Immersive technology
Encyclopedia
Immersive technology refers to technology
that blurs the line between the physical world and digital or simulated world, thereby creating a sense of immersion
.
technologies are developed to stimulate one or more of the five senses
to create perceptually-real sensations.
Vision
Auditory
Tactile
Olfaction
Gustation
input to provide dynamic, real-time response. To achieve this, software often integrates components of artificial intelligence
and virtual worlds.
The U.S. Government requests information for immersive technology development and funds specific projects.
, entertainment
and video games and interactive storytelling, military
, education
, and medicine
. As immersive technology becomes more mainstream, it will likely pervade many other industries.
, The Matrix
, and the short film 'Play' by David Kaplan and Eric Zimmerman raise questions about what may happen if we are unable to distinguish the physical world from the digital world.
Legal systems debate on topics of Virtual crime
, and whether it is ethical to permit illegal behavior such as rape in a simulated environment.
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
that blurs the line between the physical world and digital or simulated world, thereby creating a sense of immersion
Immersion (virtual reality)
Immersion is the state of consciousness where an immersant's awareness of physical self is diminished or lost by being surrounded in an engrossing total environment; often artificial. This mental state is frequently accompanied with spatial excess, intense focus, a distorted sense of time, and...
.
Perception
The following hardwareHardware
Hardware is a general term for equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts. Household hardware is typically sold in hardware stores....
technologies are developed to stimulate one or more of the five senses
Sense
Senses are physiological capacities of organisms that provide inputs for perception. The senses and their operation, classification, and theory are overlapping topics studied by a variety of fields, most notably neuroscience, cognitive psychology , and philosophy of perception...
to create perceptually-real sensations.
Vision
- 3D display3D displayA 3D display is any display device capable of conveying a stereoscopic perception of 3-D depth to the viewer. The basic requirement is to present offset images that are displayed separately to the left and right eye. Both of these 2-D offset images are then combined in the brain to give the...
- HolographyHolographyHolography is a technique that allows the light scattered from an object to be recorded and later reconstructed so that when an imaging system is placed in the reconstructed beam, an image of the object will be seen even when the object is no longer present...
- Head-mounted displayHead-mounted displayA head-mounted display or helmet mounted display, both abbreviated HMD, is a display device, worn on the head or as part of a helmet, that has a small display optic in front of one or each eye .- Overview :...
- FulldomeFulldomeFulldome refers to immersive dome-based video projection environments. The dome, horizontal or tilted, is filled with real-time or pre-rendered computer animations, live capture images, or composited environments....
Auditory
- 3D audio effect3D audio effect3D audio effects are a group of sound effects that attempt to widen the stereo image produced by two loudspeakers or stereo headphones, or to create the illusion of sound sources placed anywhere in 3 dimensional space, including behind, above or below the listener.There are several types of 3D...
- Surround soundSurround soundSurround sound encompasses a range of techniques such as for enriching the sound reproduction quality of an audio source with audio channels reproduced via additional, discrete speakers. Surround sound is characterized by a listener location or sweet spot where the audio effects work best, and...
Tactile
- Haptic technology
Olfaction
- Machine olfactionMachine olfactionMachine olfaction is the automated simulation of the sense of smell. It is an emerging requirement of modern robotics where robots or other automated systems are needed to measure the existence of a particular chemical concentration in air...
Gustation
- Artificial flavor
Interaction
These technologies provide the ability to interact and communicate with the virtual environment.- Gesture recognitionGesture recognitionGesture recognition is a topic in computer science and language technology with the goal of interpreting human gestures via mathematical algorithms. Gestures can originate from any bodily motion or state but commonly originate from the face or hand. Current focuses in the field include emotion...
- Brain–computer interface
- Speech recognitionSpeech recognitionSpeech recognition converts spoken words to text. The term "voice recognition" is sometimes used to refer to recognition systems that must be trained to a particular speaker—as is the case for most desktop recognition software...
- Omnidirectional treadmillOmnidirectional treadmillAn omnidirectional treadmill, or ODT, is a device that allows a person to perform locomotive motion in any direction. The ability to move in any direction is how these treadmills differ from their basic counterparts...
Software
Software interacts with the hardware technology to render the virtual environment and process the userUser (computing)
A user is an agent, either a human agent or software agent, who uses a computer or network service. A user often has a user account and is identified by a username , screen name , nickname , or handle, which is derived from the identical Citizen's Band radio term.Users are...
input to provide dynamic, real-time response. To achieve this, software often integrates components of artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
and virtual worlds.
Research and development
Many universities have programs that research and develop immersive technology. Examples are Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab, USC's Computer Graphics and Immersive Technologies Lab, Iowa State Virtual Reality Applications Center, University of Buffalo's VR Lab, and Teesside University's Intelligent Virtual Environments Lab.The U.S. Government requests information for immersive technology development and funds specific projects.
Application
Immersive technology is applied in several areas, including the adult industry, artArt
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
and video games and interactive storytelling, military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, and medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
. As immersive technology becomes more mainstream, it will likely pervade many other industries.
Concerns and ethics
The potential perils of immersive technology have often been portrayed in science fiction and entertainment. Movies such as eXistenZEXistenZ
eXistenZ is a 1999 body horror/science fiction film by Canadian director David Cronenberg. It stars Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jude Law....
, The Matrix
The Matrix
The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...
, and the short film 'Play' by David Kaplan and Eric Zimmerman raise questions about what may happen if we are unable to distinguish the physical world from the digital world.
Legal systems debate on topics of Virtual crime
Virtual crime
Virtual crime or in-game crime refers to a virtual criminal act that takes place in a massively multiplayer online game , usually an MMORPG. The huge time and effort invested into such games can lead online "crime" to spill over into real world crime, and even blur the distinctions between the two...
, and whether it is ethical to permit illegal behavior such as rape in a simulated environment.