Virtual Reality and Reality: Could You Spot The Difference?

When navigating through the worlds growing digital landscape, you can almost see a wired bridge closing the gap between humans and technology. It has become alarmingly clearer just how many people are living a ‘connected life’ – that is life through the lens of technology. We all evolve and adapt with the changes and innovations in technology. Im sure most students my age evolved from a Playstation 1 console to a Playstation 2 and so on. With such a large amount of people already having an established link to some form of connected technology such as their personal computer, smart phone or gaming console – when a new innovation comes out, it is only natural that we follow the same path.

Two of the main technologies that futurists get most excited about are virtual reality and living forever. But I’m sure we all know the phrase ‘ I’m here for a good time not a long time’ –  but life in virtual reality ensures a great time. The concept of ‘Virtual Reality’, which uses the foundations built through cyberspace – encompasses a community of interactive experiences found within the constructs of the internet. In short, it is the graphic representation of real life matter into virtaul data, meaning experiences are created by technology with the aim of approximating and simulating actual experience.

My digital artefact will aim to showcase a representation of the similarities between VR and reality, hopefully exploring the potential capabilities of the technology. The format for the digital artefact will be split up into a WordPress Blog and a YouTube Video that includes a mixture of real life footage and a graphic imitation of the environment created with the program 3DS or Maya. The actual environment will be somewhere with a familiar setting: the university hall, McKinnon building etc. The blog will also document my progress and challenges with learning the new skill of animation and building environments.

According to Ray Kurzweil, a director of engineering at google, “Right now the revolution is devices you put on your eyes, your ears,” Kurzweil says, noting that he has patents for tactile virtual reality. By the 2030s, he says, VR could plug straight into your nervous system — which will expand the potential experiences in your life, or so the futurist argument goes. This means that all our senses are activated, which can be a major factor in limiting the gap between real life and virtual life. It seems like the possibilities are endless and the rabbit hole has no other end.

This leads to the question – How much of our reality can we live in a virtual world? We are so ignorant to the technology and how it works due to the fact it is only at its beginnings. Its like the personal computers of the 70’s and 80’s. Many people had no idea what they were doing but a handful made millions from the new technology. We can see just how far the personal computer has come since then, so how far will Virtual Reality in lets say 100 years time? Im sure their is a VR’s version of Steve Jobs eating his morning cereal somewhere in the world.

My research strategies will include a combination of the texts, practices and impact of VR from a national and international perspective. Notable cyberpunk author William Gibson, offer texts that further investigate what a rebellious age of technological advances may look like and also arguing the ethical boundaries in innovative technologies. To enhance my understanding of environmental development programs I will need to also research certain guides and experiment with the tools I have at my disposal.