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I don't get the online shopping thing. What does VR contribute here? I'm sure if VR really gets going, retail will be a part of it but going there at the demo s

by netcan 12y ago

I don't get the online shopping thing. What does VR contribute here? I'm sure if VR really gets going, retail will be a part of it but going there at the demo stage seems really weird. BTW, what are the basic applications of VR headsets. IE, a smartphone's basic jobs are text based communication (SMS, whatsapp, twitter, email etc), calls, camera, web browser, media players, games… There are an unlimited number of the jobs and different people use different things, but… well, online shopping isn't one of the big ones. What are VR headsets for? Do we have any better understanding of this now than we did ten years ogo? I'm not sure if this is practical, but my mind goes to 3d movies. IE, there's a movie that you watch by walking around and listening to different conversations and seeing different things.

soylentcola 12y ago
Granted a lot of this is just speculation based on following more recent developments and projects on the Oculus forums/subreddit but I think along with the 3d movie idea, telepresence would be a big one. There are already a few teams working on prototypes that make use of one or more Kinect depth cameras to "record" a room in 3D so you can put yourself back in these recorded 3d scenes later on. Others have been experimenting with encoding and compressing this data for transmission over networks and decoding at the other end to provide a sort of real-time 3d telepresence. Obviously it's limited by using Kinect depth cameras, current consumer computers, and standard broadband networks but the way I see it, my first Treo smartphone was limited by the SoC and touchscreen tech of the time as well as the wireless data networks of the time. Still, it eventually evolved into the iPhones and Nexuses of today. I think that at some point, the head-mounted hardware will become more ergonomic and more functional at costs that allow them to be sold to average users. Likewise, the hardware and software to capture and encode 3d video models of a room or "scene" will become more commonplace. Right now it's games and demos...parlor tricks like the first motion picture reels that eventually led to IMAX movies.
- netcan 12y ago
  Telepresence is a "who knows" I think. Communication is all nuance. Who would have expected IM will be more popular than video calling? The only way to know is to get it out there, I guess. Gaming seems like a good place to experiment though.

by netcan 12y ago

soylentcola 12y ago

Granted a lot of this is just speculation based on following more recent developments and projects on the Oculus forums/subreddit but I think along with the 3d movie idea, telepresence would be a big one. There are already a few teams working on prototypes that make use of one or more Kinect depth cameras to "record" a room in 3D so you can put yourself back in these recorded 3d scenes later on. Others have been experimenting with encoding and compressing this data for transmission over networks and decoding at the other end to provide a sort of real-time 3d telepresence. Obviously it's limited by using Kinect depth cameras, current consumer computers, and standard broadband networks but the way I see it, my first Treo smartphone was limited by the SoC and touchscreen tech of the time as well as the wireless data networks of the time. Still, it eventually evolved into the iPhones and Nexuses of today. I think that at some point, the head-mounted hardware will become more ergonomic and more functional at costs that allow them to be sold to average users. Likewise, the hardware and software to capture and encode 3d video models of a room or "scene" will become more commonplace. Right now it's games and demos...parlor tricks like the first motion picture reels that eventually led to IMAX movies.

netcan 12y ago
Telepresence is a "who knows" I think. Communication is all nuance. Who would have expected IM will be more popular than video calling? The only way to know is to get it out there, I guess. Gaming seems like a good place to experiment though.