet keep 684 00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:13,399 Speaker 1: them in the same relative physical location inside a big room. 685 00:41:13,760 --> 00:41:17,520 Speaker 1: You can have a bunch of people inside the same 686 00:41:17,600 --> 00:41:21,880 Speaker 1: physical room standing on a floor made of these hexagonal tiles. 687 00:41:22,040 --> 00:41:24,600 Speaker 1: They can be facing different directions. They could all be 688 00:41:24,760 --> 00:41:28,600 Speaker 1: walking or running at their own pace and still staying 689 00:41:28,640 --> 00:41:31,680 Speaker 1: in the same relative position so that they're not in 690 00:41:31,760 --> 00:41:33,799 Speaker 1: danger of running into each other, and yet they can 691 00:41:33,840 --> 00:41:38,920 Speaker 1: all interact in the same virtual environment. That is a 692 00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:42,120 Speaker 1: really cool concept. I don't know if we're ever going 693 00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:46,160 Speaker 1: to get there, but it's the potential that's really exciting. 694 00:41:46,520 --> 00:41:48,600 Speaker 1: Because those tiles will just keep you within that same 695 00:41:48,640 --> 00:41:52,160 Speaker 1: relative physical space even while you change direction and speed. 696 00:41:52,680 --> 00:41:56,280 Speaker 1: That means you can all share and experience together. You're walking, 697 00:41:56,560 --> 00:41:59,040 Speaker 1: but you're not really going anywhere. It's kind of like 698 00:41:59,080 --> 00:42:01,879 Speaker 1: that stereotypical nightmare where you're in a hallway and you're 699 00:42:01,920 --> 00:42:04,040 Speaker 1: running toward the end of the hallway, but you never 700 00:42:04,040 --> 00:42:07,359 Speaker 1: get any closer to the end, except you know, it's 701 00:42:07,480 --> 00:42:09,440 Speaker 1: just what's going on within the physical space. In the 702 00:42:09,480 --> 00:42:11,800 Speaker 1: virtual space, you would actually be moving all over the place. 703 00:42:12,360 --> 00:42:15,040 Speaker 1: And you can imagine how this technology would enable really 704 00:42:15,040 --> 00:42:18,240 Speaker 1: cool experiences that Disney might use and attractions in the future. 705 00:42:18,360 --> 00:42:21,640 Speaker 1: You know, maybe you could have an interactive virtual experience 706 00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:25,360 Speaker 1: that lets you explore a famous fictional world, like imagine 707 00:42:25,400 --> 00:42:28,400 Speaker 1: being able to walk around Wonderland or never never Land, 708 00:42:28,520 --> 00:42:32,640 Speaker 1: or dare I say it Fresno but was a joke. 709 00:42:32,680 --> 00:42:35,600 Speaker 1: I know Fresno really exists, and you could do this 710 00:42:35,680 --> 00:42:37,880 Speaker 1: with your friends and family, right, you could all be 711 00:42:37,960 --> 00:42:41,719 Speaker 1: in that same instance together, and you could all be 712 00:42:41,800 --> 00:42:45,319 Speaker 1: walking around and exploring this space and split up and 713 00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:48,240 Speaker 1: go your own way, and you'd be safe from running 714 00:42:48,280 --> 00:42:50,799 Speaker 1: into you know, mom and dad because everyone's on their 715 00:42:50,840 --> 00:42:54,560 Speaker 1: own little, you know, patch of hollow tiles that are 716 00:42:54,600 --> 00:42:58,279 Speaker 1: keeping them isolated from everybody else while still being able 717 00:42:58,280 --> 00:43:02,080 Speaker 1: to share this experience. Of course, for all that to happen, 718 00:43:02,120 --> 00:43:04,640 Speaker 1: this technology will need to work a whole lot better 719 00:43:04,680 --> 00:43:07,360 Speaker 1: than it does now. And as I said, and the demonstration, 720 00:43:07,400 --> 00:43:10,040 Speaker 1: it was clear that users were really going easy on 721 00:43:10,120 --> 00:43:12,560 Speaker 1: these tiles. They did have a demonstration where they had 722 00:43:12,600 --> 00:43:16,239 Speaker 1: two people facing different directions walking on these tiles, but 723 00:43:16,280 --> 00:43:20,040 Speaker 1: again they're doing those kind of tiny little baby steps 724 00:43:20,040 --> 00:43:23,640 Speaker 1: at very slow pace. But the demonstration was still really impressive. 725 00:43:24,120 --> 00:43:27,000 Speaker 1: And I think the takeaway is that solving for movement 726 00:43:27,120 --> 00:43:29,880 Speaker 1: that pairs actions in the physical world with the virtual 727 00:43:29,920 --> 00:43:34,279 Speaker 1: world is still really hard. You're pretty much forced to 728 00:43:34,360 --> 00:43:37,319 Speaker 1: make concessions. You may have to make some concessions in 729 00:43:37,400 --> 00:43:40,880 Speaker 1: order to ensure that the system is functional, or you 730 00:43:40,920 --> 00:43:43,560 Speaker 1: may have to make concessions to make sure it's safe, 731 00:43:44,000 --> 00:43:46,080 Speaker 1: or some combination of the two, or maybe there are 732 00:43:46,080 --> 00:43:50,719 Speaker 1: other considerations that come into play. I think it's one 733 00:43:50,719 --> 00:43:54,040 Speaker 1: of the big challenges that's holding back VR adoption in general. 734 00:43:54,400 --> 00:43:56,680 Speaker 1: As it stands, you can do some really cool stuff 735 00:43:56,680 --> 00:44:00,880 Speaker 1: in VR, but it still feels fairly limited. Beat Saber 736 00:44:01,040 --> 00:44:04,160 Speaker 1: is a really great game, but you're standing in place 737 00:44:04,280 --> 00:44:07,120 Speaker 1: while you're waving your arms around. You're not set free 738 00:44:07,160 --> 00:44:10,000 Speaker 1: in a virtual open world where you can explore by 739 00:44:10,120 --> 00:44:14,200 Speaker 1: really walking around a physical space. When you do use 740 00:44:14,360 --> 00:44:16,960 Speaker 1: games that allow you to do some physical walking, you 741 00:44:17,040 --> 00:44:19,680 Speaker 1: have to work within a limited play area or else 742 00:44:19,719 --> 00:44:22,040 Speaker 1: you risk slamming into a wall or knocking over a 743 00:44:22,120 --> 00:44:24,719 Speaker 1: valuable antique or something. It's going to take a bit 744 00:44:24,719 --> 00:44:26,880 Speaker 1: more work to get to a point where the reality 745 00:44:27,040 --> 00:44:31,960 Speaker 1: in virtual reality lives up to the potential of virtual reality. 746 00:44:32,480 --> 00:44:35,719 Speaker 1: For that reason, I think augmented reality actually has a 747 00:44:35,760 --> 00:44:39,440 Speaker 1: slightly better chance of seeing higher adoption, at least in 748 00:44:39,480 --> 00:44:45,440 Speaker 1: the relatively short term, because AR has a few advantages. Now, 749 00:44:45,440 --> 00:44:47,640 Speaker 1: it does come with its own set of challenges, like 750 00:44:47,880 --> 00:44:52,080 Speaker 1: how do you integrate, say, game elements into AR so 751 00:44:52,120 --> 00:44:56,480 Speaker 1: that they fit naturally within someone's real world environment, But 752 00:44:56,560 --> 00:44:59,320 Speaker 1: it removes other challenges because you can see the physical 753 00:44:59,360 --> 00:45:02,240 Speaker 1: world around so the system doesn't have to find ways 754 00:45:02,239 --> 00:45:05,040 Speaker 1: to protect you from the physical world, or to protect 755 00:45:05,080 --> 00:45:09,240 Speaker 1: the physical world from you. If you are a limb 756 00:45:09,320 --> 00:45:13,400 Speaker 1: flailing maniac like myself with AR, the limitations of the 757 00:45:13,440 --> 00:45:17,439 Speaker 1: space around you are evident, and with a really well 758 00:45:17,480 --> 00:45:21,120 Speaker 1: designed application, you might not even think of them as limitations. 759 00:45:21,160 --> 00:45:23,840 Speaker 1: It may just all feel like they all naturally fit together. 760 00:45:24,360 --> 00:45:27,080 Speaker 1: But programming something that can be a compelling experience no 761 00:45:27,160 --> 00:45:30,640 Speaker 1: matter what the physical location happens to be, that's not 762 00:45:30,760 --> 00:45:33,440 Speaker 1: easy either. It may be that you end up programming 763 00:45:33,480 --> 00:45:35,960 Speaker 1: a game that's fantastic if you happen to have access 764 00:45:36,000 --> 00:45:39,200 Speaker 1: to a space that's the size of a gymnasium, but 765 00:45:39,320 --> 00:45:42,839 Speaker 1: maybe it's way more underwhelming inside your typical den or 766 00:45:42,880 --> 00:45:46,160 Speaker 1: partially finished basement. I do like checking in on these 767 00:45:46,160 --> 00:45:49,160 Speaker 1: technologies every few years to see what sort of progress 768 00:45:49,200 --> 00:45:52,439 Speaker 1: has been made. One thing I find encouraging is that 769 00:45:52,840 --> 00:45:55,279 Speaker 1: we are seeing devices like the C two Core and 770 00:45:55,320 --> 00:45:59,200 Speaker 1: the Omni one make it to market. These could have 771 00:45:59,280 --> 00:46:01,800 Speaker 1: been cases where companies had come up with this nifty 772 00:46:01,800 --> 00:46:05,560 Speaker 1: idea and maybe got some seed money for it, but 773 00:46:05,600 --> 00:46:09,400 Speaker 1: it never really got much further than the prototype stage. 774 00:46:09,440 --> 00:46:12,360 Speaker 1: Like that happens all the time, especially in the fields 775 00:46:12,360 --> 00:46:16,160 Speaker 1: of VR and AR. But these made it like they 776 00:46:16,200 --> 00:46:18,480 Speaker 1: got to the point where you can buy the thing 777 00:46:18,560 --> 00:46:20,560 Speaker 1: and get it delivered to your house and have it 778 00:46:20,680 --> 00:46:26,480 Speaker 1: and use it, like that's a phenomenal achievement. But you know, 779 00:46:26,600 --> 00:46:29,399 Speaker 1: despite the fact that these gadgets are meant to keep 780 00:46:29,440 --> 00:46:33,120 Speaker 1: you in place, we're still moving forward. That's pretty darn cool. 781 00:46:33,760 --> 00:46:36,680 Speaker 1: All right. That's it for moving around in VR. There 782 00:46:36,719 --> 00:46:39,160 Speaker 1: are other elements we could talk about, and maybe I 783 00:46:39,200 --> 00:46:41,680 Speaker 1: will in future episodes, but I thought that was a 784 00:46:41,719 --> 00:46:44,879 Speaker 1: good way to kind of talk about an interesting set 785 00:46:44,920 --> 00:46:48,560 Speaker 1: of challenges. It gets you to think about what you 786 00:46:48,640 --> 00:46:51,120 Speaker 1: need to solve for in order to create the experience 787 00:46:51,160 --> 00:46:54,239 Speaker 1: you want. That's really a big part of what engineering 788 00:46:54,280 --> 00:46:58,120 Speaker 1: is all about, right, It's problem solving. It's one of 789 00:46:58,120 --> 00:47:01,840 Speaker 1: my favorite things about inering in general and talking to engineers, 790 00:47:01,840 --> 00:47:04,760 Speaker 1: because engineers, when you talk to them, you realize they're 791 00:47:04,960 --> 00:47:08,280 Speaker 1: constantly attempting to solve problems, even if they're not aware 792 00:47:08,280 --> 00:47:10,919 Speaker 1: of it, and I think it's fascinating. I hope you're 793 00:47:11,000 --> 00:47:15,360 Speaker 1: all well. I am glad that I'm back and podcasting again. 794 00:47:15,719 --> 00:47:18,000 Speaker 1: We'll be talking to you again on Friday. I'll be 795 00:47:18,200 --> 00:47:21,239 Speaker 1: doing a news episode about what's been going on this 796 00:47:21,360 --> 00:47:25,919 Speaker 1: week in tech, and I'll talk to you again really soon. 797 00:47:32,320 --> 00:47:36,960 Speaker 1: Tech Stuff is an iHeartRadio production. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 798 00:47:37,280 --> 00:47:41,000 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 799 00:47:41,040 --> 00:47:45,880 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.