1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:14,120 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio 4 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:20,440 Speaker 1: and Health at Tech. Are you so in a couple 5 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:22,759 Speaker 1: of months, we're going to be at a full year 6 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 1: since Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook the company would change 7 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 1: its name to Meta and that would act as a 8 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:33,440 Speaker 1: sort of parent company for products like Facebook, the social 9 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:38,960 Speaker 1: media platform, as well as Instagram, WhatsApp, etcetera. As to 10 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: why Zuckerberg and company wanted to change the name, there 11 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:44,600 Speaker 1: are a lot of possible reasons. Some of them range 12 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:48,080 Speaker 1: to the cynical, such as, you know, the name Facebook 13 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 1: has a sort of stigma attached to it and the 14 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:53,840 Speaker 1: company would really like to distance itself from that, to 15 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:56,760 Speaker 1: the practical. You know, Facebook is just one of many 16 00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:00,080 Speaker 1: products that this company offers. So it is kind the 17 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:03,160 Speaker 1: confusing if you if you called the company the same 18 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:06,360 Speaker 1: name as just one of the things it offers. All 19 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:10,960 Speaker 1: the way to the aspirational that Meta is a reference 20 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:14,039 Speaker 1: to the apparently unavoidable approach of the metaverse that we 21 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: cannot escape if we wanted to. Now, the metaverse as 22 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:22,960 Speaker 1: a concept is, I would argue, still pretty wibbly wobbly timey. 23 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:26,200 Speaker 1: Whymy as the doctor would say, there's kind of a 24 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:29,760 Speaker 1: general idea about what it will be, you know, some 25 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:35,720 Speaker 1: sort of persistent, online, interactive and immersive environment. On the 26 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:38,920 Speaker 1: more modest side, this could potentially just be the next 27 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:43,240 Speaker 1: big evolutionary step and online social networks. On the more 28 00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:48,000 Speaker 1: grandiose side, the metaverse could be the new way we 29 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 1: interact online with everything. I mean, it wouldn't just be 30 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,920 Speaker 1: how we socialize or entertain ourselves. It might dominate how 31 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:58,680 Speaker 1: we interact at work. You know, we might attend virtual 32 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:02,320 Speaker 1: meetings in a virtual eating room. It could dominate how 33 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 1: we shop as we peruse virtual aisles, and it would 34 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:09,360 Speaker 1: be essentially everything. It would be the virtual equivalent of 35 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:11,880 Speaker 1: the real world around us. Now, if you extend that 36 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:15,880 Speaker 1: vision to dystopic proportions, you get something like Ready Player 37 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:19,760 Speaker 1: one by Ernest Klein or snow Crash by Neil Stevenson, 38 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:24,519 Speaker 1: and for the record, I personally prefer snow Crash now. Many, 39 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 1: though not all, conceptualizations of the metaverse incorporate virtual reality 40 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:35,079 Speaker 1: or VR in an intrinsic way, So this concept has 41 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:38,600 Speaker 1: users dawning virtual reality gear so that they can really 42 00:02:38,639 --> 00:02:43,000 Speaker 1: immerse themselves into this persistent virtual world. So I thought 43 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 1: I would chat a little bit about some of the 44 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:49,040 Speaker 1: challenges that have accompanied virtual reality, because I think it's 45 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 1: good to acknowledge the hurdles before you rush headlong into 46 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 1: an uncertain future. If you don't acknowledge the challenges that 47 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 1: are in the way, then it's just gonna make it 48 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:02,560 Speaker 1: more difficult to address those challenges when the time comes. 49 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:05,600 Speaker 1: So I want to really do that in this episode 50 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 1: and talk about the things I see as being barriers 51 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:11,800 Speaker 1: to entrgue for the metaverse in the future. Now, by 52 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:14,119 Speaker 1: the time the metaverse is actually a thing, which will 53 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:18,720 Speaker 1: probably be maybe a decade from now, it's quite possible 54 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:20,960 Speaker 1: that all of these issues will have been solved. But 55 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 1: without talking about them, it's hard to, you know, come 56 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 1: up with solutions. So first of all, let's define some terms. 57 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:32,360 Speaker 1: What is virtual reality? Well, unlike the metaverse, this is 58 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:36,680 Speaker 1: something that we can more easily define. We typically credit 59 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:41,040 Speaker 1: Jarren Lanier with coining the phrase virtual reality. Lanier has 60 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 1: done incredible work in computer science and in virtual environments, 61 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:51,240 Speaker 1: but the fact is there were earlier concepts similar to 62 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:54,120 Speaker 1: what we call virtual reality. Some of them had names 63 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: like artificial reality. Anyway, the basic idea when you boil 64 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 1: it down, is that you're using to tchnology to surround 65 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:06,000 Speaker 1: a user with a computer generated environment or a computer 66 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:10,400 Speaker 1: generated reality. So it should be immersive and it should 67 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:14,760 Speaker 1: also be interactive, because if the environment is not interactive, 68 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 1: it feels like you're standing in a still photograph of 69 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:21,640 Speaker 1: the environment. You wouldn't be able to do anything, and 70 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: your sense of immersion would very quickly kind of crumble. Uh. Like, 71 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: the most you might be able to do in such 72 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:30,120 Speaker 1: a primitive implementation is to change your point of view 73 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 1: by moving your head around. But otherwise your options would 74 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:35,159 Speaker 1: be really limited. So for it to be a real 75 00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:38,560 Speaker 1: virtual reality experience, you need to have some sort of 76 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:43,160 Speaker 1: agency within the environment, some way to interact with the 77 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: computer generated environment that's around you. Now, virtual reality is 78 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:52,240 Speaker 1: a subset of a technology we call mixed reality, and 79 00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:54,720 Speaker 1: this is a term that would come a little bit later, 80 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:59,200 Speaker 1: but it was really meant to help contextualize the spectrum 81 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:05,479 Speaker 1: between virtual reality and augmented reality. Okay, so in an 82 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:10,599 Speaker 1: ideal virtual reality implementation, we're talking something like the holidayck 83 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 1: in Star Trek. Everything that the user's senses would be 84 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:18,520 Speaker 1: provided by the computer, so that would include not just 85 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 1: whatever the user is seeing and hearing, but also what 86 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:25,800 Speaker 1: they can touch and smell and maybe even taste as well. 87 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:29,560 Speaker 1: But ultimately, all the stuff that the user is experiencing 88 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:33,880 Speaker 1: wouldn't be quote unquote real. They would be computer generated. 89 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:38,760 Speaker 1: It would be a simulation of the real. Augmented reality 90 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:41,960 Speaker 1: or a R, on the other hand, uses a computer 91 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:46,719 Speaker 1: to enhance or augment your experience in the real world. 92 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 1: It's a overlay of digital technology on top of what 93 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:56,320 Speaker 1: you're really experiencing. So a common example is imagine you've 94 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:58,800 Speaker 1: got a pair of glasses that let you see the 95 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:01,400 Speaker 1: world around you. So it's at transparent lenses you can 96 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:04,719 Speaker 1: look around and see everything, but those lenses can also 97 00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:08,719 Speaker 1: overlay digital information within your view of the world around you. 98 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:11,920 Speaker 1: So maybe you're using the glasses to display turn by 99 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:14,720 Speaker 1: turn directions as you make your way to a destination. 100 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:17,599 Speaker 1: So you could see the directions, but you can also 101 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:21,320 Speaker 1: see through the directions to the real world and beyond 102 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:23,920 Speaker 1: and that, you know, it's kind of like heads up 103 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:27,760 Speaker 1: displays and military aircraft. They've had these for for many 104 00:06:27,839 --> 00:06:31,600 Speaker 1: years now. That's an example of augmented reality, and like 105 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:35,799 Speaker 1: virtual reality, augmented reality doesn't just have to be tied 106 00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:38,440 Speaker 1: to vision. More often than not, that's how we see 107 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:42,240 Speaker 1: these implementations, but it doesn't have to be vision based 108 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 1: at all. It could include sound, It could include other 109 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:49,000 Speaker 1: sensations as well, like tactile feedback or what we call 110 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:53,440 Speaker 1: haptic feedback. The important bit is that a computer is 111 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:56,120 Speaker 1: generating the things that you are sensing in order to 112 00:06:56,160 --> 00:07:00,120 Speaker 1: give you more information or enhance your experience within or 113 00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:03,920 Speaker 1: real world environment, not to replace it, but to enhance it. 114 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:08,640 Speaker 1: So a great augmented reality implementation shouldn't distract you from 115 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:12,160 Speaker 1: what's actually going on around you, which is easier said 116 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:15,040 Speaker 1: than done, because often we like to put cool stuff 117 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,239 Speaker 1: in our tech, and that cool stuff might ultimately prove 118 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:21,280 Speaker 1: to be a distraction from the real world, which is 119 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:24,120 Speaker 1: kind of defeating the purpose of augmented reality. But back 120 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:28,000 Speaker 1: to virtual reality now, in the eighties and nineties, which 121 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:30,360 Speaker 1: I'm sure some of you remember. Some of you listeners 122 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:32,960 Speaker 1: out there are probably around my age or maybe even older, 123 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:36,480 Speaker 1: and you might remember what virtual reality was like when 124 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:39,520 Speaker 1: it was debuting in the late eighties and into the 125 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:44,440 Speaker 1: early two mid nineties of the technology that could bring 126 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:47,800 Speaker 1: virtual reality out of the hypothetical concept phase and into 127 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:52,680 Speaker 1: a primitive but working model was really taking shape, and 128 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 1: it required a ton of work. I do not want 129 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:59,240 Speaker 1: to be dismissive of the incredible technological innovation that was 130 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:03,760 Speaker 1: required to make virtual reality possible when you start thinking 131 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:06,600 Speaker 1: about all the different elements that have to come into play. 132 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:10,400 Speaker 1: That you have to have various types of accelerometers and 133 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:13,520 Speaker 1: sensors to be able to tell when someone is turning 134 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 1: their head to what degree, at what speed, you know, 135 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:20,120 Speaker 1: and be able to reflect that in the view that's 136 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 1: get sent to the user. Like that alone blows my mind. 137 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:27,200 Speaker 1: It is a not an easy thing to solve, at 138 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:30,880 Speaker 1: least not initially, and it required so much work. Head 139 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:33,920 Speaker 1: malone displays needed to be able to really track a 140 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:38,000 Speaker 1: person's head movements accurately and with as little latency as possible. 141 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 1: Latency is delay. If you've ever played a bad video 142 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:45,920 Speaker 1: game where you push a button and there's a delay 143 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:49,200 Speaker 1: before anything happens, you know how latency can be frustrating. 144 00:08:49,679 --> 00:08:52,959 Speaker 1: There's there's kind of a similar issue. It's not we 145 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:56,240 Speaker 1: wouldn't call it latency, but occasionally you might watch a 146 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 1: video where the audio is out of sync with the video, 147 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:03,840 Speaker 1: where you might see someone moving their mouth but there's 148 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:05,920 Speaker 1: no voice coming out, and then a couple of seconds 149 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:09,280 Speaker 1: later you hear the voice. That is incredibly frustrating experience 150 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:12,160 Speaker 1: to to try and watch a video where this problem 151 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:18,160 Speaker 1: has arisen. Imagine that, but it's with a first person experience. 152 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:21,160 Speaker 1: You're having imagined that the world around you is having 153 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:24,720 Speaker 1: this weird delay. So with virtual reality, and you know 154 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:29,280 Speaker 1: generally just mixed reality, latency can really spell disaster, or 155 00:09:29,559 --> 00:09:31,360 Speaker 1: could at least spell the need for a clean up 156 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:35,120 Speaker 1: on Aisle three, because if there's a delay between when 157 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:38,600 Speaker 1: you turn your head and when the environment you're looking 158 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:41,079 Speaker 1: at matches that motion. In other words, when you're your 159 00:09:41,559 --> 00:09:45,679 Speaker 1: perspective matches what you're physically doing. If there's a delay 160 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:48,839 Speaker 1: between those things, you get this unpleasant swimming sensation that 161 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:53,280 Speaker 1: often can lead to motion sickness. Other aspects of the 162 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:57,000 Speaker 1: R can also provoke emotion sickness response, and we're gonna 163 00:09:57,080 --> 00:09:59,440 Speaker 1: talk about that a little bit more later in this 164 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:03,640 Speaker 1: episode it but yeah, that's one of the big things 165 00:10:03,679 --> 00:10:09,640 Speaker 1: that early VR researchers were trying to minimize is that latency. 166 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:14,079 Speaker 1: So in the early days of R things were really primitive. 167 00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:18,559 Speaker 1: The equipment was incredibly expensive. Most of the time, you're 168 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:21,880 Speaker 1: talking about stuff that's custom made for a research project. 169 00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:25,280 Speaker 1: You could try to pull things off the shelf and 170 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:28,680 Speaker 1: incorporate them into your designs, but it's just that no 171 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:33,040 Speaker 1: one was making these things like head mounted displays as 172 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:35,360 Speaker 1: a commercial product, so you had to do it all yourself. 173 00:10:35,679 --> 00:10:38,160 Speaker 1: You know, you might cobble it together with existing stuff 174 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:42,080 Speaker 1: to make it happen, but still was a lot of labor. 175 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:47,480 Speaker 1: The equipment was really bulky, the resolutions were really low, 176 00:10:47,679 --> 00:10:50,400 Speaker 1: so you were talking about very simple graphics because you 177 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:53,960 Speaker 1: just couldn't pull off anything complex. And lots of folks 178 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:58,320 Speaker 1: who are working in the field really we're focusing on 179 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:06,160 Speaker 1: specific applications that would converge into the technology of virtual reality. 180 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:08,040 Speaker 1: But there was so much to be done right, Like 181 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:10,600 Speaker 1: it's it's the sort of thing where you couldn't have 182 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:15,360 Speaker 1: one person pioneer everything. You had to have lots of 183 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:19,640 Speaker 1: different specialists to kind of get all the pieces to fit. Unfortunately, 184 00:11:20,559 --> 00:11:23,440 Speaker 1: while this was taking shape and as amazing as it was, 185 00:11:23,559 --> 00:11:26,840 Speaker 1: it just wasn't ready for prime time. But the more 186 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:31,400 Speaker 1: hype minded folks would step in and they kind of 187 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:36,280 Speaker 1: messed everything up. See, early virtual reality worked in a 188 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:40,960 Speaker 1: manner of fashion, but it wasn't sophisticated, and you know, 189 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:44,079 Speaker 1: if you were looking at it as a form of entertainment, 190 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:49,960 Speaker 1: it wasn't necessarily satisfying. Head Meldon displays we're really heavy. 191 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:54,200 Speaker 1: I mean we're talking about before flat panel displays really 192 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:58,240 Speaker 1: became a thing. So you were wearing effectively a small 193 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:01,520 Speaker 1: monitor on your face that was too heavy for a 194 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:04,839 Speaker 1: person to wear comfortably for any length of time. So 195 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:09,199 Speaker 1: a lot of early VR systems used displays that were 196 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:13,280 Speaker 1: in turn suspended from a rig that was you know, 197 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:16,720 Speaker 1: mounted on the ceiling. You know, you would have this 198 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:21,000 Speaker 1: grid where you would have cables come down and support 199 00:12:21,080 --> 00:12:24,080 Speaker 1: at least some of the weight of the headset so 200 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:26,200 Speaker 1: that a person could wear it without you know, crumpling 201 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:29,360 Speaker 1: to the ground. But that also limited the user's movement, right, 202 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:32,600 Speaker 1: they couldn't walk around with these things because they were 203 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:38,240 Speaker 1: tethered two. Uh, these rigs that helped support the weight. 204 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:42,400 Speaker 1: That obviously limits the VR experience somewhat. Doesn't mean that 205 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:47,680 Speaker 1: the technology wasn't incredible, just means that maybe it wasn't 206 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:51,520 Speaker 1: the right thing to spring on the public. Now, on 207 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:55,080 Speaker 1: top of all that, compute power and graphics processing were 208 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:59,359 Speaker 1: nowhere close to where they are today. So rendering graphics 209 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:01,920 Speaker 1: takes a lot of juice, it takes a lot of 210 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:07,720 Speaker 1: processing power, and so early VR implementations were incredibly primitive 211 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:10,640 Speaker 1: compared to the video games of today. In fact, they 212 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:13,480 Speaker 1: were primitive compared to the video games of the time. 213 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:16,520 Speaker 1: Like if you were to play a best of class 214 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:20,839 Speaker 1: computer game at the same time as the experience a 215 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:25,040 Speaker 1: VR game like Dactyl Nightmare, you would say, Wow, these 216 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:27,640 Speaker 1: graphics are terrible compared to what I can play at home, 217 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:30,839 Speaker 1: And the stuff that you can play at home back 218 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:34,480 Speaker 1: at that time doesn't even come close to measuring up 219 00:13:34,559 --> 00:13:37,920 Speaker 1: with what we can achieve today. So it would take 220 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:40,360 Speaker 1: a lot of time to develop software and hardware approaches 221 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:44,560 Speaker 1: that could create a high resolution experience. Now I mentioned 222 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:48,040 Speaker 1: Dactyl Nightmare just now. When we come back, I'm going 223 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:49,960 Speaker 1: to talk a little bit more about it, because I 224 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:55,840 Speaker 1: feel that that experience really kind of illustrates the limitations 225 00:13:55,880 --> 00:14:00,720 Speaker 1: of virtual reality during its first phase and help explain 226 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:06,160 Speaker 1: why VR ended up having a long period where no 227 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:08,800 Speaker 1: one was really talking about it. But first, let's take 228 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:22,280 Speaker 1: this quick break. Okay, let's talk about Dactyl Nightmare. Now. 229 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:26,600 Speaker 1: This was a VR experience that debuted in nine and 230 00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:29,440 Speaker 1: it's a great example of a simple, early and primitive 231 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:33,840 Speaker 1: VR game. Now, the way I experienced this was that 232 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:37,680 Speaker 1: there was a shopping mall about half an hour away 233 00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:41,080 Speaker 1: from where I lived at the time as a kid teenager, 234 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:45,440 Speaker 1: where you would go and there was this one storefront 235 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:48,840 Speaker 1: that had been turned into a VR arcade. I think 236 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:53,680 Speaker 1: they had maybe four pedestals where you would get up 237 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:57,080 Speaker 1: on the pedestal, there'd be a ring that would close 238 00:14:57,120 --> 00:14:59,560 Speaker 1: around you, so it would limit your movement that way, 239 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 1: you wouldn't walk off the pedestal and trip and fall 240 00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:04,800 Speaker 1: and break your leg and sue the store or whatever. 241 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:09,600 Speaker 1: You had those ginormous headsets that were partially suspended from 242 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:11,360 Speaker 1: the ceiling to help take off some of the weight, 243 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:14,320 Speaker 1: and you played a couple of different games, the main 244 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:19,280 Speaker 1: one being Dactyl Nightmare. Um. The virtual world in Dactyl 245 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:23,760 Speaker 1: Nightmare consists of just five platforms in an otherwise featureless void, 246 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:26,560 Speaker 1: so it's just darkness all around you. In these five platforms. 247 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:29,880 Speaker 1: You have one platform at the center and the other 248 00:15:29,920 --> 00:15:33,840 Speaker 1: four platforms are bordering the center one, So there's one 249 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:37,560 Speaker 1: on each side, and they're slightly higher up than the 250 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:40,440 Speaker 1: center platform, and there's a staircase leading from each of 251 00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:44,040 Speaker 1: the bordering platforms down to the center. And it was 252 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:46,960 Speaker 1: the first person shooting game, at least usually that's the 253 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:48,560 Speaker 1: way it was. There were a couple of other modes 254 00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:50,400 Speaker 1: in it, but as the first person shooting game, and 255 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:57,280 Speaker 1: players were represented as crude polygonal people by people things, 256 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:02,600 Speaker 1: and occasionally another crude, ligtal flying creature, the so called 257 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:06,440 Speaker 1: dactyl Tera. Dactyl would swoop in and grab a player 258 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:09,040 Speaker 1: and fly off with him and then drop them. If 259 00:16:09,040 --> 00:16:11,400 Speaker 1: you do an image search for Dactyl Nightmare you'll see 260 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:13,960 Speaker 1: what I'm talking about. And again, I don't want to 261 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:18,040 Speaker 1: dismiss these early attempts at virtual reality. So to achieve 262 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:21,760 Speaker 1: something like Dactyl Nightmare took a ton of work. Uh. 263 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:24,920 Speaker 1: I think the mistake was trying to bring VR in 264 00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:29,000 Speaker 1: its state in the yearly nineties to market a little 265 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:33,080 Speaker 1: too soon, because people who experienced games like Dactyl Nightmare 266 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:36,400 Speaker 1: had varying reactions. I mean, there were some folks who 267 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:38,200 Speaker 1: did it and they saw the promise of v R 268 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:40,800 Speaker 1: and they said, well, This is a really cool idea, 269 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:42,520 Speaker 1: and I can't wait to see what it looks like 270 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:45,760 Speaker 1: when the tech has matured right Like they're saying, this 271 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:47,800 Speaker 1: is clearly not where it needs to be right now, 272 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:50,680 Speaker 1: but I can't wait to see where it evolves. There 273 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:52,400 Speaker 1: were a lot of other people, I think the vast 274 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:55,560 Speaker 1: majority who their reaction kind of boiled down to this 275 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:58,160 Speaker 1: is awful. I can't believe people were making such a 276 00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:01,520 Speaker 1: big deal out of this. This is just a fad now. 277 00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:04,280 Speaker 1: In previous episodes of Tech Stuff, I've talked about the 278 00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:07,960 Speaker 1: Gartner hype cycle. The company Gartner created a sort of 279 00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:12,240 Speaker 1: a graphical representation of the process that an emerging technology 280 00:17:12,320 --> 00:17:15,240 Speaker 1: tends to go through with regard to height. So this 281 00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:19,680 Speaker 1: doesn't necessarily relate directly to the capabilities of the technology 282 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:22,480 Speaker 1: as much as how we perceive and treat the tech, 283 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:26,560 Speaker 1: how much our expectations can often exceed whatever the tech 284 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:30,120 Speaker 1: is really capable of doing. So early on in an 285 00:17:30,119 --> 00:17:34,520 Speaker 1: emerging technologies life cycle or hype cycle, the interest in 286 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:38,600 Speaker 1: the technology skyrockets. That's what we saw with VR in 287 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:42,080 Speaker 1: the early nineties. People start blue skying how the tech 288 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:45,840 Speaker 1: is going to change everything, And in fact, I would 289 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:50,440 Speaker 1: argue we were in that phase with the metaverse last year, 290 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:53,320 Speaker 1: or you know, late last year, maybe early this year, 291 00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:56,399 Speaker 1: and some companies still I think, are But I think 292 00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:59,880 Speaker 1: a lot of other people feel they've already past the 293 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:02,919 Speaker 1: heak of hype and are on the downward slope at 294 00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:05,840 Speaker 1: this point. Some of us, anyway, I know, I am 295 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:09,640 Speaker 1: now generally in this cycle. You have what is called 296 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:12,840 Speaker 1: the peak of inflated expectations. This is the highest point 297 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:17,120 Speaker 1: of hype, where your belief in the tech is well 298 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:19,760 Speaker 1: beyond what the tech can deliver. We saw this with 299 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:22,880 Speaker 1: autonomous car technology. I was definitely guilty of this, where 300 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:25,720 Speaker 1: I was convinced that we were maybe a year or 301 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:29,960 Speaker 1: two away from autonomous cars revolutionizing the way we get 302 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:35,800 Speaker 1: around and and virtually eliminating things like vehicular accidents and deaths. 303 00:18:36,920 --> 00:18:42,080 Speaker 1: That was sadly, wildly too optimistic. It was incredibly naive, 304 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:44,639 Speaker 1: and I fully own up to that. So, as the 305 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:47,359 Speaker 1: name suggests, the peak of inflated expectations, we sort of 306 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:49,439 Speaker 1: have this realization that the tech that we were so 307 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:53,600 Speaker 1: hyped for can't possibly live up to the hype that 308 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:57,199 Speaker 1: we've bought into, maybe even hype that we ourselves have generated. 309 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:01,119 Speaker 1: So our excitement for the technology then come is crashing down, 310 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:04,640 Speaker 1: it bottoms out and what Gardner refers to as the 311 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:09,479 Speaker 1: trough of disillusionment. But then once we hit rock bottom, 312 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:13,080 Speaker 1: once we've you know, kind of woken up to the 313 00:19:13,119 --> 00:19:17,720 Speaker 1: fact that we placed ridiculous expectations on this technology, we 314 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:20,879 Speaker 1: can then better evaluate what the tech actually can and 315 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:23,240 Speaker 1: can't do, and maybe we start to get a little 316 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:25,639 Speaker 1: excited again. Now we're not going to go as crazy 317 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:28,000 Speaker 1: as we were in the beginning, but we might get 318 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:32,040 Speaker 1: a little more optimistic. And this is the slope of enlightenment. 319 00:19:32,359 --> 00:19:35,679 Speaker 1: And then we hit the plateau of productivity. This is 320 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:38,959 Speaker 1: where our expectations for the tech and the actual capabilities 321 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:43,159 Speaker 1: of the tech finally level out and we can actually 322 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:47,320 Speaker 1: be productive with the technology. We're no longer you know, 323 00:19:48,119 --> 00:19:51,639 Speaker 1: throwing out hyperbole about what the technology is going to 324 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:55,720 Speaker 1: be capable of doing. Uh. And I think we're a 325 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:59,320 Speaker 1: ways away from that with the metaverse, largely because again, 326 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:03,560 Speaker 1: we we don't even have a full satisfactory definition of 327 00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:05,600 Speaker 1: what the metaverse is going to be yet, so it's 328 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:09,639 Speaker 1: kind of hard to get to the plateau of productivity. Um. 329 00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:11,320 Speaker 1: But a lot of us, I think are a little 330 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:15,040 Speaker 1: more disillusioned by the promise of the metaverse than uh 331 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:19,960 Speaker 1: than h hyped for it. Anyway, once folks got a 332 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:23,040 Speaker 1: good look at what VR could and more importantly, couldn't 333 00:20:23,119 --> 00:20:25,919 Speaker 1: do back in the nineties, we had that trough of 334 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:30,280 Speaker 1: disillusionment real hard, and for the scientists and engineers and 335 00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:32,760 Speaker 1: programmers and such who were working in the VR field, 336 00:20:33,359 --> 00:20:36,639 Speaker 1: that was a total disaster. That sudden decline and interest 337 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:39,760 Speaker 1: meant that it was really hard to get financial support 338 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:43,480 Speaker 1: to do research work in the field because like it 339 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:46,080 Speaker 1: just wasn't popular. If something is not popular and people 340 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:49,000 Speaker 1: have turned against it, it's very hard to convince the 341 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:53,080 Speaker 1: folks who manage money to pour it into that field. 342 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:55,879 Speaker 1: So some folks who are researching ways to use VR 343 00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:59,879 Speaker 1: and say therapy, found themselves cobbling together systems from the 344 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:04,080 Speaker 1: DEO game components. Video game consoles became like a popular 345 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:09,080 Speaker 1: go to source two kind of Jerry rig a VR 346 00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:13,480 Speaker 1: system out of all these different parts. So that was 347 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:16,760 Speaker 1: still happening. There were still great work being done in 348 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:20,159 Speaker 1: R and D, but the general consensus was there was 349 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:22,600 Speaker 1: no money to be made in creating full systems. So 350 00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:24,760 Speaker 1: it's not like you could just go and buy a 351 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:27,640 Speaker 1: virtual reality system off the shelf. And to be clear, 352 00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:30,879 Speaker 1: like when I was talking about Dactyl Nightmare, we weren't 353 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:33,919 Speaker 1: talking about home virtual reality at all then. This was 354 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:36,840 Speaker 1: These were systems that were far too large and bulky 355 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:41,040 Speaker 1: and unwieldy and expensive for the average person to get 356 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:45,080 Speaker 1: one and have it installed in their home. VR continued 357 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:48,240 Speaker 1: in these years, but in a much more modest way, 358 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:50,840 Speaker 1: and there were a few attempts to bring VR into 359 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:54,199 Speaker 1: home gaming, but most of those, like for example, there 360 00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:57,399 Speaker 1: was a planned VR set that was meant for the 361 00:21:57,440 --> 00:21:59,840 Speaker 1: sake of Genesis, a lot of those would get shell. 362 00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:03,480 Speaker 1: The ultimately just decided that this was too much work 363 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:05,200 Speaker 1: and too much expense and there wasn't going to be 364 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:09,879 Speaker 1: enough payoff, and those projects were largely abandoned. Now flash 365 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:12,280 Speaker 1: forward more than a decade until we get to two 366 00:22:12,320 --> 00:22:17,080 Speaker 1: thousand nine, Palmer Lucky, the creator of Oculus, had started 367 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:22,560 Speaker 1: building head mounted displays. Not this point, technology had improved significantly. 368 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:26,160 Speaker 1: Flat panel displays where a possibility that really brought down 369 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:29,680 Speaker 1: the bulk and weight of headsets. The development of powerful 370 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:33,760 Speaker 1: processors for smartphones would ultimately be leveraged to handle processing 371 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:37,240 Speaker 1: for a lot of VR systems which helped reduce latency 372 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:41,520 Speaker 1: and boost resolution and also increase your field of view. 373 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:46,480 Speaker 1: That's how many degrees of vision you have from side 374 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:50,640 Speaker 1: to side within a mixed reality headset. Now, in two 375 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:53,720 Speaker 1: thousand and twelve, Palmer Lucky launched a Kickstarter to fund 376 00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:57,800 Speaker 1: the development and manufacture of the first Oculus developer kit. 377 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:01,400 Speaker 1: And it would be an over so qplification to say 378 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:05,480 Speaker 1: that the Oculus solely made VR a viable possibility. Again, 379 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:10,560 Speaker 1: that's that's dismissing tons of work from other people and 380 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:15,320 Speaker 1: other companies. However, the Oculus, I think would you could argue, 381 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:19,840 Speaker 1: was easily the most visible example of VR technology that 382 00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:24,760 Speaker 1: could at least approach the old promise of VR and 383 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:29,040 Speaker 1: make something that was a decent implementation of that promise. 384 00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:33,240 Speaker 1: So the dreams of the eighties and nineties were unrealistic 385 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:36,719 Speaker 1: at the time, but the Oculus seemed to be a 386 00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:40,439 Speaker 1: little bit closer to what we were hoping for. You know, 387 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:44,080 Speaker 1: A couple of decades earlier, other manufacturers would start to 388 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:46,359 Speaker 1: make VR headsets too, and there was a push to 389 00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:50,000 Speaker 1: develop better systems, UH, including ones that would be self 390 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:54,800 Speaker 1: contained and others that would require a PC to run software. 391 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:57,080 Speaker 1: While the VR system would kind of act as your 392 00:23:57,160 --> 00:24:03,399 Speaker 1: display and input device. Now early on, there were a 393 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:06,560 Speaker 1: few big obstacles standing in the way of VR adoption. 394 00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:11,480 Speaker 1: One is that the really early VR headsets in this era, 395 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:16,959 Speaker 1: the being like the twenty twelve to say Steen or so, 396 00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:21,000 Speaker 1: most of them required a physical connection to a PC 397 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:24,879 Speaker 1: if you wanted to actually use them. So, like the 398 00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:28,280 Speaker 1: VR systems around the eighties and nineties, it just wasn't 399 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:31,719 Speaker 1: quite possible to have a really powerful VR headset that 400 00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:35,320 Speaker 1: could stand on its own is, you know, disconnected from 401 00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:38,480 Speaker 1: any other piece of equipment, So it had to tap 402 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:43,240 Speaker 1: into the superior processing power, particularly for graphics processing that 403 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:48,600 Speaker 1: a PC could provide. That meant that that provided to 404 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:52,320 Speaker 1: other limitations that would come along with this requirement. One 405 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:55,560 Speaker 1: would be that a user would be physically tethered to 406 00:24:55,920 --> 00:24:59,760 Speaker 1: a computer. There would be a cable connecting their headset 407 00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:04,000 Speaker 1: to the computer system that would limit their movement. They 408 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:06,439 Speaker 1: could potentially get tangled up in cables that could be 409 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:10,080 Speaker 1: awkward or even dangerous, So it really was a limitation 410 00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:12,760 Speaker 1: in the technology, one that programmers would really have to 411 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:15,840 Speaker 1: take into account when they were creating their VR experiences. 412 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:19,160 Speaker 1: Like you wouldn't want to create a VR game for example, 413 00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:23,119 Speaker 1: that would require people to have to physically turn around frequently, 414 00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:27,360 Speaker 1: because potentially you're just talking about tangling them up in wires. 415 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:31,280 Speaker 1: I mean maybe if you're sadistic and also a game developer, 416 00:25:31,359 --> 00:25:34,600 Speaker 1: you'd want to do that, but you know, ethical programmers wouldn't. 417 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:38,720 Speaker 1: But the other big hurdle on top of this tethering 418 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:44,159 Speaker 1: was and is cost. Oculus offered a couple of different 419 00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:48,840 Speaker 1: developer kit models during its crowdfunding phase where you're talking 420 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:51,400 Speaker 1: about relatively low costs, I mean in the early early 421 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:54,680 Speaker 1: days of Oculus. So these developer kids were intended to 422 00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:57,960 Speaker 1: go to people who would create VR experiences, right. It 423 00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:01,719 Speaker 1: was meant for people who wanted to build stuff that 424 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:04,800 Speaker 1: folks could experience within VR. This was not meant as 425 00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:08,199 Speaker 1: a consumer model. However, Obviously there were a lot of 426 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:10,639 Speaker 1: gamers who really just wanted to get their hands on 427 00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:14,840 Speaker 1: the next cool toy. They wanted a developer kit, not 428 00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:17,320 Speaker 1: because they planned on making anything, but because they wanted 429 00:26:17,359 --> 00:26:21,200 Speaker 1: to experience stuff. Now, that first developer kit was available 430 00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:24,040 Speaker 1: if you backed the original kick Starry campaign, and I 431 00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:27,720 Speaker 1: believe it was a three level or higher. That's actually 432 00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:31,720 Speaker 1: on the cheap side for VR hardware. But then in 433 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:34,960 Speaker 1: those days, there wasn't much you could do with it anyway, 434 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:38,919 Speaker 1: You'd have the hardware, but there wasn't a whole lot 435 00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:41,760 Speaker 1: of software to run on it. So the whole point 436 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:43,720 Speaker 1: was that this tech was really just meant to help 437 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:47,240 Speaker 1: developers create compelling content for the system, because without the content, 438 00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:49,960 Speaker 1: it's really hard to sell the system. This is the 439 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:53,920 Speaker 1: same thing we've seen with video game consoles. H In fact, 440 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:57,840 Speaker 1: I think that the most recent Xbox console really suffered 441 00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:01,160 Speaker 1: from this problem that there was a perception and that 442 00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:07,800 Speaker 1: the Xbox Series X lacked enough exclusive, compelling content to 443 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:11,520 Speaker 1: justify buying the console, whereas people were looking at the 444 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:15,760 Speaker 1: PlayStation five and saying, there's a long list of exclusive 445 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:20,360 Speaker 1: titles for this this console. There there's a great library 446 00:27:20,359 --> 00:27:25,240 Speaker 1: of content. I want a PS five, And so getting 447 00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:28,360 Speaker 1: a good library of content is absolutely critical in order 448 00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:32,640 Speaker 1: to sell a platform. Now, when Oculus launched its original 449 00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:35,359 Speaker 1: consumer model, so this is beyond the developer kids, this 450 00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:38,240 Speaker 1: is when they're ready to actually go to the store shelves. 451 00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:44,919 Speaker 1: The first Oculus headset released Bioculus itself was the Rift, 452 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:49,840 Speaker 1: and the asking price was six hundred bucks. Now you're 453 00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:53,480 Speaker 1: talking about the cost of a full video game console system. 454 00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:56,800 Speaker 1: And keep in mind this is without the PC you 455 00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:59,440 Speaker 1: would need to actually run the ding dang darn thing. 456 00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:03,199 Speaker 1: Oculus was recommending that users have a PC with at 457 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:06,560 Speaker 1: least eight gigabytes of ram uh and the equivalent of 458 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:11,919 Speaker 1: an Intel I THREEPU and a g Force g t 459 00:28:12,119 --> 00:28:14,800 Speaker 1: x nine sixty or a m d f x forty 460 00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:18,800 Speaker 1: three fifty graphics card or better, as well as Windows 461 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:23,000 Speaker 1: eight or more recent operating system. That was actually a 462 00:28:23,040 --> 00:28:26,560 Speaker 1: step down from what they were originally going to suggest 463 00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:30,399 Speaker 1: users make sure they had. They They brought down the 464 00:28:30,440 --> 00:28:34,760 Speaker 1: system requirements, not because the tech suddenly got more efficient, 465 00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:38,840 Speaker 1: but probably more because Oculus wanted to diffuse some of 466 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:42,240 Speaker 1: the complaints that the system requirements to run the hardware 467 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:45,440 Speaker 1: at the recommended levels would mean you would need a 468 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:48,480 Speaker 1: like a thousand dollar PC on top of the six 469 00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:52,160 Speaker 1: hundred dollar headset and controls, and now we're getting into 470 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:57,520 Speaker 1: really expensive territory. As it was, by reducing those requirements, 471 00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:00,120 Speaker 1: it was closer to like a five dollar PC, So 472 00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:06,160 Speaker 1: you're still talking bucks total in order to have a 473 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:10,760 Speaker 1: working RIFT and PC combo, assuming you didn't already have 474 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:13,080 Speaker 1: the computer at your disposal. If you already did, if 475 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:16,480 Speaker 1: you were a gamer who already had an incredible system, 476 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:18,800 Speaker 1: then you were pretty much set. But for anyone who 477 00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:22,240 Speaker 1: just wanted to get into it, this was a really 478 00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:28,400 Speaker 1: big barrier to entry. So uh, cost is another hurdle 479 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:31,120 Speaker 1: to the adoption of virtual reality in general. It still 480 00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:34,600 Speaker 1: is today. One thing that was monumental in Oculus is 481 00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:39,000 Speaker 1: history between when it was developing its first system and 482 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:43,239 Speaker 1: when it released it was that Meta, which was just 483 00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:49,600 Speaker 1: Facebook back then, acquired Oculus, so Meta bought Oculus. This 484 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:52,080 Speaker 1: was also when it became clear that Facebook would add 485 00:29:52,120 --> 00:29:57,080 Speaker 1: another requirement to using Oculus hardware. Users would need to 486 00:29:57,200 --> 00:30:01,040 Speaker 1: link their system to a face Book account, so if 487 00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:03,280 Speaker 1: you didn't have one, you had to create one and 488 00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:07,280 Speaker 1: link your account to your Oculus hardware, which rubbed a 489 00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:09,120 Speaker 1: lot of people the wrong way. There were a lot 490 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:12,800 Speaker 1: of VR enthusiasts, people who have been supporting Oculus since 491 00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:19,760 Speaker 1: the kickstarter days, who were absolutely furious with the idea 492 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:22,720 Speaker 1: that this was going to have to be tied down 493 00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:26,680 Speaker 1: to a Facebook account. These days, by the way, that 494 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:30,320 Speaker 1: has changed at least a little, because now you no 495 00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:34,240 Speaker 1: longer need to link your Oculus hardware to a Facebook account, 496 00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:38,720 Speaker 1: you just need a meta account. And you might say 497 00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:42,520 Speaker 1: that's a pretty fine distinction, and I would probably agree 498 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:45,840 Speaker 1: with you. All Right, We've got more to talk about 499 00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:49,360 Speaker 1: when it comes to the challenges of VR adoption and 500 00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:52,320 Speaker 1: how that blaze into the metaverse. But first, let's take 501 00:30:52,360 --> 00:31:06,240 Speaker 1: another quick break. Okay. So, one way to address cost 502 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:10,120 Speaker 1: as a barrier to entry into any kind of technology 503 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:13,560 Speaker 1: is for the company that makes the tech to sell 504 00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:17,560 Speaker 1: it at or below the cost of manufacturing. So, in 505 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:20,440 Speaker 1: other words, the retail price for the item is the 506 00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:23,200 Speaker 1: same or perhaps even less than what it cost you 507 00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:25,880 Speaker 1: to make it in the first place. Now, why would 508 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:28,240 Speaker 1: you do that. You would lose money on every unit 509 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:32,880 Speaker 1: you sold. Well, if you're counting on the hardware to 510 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:37,920 Speaker 1: be a conduit for an ongoing source of revenue from customers, 511 00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:40,520 Speaker 1: then it might be worth it to take a loss 512 00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:44,600 Speaker 1: on the hardware sales price. Console manufacturers do this all 513 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:48,280 Speaker 1: the time. They sell customers a console that is near 514 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:52,080 Speaker 1: or sometimes below cost, and then they count on game 515 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:56,200 Speaker 1: sales and things like subscription services like Xbox Game Pass 516 00:31:56,240 --> 00:32:00,240 Speaker 1: to make up for that gap. So, yeah, they lose 517 00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:03,080 Speaker 1: money selling the console but they make money by selling 518 00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:07,240 Speaker 1: you games and services, and so the console is just 519 00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:10,400 Speaker 1: the entry point to to grab you as a customer 520 00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:13,160 Speaker 1: and to keep you for as long as they possibly can. 521 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:15,719 Speaker 1: You could benefit too out of it. It's not like 522 00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:20,120 Speaker 1: it's purely parasitic. This is a symbiotic relationship here, but 523 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:23,240 Speaker 1: it is sort of the The gamble that these companies 524 00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:27,000 Speaker 1: make is that they'll sell these these initial pieces of 525 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:30,560 Speaker 1: hardware for a lower price than what it costs to 526 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:34,080 Speaker 1: make them. Often, not all the time. Not everyone does this, 527 00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:37,920 Speaker 1: but a lot of companies do. So let's talk about 528 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:41,440 Speaker 1: some of the other Oculus models and then later what 529 00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:46,600 Speaker 1: would be branded as Meta Hardware. Because the name has changed. 530 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:51,720 Speaker 1: The Meta has eliminated Oculus as a brand essentially and 531 00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:56,120 Speaker 1: replaced it with Meta. So the actual hardware the brand 532 00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:58,880 Speaker 1: names have stayed the same, but the or at least 533 00:32:58,880 --> 00:33:00,880 Speaker 1: the model names, i should say, have stayed the same, 534 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:03,680 Speaker 1: but the brand has changed from Oculus to Meta. That, 535 00:33:03,760 --> 00:33:06,200 Speaker 1: by the way, also rubbed a lot of Oculus supporters 536 00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:09,320 Speaker 1: the wrong way because Meta, when it made the change, 537 00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:12,520 Speaker 1: made the statement that they weren't making any changes to 538 00:33:12,600 --> 00:33:17,360 Speaker 1: any of their various brands, although they didn't mention Oculus 539 00:33:17,360 --> 00:33:20,240 Speaker 1: at the time, and people say, well, the reason they 540 00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:22,600 Speaker 1: didn't mention Oculus is that was a decision they had 541 00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:25,760 Speaker 1: already made. They were getting rid of Oculus as a 542 00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:30,960 Speaker 1: brand name. But anyway, in the company, Facebook shipped the 543 00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:34,960 Speaker 1: Oculus Go. Now, unlike the Rift, the Go was a 544 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:37,760 Speaker 1: standalone headset, so you didn't have to tether it to 545 00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:42,640 Speaker 1: a PC. You had a headset that could be free 546 00:33:42,760 --> 00:33:46,280 Speaker 1: of that cable connecting you to a computer. The headset 547 00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:49,800 Speaker 1: used a Qualcom snap Dragon eight twenty one processor, which 548 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:52,480 Speaker 1: is the kind of processor you might find in a smartphone, 549 00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:55,680 Speaker 1: and it ran on a version of the Android operating 550 00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:58,880 Speaker 1: system and could run apps specifically designed for mobile based 551 00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:03,720 Speaker 1: VR experiences. Now, the Oculus Go was more aggressively priced 552 00:34:03,760 --> 00:34:06,920 Speaker 1: at one dollars for the base model, which was a 553 00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:11,279 Speaker 1: thirty two gigabyte storage model, or you could go up 554 00:34:11,320 --> 00:34:16,200 Speaker 1: to the sixty four gigabyte model for two still much 555 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:18,600 Speaker 1: cheaper than the six d dollar asking price for the 556 00:34:18,640 --> 00:34:22,600 Speaker 1: original Rift. However, it was also much more limited in 557 00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:25,480 Speaker 1: power compared to the Rift, right because the Rift, again 558 00:34:25,560 --> 00:34:28,920 Speaker 1: was being powered by a PC. So depending on the 559 00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:32,600 Speaker 1: type of PC you were using to send signals to 560 00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:37,560 Speaker 1: your Rift, you would be having an incredibly sophisticated experience 561 00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:40,359 Speaker 1: when compared to an Oculus Go, which was running more 562 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:43,960 Speaker 1: at a smartphone level. Now, Facebook would take the Oculus 563 00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:46,880 Speaker 1: Go off the market in the summer of Essentially the 564 00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:49,640 Speaker 1: Go was being replaced. In fact, was already in the 565 00:34:49,680 --> 00:34:53,479 Speaker 1: process of being replaced by a newer headset, the Oculus Quest. 566 00:34:53,480 --> 00:34:55,480 Speaker 1: Now the Quest it actually debuted in the spring of 567 00:34:56,320 --> 00:35:00,720 Speaker 1: so there was some overlap between Oculus Go and Culus Quest. 568 00:35:01,239 --> 00:35:04,480 Speaker 1: The Quest, like the Go, is also a standalone headset 569 00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:07,279 Speaker 1: that runs on Android. It has more features than the 570 00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:11,040 Speaker 1: Go did, and the cost reflects that. Because the base 571 00:35:11,120 --> 00:35:16,239 Speaker 1: model of the Oculus Quest was introduced at three nine dollars. 572 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:19,680 Speaker 1: This was a sixty four gigabyte model, and the higher model, 573 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:23,879 Speaker 1: the hundred twenty eight gigabyte model, was four d dollars. Now, 574 00:35:23,880 --> 00:35:28,759 Speaker 1: that's still cheaper than having to buy both headset and 575 00:35:29,040 --> 00:35:33,719 Speaker 1: a new PC. But the Quest could not measure up 576 00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:36,960 Speaker 1: to the graphics quality of a PC based VR system, 577 00:35:37,040 --> 00:35:39,279 Speaker 1: so there were trade offs. Yes, you didn't have to 578 00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:41,400 Speaker 1: spend as much money as you would for one of 579 00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:44,279 Speaker 1: the more sophisticated systems, but then you wouldn't have the 580 00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:48,399 Speaker 1: capabilities of those more sophisticated systems. Now the Quest would 581 00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:51,320 Speaker 1: also get a successor. It got a successor in twenty twenty, 582 00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:54,560 Speaker 1: called the Oculus Quest two, which these days is now 583 00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:59,560 Speaker 1: called the Meta Quest Too. Originally, the base model of 584 00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:04,319 Speaker 1: this hardware was priced at two dollars for sixty four gigabytes, 585 00:36:04,880 --> 00:36:10,880 Speaker 1: and then the hud gigabyte version was Interestingly, starting this month, 586 00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:15,759 Speaker 1: which is August of twenty two, two years after the 587 00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:20,799 Speaker 1: Oculus Quest to debut, the price of both models has 588 00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:27,040 Speaker 1: now increased by one dollars. That's unusual because typically you 589 00:36:27,120 --> 00:36:31,759 Speaker 1: see price tags for tech go down after they've been 590 00:36:31,760 --> 00:36:34,160 Speaker 1: out on the market for a couple of years. But 591 00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:36,120 Speaker 1: that's not what we're seeing with the Quest Too. So 592 00:36:36,239 --> 00:36:40,440 Speaker 1: imagine like you went to buy a PlayStation five and 593 00:36:40,480 --> 00:36:44,160 Speaker 1: you find out that now the PS five regular retail 594 00:36:44,200 --> 00:36:48,040 Speaker 1: price has gone up by a hundred dollars. You'd say, well, 595 00:36:48,080 --> 00:36:52,200 Speaker 1: not only has this console been out for a while, uh, 596 00:36:52,280 --> 00:36:56,120 Speaker 1: it hasn't been readily available because of chip shortages and such. 597 00:36:57,040 --> 00:37:00,200 Speaker 1: Why is the price going up? Why would Facebook now 598 00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:05,239 Speaker 1: Meta hike the price tag of this older technology. Well, 599 00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:08,440 Speaker 1: there are a lot of potential reasons. One of them 600 00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:11,280 Speaker 1: is that the company is struggling to attract new users 601 00:37:11,520 --> 00:37:15,719 Speaker 1: and to grow as a company. Remember that company successes 602 00:37:16,080 --> 00:37:20,720 Speaker 1: is tightly tied to company growth in the stock market, 603 00:37:21,120 --> 00:37:24,359 Speaker 1: and when you're not growing, investors start getting nervous because 604 00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:25,680 Speaker 1: they feel like they're not going to get a good 605 00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:29,720 Speaker 1: return on their investment. That's an oversimplification, it's also true, 606 00:37:30,080 --> 00:37:35,839 Speaker 1: so so so Facebook Slash Meta has spent billions of 607 00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:39,640 Speaker 1: dollars on mixed reality and metaverse initiatives. These are not 608 00:37:39,680 --> 00:37:43,280 Speaker 1: going to pay off for years to come. Mark Zuckerberg 609 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:46,680 Speaker 1: has said as much. This is not me passing judgment 610 00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:50,439 Speaker 1: on Meta. Mark Zuckerberg has said it's going to take 611 00:37:50,520 --> 00:37:55,200 Speaker 1: years of research and development to create the metaverse, and 612 00:37:55,280 --> 00:37:58,520 Speaker 1: so we're going to be pouring billions of dollars and 613 00:37:58,600 --> 00:38:02,600 Speaker 1: investments into that that realm, and it will be a 614 00:38:02,600 --> 00:38:06,240 Speaker 1: while before we see that mature, to see it emerge. 615 00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:11,560 Speaker 1: So you could say that maybe increasing the price tag 616 00:38:11,960 --> 00:38:14,000 Speaker 1: of these devices, which have been on the market for 617 00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:18,400 Speaker 1: two years already, is more about Meta trying to lose 618 00:38:18,800 --> 00:38:21,160 Speaker 1: less money. It's not about them trying to make money 619 00:38:21,160 --> 00:38:24,400 Speaker 1: off selling the hardware, but maybe have less of a 620 00:38:24,600 --> 00:38:29,080 Speaker 1: loss as they sell the hardware, Because when you're talking 621 00:38:29,120 --> 00:38:33,800 Speaker 1: to your investors on an earnings call and your lost 622 00:38:33,880 --> 00:38:41,359 Speaker 1: numbers from your Reality Labs division are raising eyebrows, you 623 00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:44,400 Speaker 1: start to think, maybe there are ways I can control 624 00:38:44,480 --> 00:38:48,320 Speaker 1: spending a bit more while still investing in the field, 625 00:38:48,360 --> 00:38:53,000 Speaker 1: because I still believe that this is I'm projecting into 626 00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:56,279 Speaker 1: Mark Zuckerberg now, but I still believe in the metaverse idea. 627 00:38:56,600 --> 00:38:58,040 Speaker 1: In order to get there, We're still going to have 628 00:38:58,080 --> 00:38:59,759 Speaker 1: to invest, which means we are going to have to 629 00:38:59,760 --> 00:39:02,120 Speaker 1: spend money, which means at the end of the day, 630 00:39:02,120 --> 00:39:04,160 Speaker 1: when we have an earnings call, it's going to appear 631 00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:08,080 Speaker 1: as a loss for that department. Maybe I can limit 632 00:39:08,080 --> 00:39:11,520 Speaker 1: those losses in different places to take some of the 633 00:39:11,640 --> 00:39:15,760 Speaker 1: sting out while we're also trying to increase our revenue 634 00:39:15,920 --> 00:39:20,920 Speaker 1: in other arenas. Anyway, the hardware cost issue for the 635 00:39:21,040 --> 00:39:26,359 Speaker 1: consumer hasn't really gone away. I've talked exclusively really about 636 00:39:26,400 --> 00:39:30,520 Speaker 1: Oculus in this series or this episode rather, but there 637 00:39:30,560 --> 00:39:34,480 Speaker 1: are lots of other companies that are making VR sets, 638 00:39:34,640 --> 00:39:37,920 Speaker 1: whether they are standalone's, like some of them make a 639 00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:41,840 Speaker 1: VR equipment where you slot a smartphone into a headset 640 00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:46,040 Speaker 1: and the smartphone acts as your processor and display. Others 641 00:39:46,080 --> 00:39:52,680 Speaker 1: go the full custom equipment approach. Some are tethered to PCs, 642 00:39:52,719 --> 00:39:56,080 Speaker 1: some aren't, and they come at a range of prices, 643 00:39:56,520 --> 00:40:00,239 Speaker 1: but they all tend to be pretty expensive. And this range, 644 00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:02,839 Speaker 1: by the way, also creates confusion in the market, right 645 00:40:02,880 --> 00:40:06,320 Speaker 1: because not all VR is the same. Something that's smartphone 646 00:40:06,320 --> 00:40:09,000 Speaker 1: power it is not going to look or play like 647 00:40:09,080 --> 00:40:12,360 Speaker 1: something that's running on the top of the line gaming PC. 648 00:40:13,239 --> 00:40:17,200 Speaker 1: So for a lot of people that that price is 649 00:40:17,239 --> 00:40:21,480 Speaker 1: a prohibitive barrier to entrgue to get into virtual reality. 650 00:40:21,600 --> 00:40:24,640 Speaker 1: That also serves as an obstacle that companies like Meta 651 00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:26,680 Speaker 1: are going to have to figure out a way around 652 00:40:27,520 --> 00:40:30,280 Speaker 1: if they want to bring their vision of metaverse whatever 653 00:40:30,360 --> 00:40:33,759 Speaker 1: that might turn into, into reality. If they want to 654 00:40:33,840 --> 00:40:37,279 Speaker 1: have the same kind of level of adoption for the 655 00:40:37,320 --> 00:40:41,959 Speaker 1: metaverse as what they've seen for social networking sites, they 656 00:40:42,040 --> 00:40:46,880 Speaker 1: have to figure out this cost problem, because with that 657 00:40:47,120 --> 00:40:50,120 Speaker 1: price tag being that high, it's going to prevent tons 658 00:40:50,160 --> 00:40:53,080 Speaker 1: of people from taking part in it, and then your 659 00:40:53,120 --> 00:40:57,520 Speaker 1: metaverse is a nonstarter. Like if I can afford to 660 00:40:57,680 --> 00:41:00,320 Speaker 1: get into the metaverse, but none of my friends hand, 661 00:41:00,960 --> 00:41:04,000 Speaker 1: then where's my incentive to get into the metaverse? Like 662 00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:07,080 Speaker 1: if if everyone I know and love isn't able to 663 00:41:07,160 --> 00:41:10,400 Speaker 1: access it, then it doesn't have a whole lot of 664 00:41:10,400 --> 00:41:12,480 Speaker 1: appeal to me. So that's an issue that has to 665 00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:17,480 Speaker 1: be solved. Now, let's jump back into motion sickness, because 666 00:41:17,520 --> 00:41:21,879 Speaker 1: that's another big hurdle to the adoption of VR and 667 00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:26,600 Speaker 1: thus a potential stumbling blog on the way to the metaverse. So, 668 00:41:26,840 --> 00:41:30,239 Speaker 1: motion sickness from VR is often called cyber sickness, and 669 00:41:30,320 --> 00:41:33,680 Speaker 1: for some people the VR experience can be so unpleasant 670 00:41:33,760 --> 00:41:37,160 Speaker 1: due to motion sickness that they'll swear it off after 671 00:41:37,320 --> 00:41:41,040 Speaker 1: one bad experience. But interestingly, some folks at Iowa State 672 00:41:41,120 --> 00:41:45,120 Speaker 1: University recently did a study on cybersickness and they wanted 673 00:41:45,120 --> 00:41:47,120 Speaker 1: to test to see how long it would take people 674 00:41:47,160 --> 00:41:51,680 Speaker 1: to adapt to the VR experience where they don't get cybersickness, 675 00:41:51,840 --> 00:41:55,400 Speaker 1: or if they do, their symptoms are much less severe. 676 00:41:56,280 --> 00:41:59,239 Speaker 1: That study observed that people who are prone to cybersickness 677 00:41:59,400 --> 00:42:02,960 Speaker 1: usually start to feel the symptoms within ten minutes of 678 00:42:03,040 --> 00:42:07,040 Speaker 1: their VR experience. That is not very long. Like, if 679 00:42:07,080 --> 00:42:09,600 Speaker 1: within ten minutes of trying out of technology you start 680 00:42:09,600 --> 00:42:12,760 Speaker 1: to feel sick, it could be a real tough cell 681 00:42:12,840 --> 00:42:15,040 Speaker 1: to convince you that this is a technology you should 682 00:42:15,040 --> 00:42:20,200 Speaker 1: be purchasing for your own use. The symptoms are pretty 683 00:42:20,280 --> 00:42:26,000 Speaker 1: much the same as motion sickness. You know, you have nausea, headaches, dizziness, sweating, 684 00:42:26,600 --> 00:42:28,960 Speaker 1: you get a sense that you're still moving even when 685 00:42:29,040 --> 00:42:31,600 Speaker 1: you're you're sitting still. That to me is the worst. 686 00:42:32,440 --> 00:42:34,680 Speaker 1: You also can have I fatigue. I think that might 687 00:42:34,760 --> 00:42:36,200 Speaker 1: have more to do with the fact that you're looking 688 00:42:36,200 --> 00:42:38,040 Speaker 1: at a screen that's just a few inches away from 689 00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:41,080 Speaker 1: your eyes. But because I don't I don't associate eye 690 00:42:41,160 --> 00:42:44,600 Speaker 1: fatigue with motion sickness. But it is a symptom of 691 00:42:44,640 --> 00:42:49,359 Speaker 1: cybersickness frequently. Now, if you've ever felt cybersickness or seasickness, 692 00:42:49,440 --> 00:42:51,319 Speaker 1: or really any kind of motion sickness, you know how 693 00:42:51,440 --> 00:42:53,759 Speaker 1: unpleasant that can be. And as I get older, I 694 00:42:53,760 --> 00:42:57,480 Speaker 1: find myself more prone to it. Unfortunately. UM I'll never 695 00:42:57,520 --> 00:43:00,719 Speaker 1: forget the time my wife and I did a park 696 00:43:00,719 --> 00:43:03,840 Speaker 1: hopping trip at Disney World. We experienced three attractions that 697 00:43:03,880 --> 00:43:07,040 Speaker 1: had VR elements to them. The first was Flights of 698 00:43:07,080 --> 00:43:10,920 Speaker 1: Passage at Animal Kingdom. It's an Avatar themed VR ride. 699 00:43:10,960 --> 00:43:13,719 Speaker 1: It's incredible. I still have never seen the movie Avatar, 700 00:43:14,120 --> 00:43:16,200 Speaker 1: so I was writing this ride going I don't know 701 00:43:16,280 --> 00:43:20,040 Speaker 1: what's happening, but it's pretty amazing. The second one we 702 00:43:20,120 --> 00:43:23,319 Speaker 1: rode with Star Tours, which is at Hollywood Studios. That's, 703 00:43:23,360 --> 00:43:26,400 Speaker 1: of course, the Star Wars themed VR ride. The third 704 00:43:26,560 --> 00:43:29,719 Speaker 1: was Soaring, which is a ride where you sit on 705 00:43:29,760 --> 00:43:33,920 Speaker 1: what's essentially a giant swing as you are in front 706 00:43:33,920 --> 00:43:38,239 Speaker 1: of a huge panoramic screen that that has a projection 707 00:43:38,320 --> 00:43:41,040 Speaker 1: film that gives you a sense that you're flying over 708 00:43:41,160 --> 00:43:45,720 Speaker 1: various landscapes. And afterward, my wife and I both felt 709 00:43:45,800 --> 00:43:48,400 Speaker 1: a little off. But it wasn't until we went to 710 00:43:48,440 --> 00:43:51,560 Speaker 1: watch a three sixty degree panoramic film and Epcot that 711 00:43:51,600 --> 00:43:54,760 Speaker 1: we realized we had overdone it. And we spent many 712 00:43:54,840 --> 00:43:59,360 Speaker 1: of the following hours sitting on a bench in Epcot's 713 00:43:59,400 --> 00:44:02,080 Speaker 1: World show Case pavilion and feeling on the verge of 714 00:44:02,120 --> 00:44:05,800 Speaker 1: being sick. Thankfully, neither of us went beyond the verge, 715 00:44:06,440 --> 00:44:09,440 Speaker 1: but we were right up to the edge. And cybersickness 716 00:44:09,480 --> 00:44:11,160 Speaker 1: is very much the same sort of thing. I mean, 717 00:44:11,200 --> 00:44:14,799 Speaker 1: it really was cybersickness that we were experiencing. And you know, 718 00:44:14,840 --> 00:44:17,960 Speaker 1: when I first played an Oculus and early Developer kit 719 00:44:18,080 --> 00:44:21,279 Speaker 1: version of the Oculus, I was put into a spaceflight 720 00:44:21,320 --> 00:44:24,560 Speaker 1: simulator type game and within minutes discovered that I was 721 00:44:24,560 --> 00:44:28,200 Speaker 1: not feeling well. So what's actually going on? Well, your 722 00:44:28,200 --> 00:44:31,839 Speaker 1: inner ear and your brain are getting some mixed signals. Uh. 723 00:44:32,040 --> 00:44:35,080 Speaker 1: These things help you maintain your balance. They detect things 724 00:44:35,160 --> 00:44:38,520 Speaker 1: like acceleration. And when your brain is getting input that 725 00:44:38,600 --> 00:44:42,480 Speaker 1: suggests you're moving around like crazy, and then another part 726 00:44:42,480 --> 00:44:44,600 Speaker 1: of your brain is saying, hang on, we're totes not 727 00:44:44,760 --> 00:44:48,280 Speaker 1: moving at all, then there can sometimes be a problem. 728 00:44:48,360 --> 00:44:51,120 Speaker 1: This dissonance between these bits of our nervous system can 729 00:44:51,160 --> 00:44:53,239 Speaker 1: cause us to feel sick. Now I like to think 730 00:44:53,280 --> 00:44:55,640 Speaker 1: it's the brain saying I have no idea what's happening, 731 00:44:55,680 --> 00:44:57,919 Speaker 1: Just go make them throw up, and then the brain 732 00:44:58,040 --> 00:45:00,759 Speaker 1: storms out of a adored lambs it behind it. I 733 00:45:00,800 --> 00:45:03,000 Speaker 1: don't know where the door goes to, but that's what 734 00:45:03,160 --> 00:45:05,680 Speaker 1: I think. That's probably because of Homer Simpson. It's probably 735 00:45:05,719 --> 00:45:08,760 Speaker 1: not what's going on from neurological perspective, but it makes 736 00:45:08,800 --> 00:45:12,400 Speaker 1: me contextualize it. Anyway, back to Iowa State University, the 737 00:45:12,440 --> 00:45:14,920 Speaker 1: researchers got a test group of a hundred fifty undergrads. 738 00:45:14,920 --> 00:45:18,200 Speaker 1: Because I mean, if you've got undergrads that's essentially guinea pigs, 739 00:45:18,360 --> 00:45:20,879 Speaker 1: go ahead and throw them into an experiment and these 740 00:45:20,960 --> 00:45:24,279 Speaker 1: undergrads would play a VR game. Uh They started with 741 00:45:24,320 --> 00:45:28,520 Speaker 1: a game called Jurassic World Aftermath, and the researchers said 742 00:45:28,600 --> 00:45:30,960 Speaker 1: that they wanted to pick a VR title that was 743 00:45:31,000 --> 00:45:33,719 Speaker 1: exciting enough so that players would want to continue playing 744 00:45:33,760 --> 00:45:37,080 Speaker 1: the game. They would only stop if they weren't feeling well, 745 00:45:37,520 --> 00:45:40,160 Speaker 1: instead of stopping because the game was boring. So they 746 00:45:40,200 --> 00:45:42,000 Speaker 1: needed a game that was going to be compelling enough 747 00:45:42,560 --> 00:45:45,160 Speaker 1: that the reason why someone would stop wouldn't be because 748 00:45:45,200 --> 00:45:47,839 Speaker 1: they hated the game. So as the students played the game, 749 00:45:48,280 --> 00:45:50,120 Speaker 1: they were asked every four minutes to kind of rate 750 00:45:50,200 --> 00:45:52,760 Speaker 1: how they were feeling feeling, using a ten point scale 751 00:45:52,800 --> 00:45:55,799 Speaker 1: to indicate, you know, were they feeling really sick or 752 00:45:55,800 --> 00:45:58,840 Speaker 1: were they feeling fine? And some folks would stop earlier 753 00:45:58,840 --> 00:46:01,400 Speaker 1: than others because of cyber sickness, and they would come 754 00:46:01,440 --> 00:46:04,680 Speaker 1: back to do additional sessions throughout the week. The researchers 755 00:46:04,719 --> 00:46:08,319 Speaker 1: observed that through exposure, people would gradually get more used 756 00:46:08,320 --> 00:46:13,520 Speaker 1: to VR and feel fewer or less intense symptoms of cybersickness, 757 00:46:13,840 --> 00:46:16,400 Speaker 1: and they found that three twenty minute sessions in a 758 00:46:16,440 --> 00:46:20,080 Speaker 1: week could lead to significant improvements. They also, however, noted 759 00:46:20,120 --> 00:46:24,200 Speaker 1: that there were outliers who showed less progress, Probably they 760 00:46:24,239 --> 00:46:27,680 Speaker 1: are not a good fit for VR. And the study 761 00:46:27,719 --> 00:46:30,680 Speaker 1: also found that in general, women have a harder time 762 00:46:30,760 --> 00:46:34,799 Speaker 1: to adjust to VR and reduce symptoms of cybersickness than 763 00:46:34,920 --> 00:46:37,720 Speaker 1: men do. That's not to say that's true across the board, 764 00:46:38,080 --> 00:46:39,719 Speaker 1: It's just that it was something that was more of 765 00:46:39,760 --> 00:46:43,440 Speaker 1: a tendency they observed. That is a tough sell because 766 00:46:43,480 --> 00:46:46,279 Speaker 1: you are asking customers to buy into a technology that 767 00:46:46,360 --> 00:46:50,080 Speaker 1: costs a few hundred to several hundred, maybe even more 768 00:46:50,120 --> 00:46:52,719 Speaker 1: than a thousand dollars, especially if you want to top 769 00:46:52,800 --> 00:46:55,879 Speaker 1: end system, you might be talking about more than two grand, 770 00:46:56,000 --> 00:46:58,359 Speaker 1: or or that might just be a starting point if 771 00:46:58,360 --> 00:47:01,120 Speaker 1: you want to really sick gaming rig that can also 772 00:47:01,200 --> 00:47:04,040 Speaker 1: run VR. And on top of all that, the experience 773 00:47:04,040 --> 00:47:06,840 Speaker 1: of using the equipment can be unpleasant, at least at first. 774 00:47:07,120 --> 00:47:10,120 Speaker 1: So for some people it might be insurmountable, which means 775 00:47:10,160 --> 00:47:13,400 Speaker 1: they'll likely be left out of any metaverse implementation that 776 00:47:13,440 --> 00:47:17,000 Speaker 1: depends upon mixed reality as an interface. So this is 777 00:47:17,040 --> 00:47:20,640 Speaker 1: one of many reasons why I am skeptical of the metaverse. 778 00:47:21,200 --> 00:47:23,239 Speaker 1: I just see that there are a lot of challenges 779 00:47:23,280 --> 00:47:26,200 Speaker 1: we have to overcome in order to make it something 780 00:47:26,280 --> 00:47:30,239 Speaker 1: that the general population can easily interact with. If it's 781 00:47:30,280 --> 00:47:33,359 Speaker 1: not something the general population can easily interact with, it 782 00:47:33,400 --> 00:47:37,000 Speaker 1: represents an enormous digital divide where the people who can 783 00:47:37,040 --> 00:47:40,359 Speaker 1: afford it and the people who aren't getting sick from 784 00:47:40,440 --> 00:47:43,120 Speaker 1: using it are able to access it, and the rest 785 00:47:43,120 --> 00:47:46,960 Speaker 1: of us can't, which means all those amazing capabilities that 786 00:47:46,960 --> 00:47:49,680 Speaker 1: are being promised in these discussions of the metaverse will 787 00:47:49,680 --> 00:47:54,080 Speaker 1: only apply to a small slice of the population. That's 788 00:47:54,120 --> 00:47:58,400 Speaker 1: why I am majorly skeptical of the metaverse, and I'm 789 00:47:58,840 --> 00:48:02,600 Speaker 1: wary of it, uh, even as I have to talk 790 00:48:02,640 --> 00:48:07,120 Speaker 1: about it and occasionally sit on panels about it. So anyway, 791 00:48:07,239 --> 00:48:10,520 Speaker 1: I thought I would really take the specific perspective of 792 00:48:10,520 --> 00:48:14,319 Speaker 1: how virtual reality fits into that metaverse picture and use 793 00:48:14,360 --> 00:48:17,040 Speaker 1: that for our tech Stuff tidbits that now is officially 794 00:48:17,120 --> 00:48:21,120 Speaker 1: longer than most of my regular episodes. You're welcome, all right, 795 00:48:21,160 --> 00:48:22,759 Speaker 1: I'm wrapping this up. If you would like to get 796 00:48:22,760 --> 00:48:25,239 Speaker 1: in touch with me with topics for future episodes, let 797 00:48:25,239 --> 00:48:28,000 Speaker 1: me know by taking on the I Heart radio app. 798 00:48:28,000 --> 00:48:30,840 Speaker 1: It's free to download. Just go to the tech Stuff page. 799 00:48:31,160 --> 00:48:33,440 Speaker 1: Use that little microphone. You can leave a voice message 800 00:48:33,480 --> 00:48:35,400 Speaker 1: up to thirty seconds in length. Let me know what 801 00:48:35,440 --> 00:48:37,600 Speaker 1: you would like me to talk about, or send me 802 00:48:37,600 --> 00:48:40,160 Speaker 1: a message on Twitter. The handle we use there is 803 00:48:40,320 --> 00:48:44,120 Speaker 1: tech Stuff hs W and I'll talk to you again 804 00:48:45,000 --> 00:48:54,520 Speaker 1: really soon. Tech Stuff is an I Heart Radio production. 805 00:48:54,760 --> 00:48:57,600 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the i 806 00:48:57,680 --> 00:49:00,920 Speaker 1: Heart Radio app Apple Podcasts for wherever you listen to 807 00:49:01,000 --> 00:49:01,880 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.