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With “immersive technologies” we refer to all the tools which extend physical reality to virtual reality. During the past year, the growing attention around the metaverse, and the virtual world in general, has seen a dramatic increase in online search engines. Following the Facebook rebranding to Meta, the research estimates actually doubled between 2021 and 2022 as regards the Meta Quest 2 and in general everything relating to Extended Realities. Thanks to the increasing adoption of virtual reality and the metaverse boom, the VR industry is constantly expanding. Let's explore the technologies that allow us to enter proto-metaverses and the metaverses of the future.
Extended Reality
The concept of extended reality (XR) encompasses the entire spectrum of feasible interactions between physical and virtual environments. This concept splits up into subordinate categories, including Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality and Augmented Reality.
Virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is perhaps the most popular notion. Thanks to 3D tools & softwares, VR allows us to simulate and digitally recreate a physical environment. To access the virtual space, we require VR headsets, sensory suits or ad-hoc accessories.
Mixed reality
It includes all the “immersive” technologies, which therefore links virtual and real environments for a hybrid experience. The closest example is Microsoft's Google Glasses or HoloLens, in which the physical surroundings are enriched through digital interactions.
Augmented reality
Augmented Reality (AR) is often confused with the previous definition: if mixed reality allows digital interaction with the physical world around us, AR overlaps digitally generated content on top of the physical environment, enriching the empirical reality. Augmented reality glasses made their first appearance in a 1968 work by Ivan Sutherland. In the ‘90s, the first reliable headsets were born, then exploded in the 2000s with the rise of the Internet and GPS systems, which increased the perception of reality through visual extension services. Google Maps’ StreetView with its map virtualization is an example; the HUD technology used by aviation for in-flight holographic screens; as well as the AR projection used for Tupac's concert at the 2012 Coachella Festival.
How does virtual reality work?
VR headsets
From the most popular Meta Quest 2 to Valve Index best performance, the VR headsets are the main access point for experiencing virtual reality. Today we can already count several manufacturers on the market and Valve Corporation is the leader. Indeed, there is no coincidence that its brand is behind the HTC Vive and Steam’s Valve Index. Next up is Meta and the world of gaming consoles and PCs, including Sony Playstation VR and standalone products Oculus Quest and HP Reverb. The latter also takes advantage of Windows Mixed Reality technology for the use of the inside-out tracking system, which allows the headset to detect movements without sensors or camera assistance.
Teslasuit: Full Body Suit
This special suit is able to transmit virtual emotions on your skin: it simulates wet, hot, cold feelings and it is also able to simulate contact with an individual or an object by letting you feel pressure on body parts. Its haptic system, managed by the Tesla OS and 32 electrodes, also allows other functions, such as massage, posture correction and muscle stimulation. What if we sweat while playing? Once detached by the electronic components, the suit can be washed in the washing machine.
FeelReal: Multisensory VR Mask
This mask is still being tested. By connecting it to any existing headset, it will be able to reproduce any temperature and odor variations happening in the virtual world. For example, if the wind blows, two micro fans will activate to simulate it; or if you approach a fire, two micro heaters and an ionization system will reproduce the feeling of dampness.
Virtuix Omni: VR Treadmill
One more obstacle to overcome in virtual reality is moving without the risk to bump into… real obstacles! Walls and surroundings are invisible when we wear headsets. The Virtuix Omni is a round omni-directional VR treadmill which allows users to freely explore the virtual environment without letting them leave their position: by connecting the device to the Oculus Rift, the platform will transmit your movement to the headset and allow you to move virtually thanks to special shoes and a protective belt.
Manus VR: Haptic Gloves
The development of gloves capable of reproducing hand movements and feelings has finally started. Manus VR developed by Reality Labs, Meta's partner company, allows users to touch objects in the metaverse and type on virtual keyboards much better than other models, thus extending the perception of the metaverse.
However, the use of these wearables, although it is intriguing for the gaming industry, is not actually limited to this area: this is proven by the medical applications with which the training applied to AR allows to improve the execution of complex operations without the risk of making fatal mistakes; robotic surgery with high-precision devices controlled by a human surgeon using AR and VR; opening up to studies and research on physical therapy and the treatment of post-traumatic stress.
Holocake 2 and beyond: the future of VR glasses
The developers challenge is to reduce the headset size. Although Zuckerberg's company is already innovating the industry, the Meta's research team, Display System Research, never sleeps. The problem to be solved in order to achieve a more comfortable and lighter product concerns brightness: due to the technologies used today at a commercial level, reducing the VR headset size is not achievable However, Meta has already announced, via Mark Zuckerberg interview, the existence of a new prototype. It's called Holocake 2 and features two new technologies capable of solving the aforementioned obstacle. Thanks to the use of holograms and a different polarized reflection, the Meta prototype is much slimmer and more comfortable.
Holocake 2 prototype
There is more on the table. Display System Research is already working on a new project, codenamed “Mirror Lake”. We don't have much information but we know that it is based on the Holocake 2 architecture, it implements all new technologies developed in the past seven years by the Meta team and the final product will look like a ski goggles.
A digital evolution
The pandemic has dramatically speed up the development of new emerging technologies. Plus, thanks to the rebrand of Facebook in Meta, the push towards VR is the result of the digital transformation: jobs have been transitioning to platforms such as Zoom and Google Meet; the blockchain development and the adoption of cryptocurrencies are symptoms of the aforementioned digital transformation; the metaverse seems to be an imminent reality, not a mere futuristic concept. Furthermore, 87% of Generation Z has an average weekly playtime of around 7 hours.
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Sources:
https:/https://teslasuit.io/
https://feelreal.com/
https://www.virtuix.com/
https://www.manus-meta.com/