I decided to split the metaverse blog post into a mini-series since the topic is so broad, that when I tried to put everything into one post I simply failed.
We start with the currently most relevant part: VR Hardware.
VR is one of the two technologies that will be the platforms for the metaverse soon. Arguably not the most important one, but the one that will be available first.
2023 will be a big year for VR. We will see some new VR devices from Meta, Apple, Pico, and others. Some of these new devices will tackle the most important problems for VR hardware.
The problem with existing VR devices, like the meta quest, is that you cannot use them for extended periods, and it is not a pleasant experience at all. They are too heavy, and they cause eye strain. The movement in VR leads to nausea and the ways to interact with VR are limited. On top of that, the viewing itself is far from reality.
Some of these problems will be fixed this year. Each new headset is lighter than the last one and Apple’s VR headset is supposed to have a way higher resolution than most currently available headsets thanks to apple silicon. Eye tracking is coming in meta’s next headset and in many others, which will help with performance and resolution, and will give us new ways to interact.
Some other problems like contrast, adaptive depth, distortion, and field of view are harder to fix and will take some time, but mark Zuckerberg recently showed some prototypes that tackle some of these problems too.
Most of these solutions require huge amounts of computation power, especially higher resolutions. Standalone Headsets will not be able to perform fast enough, at least not for the next year. I think apple is most likely to be able to bring a good visual experience to a standalone headset thanks to apple silicon, but their first model which is expected to launch in January 2023 will not be able to fix all the existing visual problems. Even PC-VR is still limited by data rates of cables and wireless transmission. We need at least Wi-Fi 6 to reach a point where wireless transmission is viable for realistic-looking VR experiences.
The problem with nausea will become less bad with improved visuals but as long as we use a controller to move the problem persists. I do not think omnidirectional treadmills are the way to go. they are too expensive, and most people do not want to waste that much space, money, and energy in their free time. Some applications use teleporting or walking in place to move, and many other solutions are currently being tested. While treadmills are not likely going to be a standard accessory, full-body tracking will be. The difference in emersion with full body tracking is huge and it gives VR another important input tool. Cheap full-body tracking solutions like slimeVR will become better and better and will give us realistic bodies in VR. The already mentioned eye tracking is another step of emersion that will be important for social VR. Being able to look someone in the eyes and read their mimic is a core element of human interaction and we are sensitive to strange facial movements. But eye tracking can do even more. It improves performance by limiting the resolution in areas that we are not looking at and it serves as an input device for VR. We can look at objects and control elements and the software will be able to extrapolate what we want to touch or click, which will remove frustrating moments like not being able to click the right button because of unprecise hand tracking. This brings me to my last point: hand tracking. It is arguably part of full-body tracking, but it is so important since hands are our primary way to interact with VR. Realistic and precise hand tracking is one of the most important aspects of emersion.
Perfect Virtual Hands – But At A Cost! 👐
Near-Perfect Virtual Hands For Virtual Reality! 👐
This AI Creates Virtual Fingers! 🤝
These videos show some of the key papers for hand tracking, published in the last two years. These papers are the foundation of meta’s hand tracking and will most likely continue to improve in the coming year.
If we look at the current development of headsets in the market it looks pretty good.
And the number of Headsets that are used every month for gaming is a good indicator for this upcoming billion-dollar entertainment industry.
I think we will see an even greater wave of people getting into VR in the next 2 years. Not just for gaming, but with apple joining the market, we will also see increases in areas like education and industry.
In the end, I want to take a short look into the far future of VR and virtual reality. I am talking about 5-10 years, probably after a technological singularity. The final goal of VR is full dive. The ability to simulate all 5 senses directly within the brain and to intercept all outputs from our brain to paralyze our body and redirect all movement into virtual reality. I will not talk about the implications for society that is a topic for another time, but from a pure hardware perspective, this is extremely challenging. While reading the output of the brain is an area where we are currently making a lot of progress, intercepting the signal to prevent our body from moving is not possible right now without a lot of medical expertise and long-lasting effects. Sending signals for all senses directly into the brain is even harder since every brain is different. I do not think we will be able to do this without an AGI, but if in the far future a machine overlord decides to put us all in our own matrix it will hopefully be heaven and not hell.
Leave a Reply