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I'm not betting my whole stack on it, but I would bet some on the idea that an imminent breakthrough/killer-app for consumer VR will be exercise. Could be VR gy

I'm not betting my whole stack on it, but I would bet some on the idea that an imminent breakthrough/killer-app for consumer VR will be exercise. Could be VR gyms. Could be home use. Take a current-gen oculus/etc. Add a heart rate monitor, foot tracking, maybe weighted controllers... you have some excellent workout potential. If price can get to <$300, they will sell A lot of the top games atm (beat saber, superhot, boxvr) are pretty exercise-ey. Combining gamified fun/addictiveness, in-home convenience & all the advantages of digitization (eg adjust speed in response to heart rate)... I reckon it will be effective. We're not far from it. An exercise-centric home VR console and/or VR gyms...

buboard 7y ago
> VR will be exercise. Could be VR gyms It s an interesting idea but about the worst situation i can think of. Not only will i be sweating, i 'll be vigorously moving , exacerbating any vestibular reflexes, shifting the headset on my head, and risking getting injured. I think anything that requires too much physical interaction is a bad candidate for VR. My idea of VR is that it amplifies any minute movement of my fingers magically. That feels empowering
- Ajedi32 7y ago
  There are already a lot of great games in VR that make you sweat. It's actually not bad at all. Sweat is easily dealt with if you purchase a washable faceplate cover, and there are no simulator sickness issues created by moving around physically with a 6DoF headset, since the view in-game perfectly mirrors your movement in the real world. The headset can shift around slightly on your head, but I've found that's only really an issue if you turn your head complete upside down. Aside from that, slight shifts are barely noticeable provided the headset is strapped on correctly. I do agree that actually using gym equipment in VR would be rather difficult to do safely, unless the equipment itself was actually tracked and displayed in-game.
aphextim 7y ago
A fully immersive experience could be fun. Biking trails while wearing a VR headset on an online community driven game system like Zwift, but with VR could be fun! https://zwift.com/ https://zwift.com/
- dalbasal 7y ago
  Exactly. In VR (current-gen), this can be gamified to make it more fun and addictive. Instead of turning up the music and yelling encouragement like a spinning class, you can be chased by bears. Add in social/multiplayer features (help friend escape bear), and it could be savage.
overcast 7y ago
The killer app for VR is going to be escapism. There is going to be a future where you're going to purchase experiences from companies. There will be an underground, sex will be huge, travel, alter egos, just like in sci-fi movies. Just wait until VR is like The Beam/Matrix, where you actually feel and sense everything happening. People will be jacked in for most of their life. I envision this being particularly popular for people nearing the end of their lives, or disabled & crippled.
- dalbasal 7y ago
  perhaps :). I was talking about the immediate term though. Right now it's a gaming device(s) that's cool but lacks content. A "killer app" in the immediate sense is something to justify the current cost and drive the loop of users->content->price/performance->users. To get to your endgame, there will need to be reasons to buy devices before the tech matrix level. No sales, no production, no advancements. For now, the driver is gaming & and (in theory) biz-applications. My guess is that gaming+exercise is the next breakthrough, in terms of moving units and driving the loop. Anyway... escapism, underground culture, sex(porn), travel, alter ego is arguably the endgame of every personal computing device. Most of us do all these on PCs & phones.
  - whywhywhywhy 7y ago
    > Right now it's a gaming device(s) Think you're selling it a bit short, one of the most popular uses is Social via apps like VRChat
- jackcosgrove 7y ago
  I don't want VR to simulate things I can actually do. I want VR to simulate things I can never do. A bunch of people "walking though a forest" while on treadmills in microapartments sounds dystopian.
  - overcast 7y ago
    When you're old, feeble, handicapped, or unfortunately unattractive, these are all things you can never do.

buboard 7y ago

> VR will be exercise. Could be VR gyms It s an interesting idea but about the worst situation i can think of. Not only will i be sweating, i 'll be vigorously moving , exacerbating any vestibular reflexes, shifting the headset on my head, and risking getting injured. I think anything that requires too much physical interaction is a bad candidate for VR. My idea of VR is that it amplifies any minute movement of my fingers magically. That feels empowering

Ajedi32 7y ago
There are already a lot of great games in VR that make you sweat. It's actually not bad at all. Sweat is easily dealt with if you purchase a washable faceplate cover, and there are no simulator sickness issues created by moving around physically with a 6DoF headset, since the view in-game perfectly mirrors your movement in the real world. The headset can shift around slightly on your head, but I've found that's only really an issue if you turn your head complete upside down. Aside from that, slight shifts are barely noticeable provided the headset is strapped on correctly. I do agree that actually using gym equipment in VR would be rather difficult to do safely, unless the equipment itself was actually tracked and displayed in-game.

aphextim 7y ago

A fully immersive experience could be fun. Biking trails while wearing a VR headset on an online community driven game system like Zwift, but with VR could be fun! https://zwift.com/ https://zwift.com/

dalbasal 7y ago
Exactly. In VR (current-gen), this can be gamified to make it more fun and addictive. Instead of turning up the music and yelling encouragement like a spinning class, you can be chased by bears. Add in social/multiplayer features (help friend escape bear), and it could be savage.

overcast 7y ago

The killer app for VR is going to be escapism. There is going to be a future where you're going to purchase experiences from companies. There will be an underground, sex will be huge, travel, alter egos, just like in sci-fi movies. Just wait until VR is like The Beam/Matrix, where you actually feel and sense everything happening. People will be jacked in for most of their life. I envision this being particularly popular for people nearing the end of their lives, or disabled & crippled.

dalbasal 7y ago
perhaps :). I was talking about the immediate term though. Right now it's a gaming device(s) that's cool but lacks content. A "killer app" in the immediate sense is something to justify the current cost and drive the loop of users->content->price/performance->users. To get to your endgame, there will need to be reasons to buy devices before the tech matrix level. No sales, no production, no advancements. For now, the driver is gaming & and (in theory) biz-applications. My guess is that gaming+exercise is the next breakthrough, in terms of moving units and driving the loop. Anyway... escapism, underground culture, sex(porn), travel, alter ego is arguably the endgame of every personal computing device. Most of us do all these on PCs & phones.
- whywhywhywhy 7y ago
  > Right now it's a gaming device(s) Think you're selling it a bit short, one of the most popular uses is Social via apps like VRChat
jackcosgrove 7y ago
I don't want VR to simulate things I can actually do. I want VR to simulate things I can never do. A bunch of people "walking though a forest" while on treadmills in microapartments sounds dystopian.
- overcast 7y ago
  When you're old, feeble, handicapped, or unfortunately unattractive, these are all things you can never do.