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Virtual world step nearer reality
WILL the world one day run out of oil? Experts may disagree, but scientists in Yorkshire are working on a project that will aid the human race should mankind lose the ability to travel.
They are developing a 'virtual cocoon' which will allow people to have diverse sensory experiences of the world without leaving home.
Professor David Howard, of the University of York, is leading the project called Towards Real Virtuality. He said: "We rely on our senses to interact with the world around us. Do we actually need to travel to be somewhere to experience it fully?"
Prof Howard said the team hopes to create two types of cocoon: one that could be built as a room in every home "within 15-20 years" and a portable device with computer screens, headphones and smell facilities.
A grant worth around 200,000 from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council will allow Prof Howard and his colleagues, Prof Alan Chalmers and Dr Christopher Moir of Warwick University, to assemble a team of experts, including academics and industrial partners.
IBM, the computing giant, and Arup, the global engineering consultancy, have been named as partners in the research project.
They will work together to produce a detailed proposal to attract major funding for the cocoon project.
The proposal will include a showreel video, the findings of a series of brainstorming workshops and the results from three focus group-style public debates in the UK.
The team will also travel to other laboratories to see other pioneering work in the presentation of video and audio information.
Prof Howard stressed the team is keen to hear the views of the public.
He said: "The challenge is, if you can't travel would you be happy meeting someone remotely? Would you be happy having a business meeting? If you couldn't see someone's body language would you agree to a business deal?"
In terms of research, Prof Howard said the challenge for science would be to understand how each of the five senses interact perceptually.
"When the brain looks at something is the brain concentrating on what it is hearing or does it change how we hear things? When you smell something does it change the way you feel things?"
Prof Howard said the project had a lot to offer, particularly in the carbon economy and he described its conception as a response to the oil situation. Many energy analysts believe that global oil production will peak and go into sustained decline by 2020.
Recent estimates from BP suggest oil reserves stand at 1,237.9 billion barrels.
Prof Howard said the technological challenge to present the world in virtual terms has a huge computational requirement. And if successful, there could be a danger of people spending too much time in cocoons – becoming couch potatoes.
"That would seem to be a huge danger," said Prof Howard. "We are animals who need exercise."
It could also pose questions about what constitutes reality: "You could imagine spending a lot of time in there and not actually going out at all."
Prof Howard, who is head of audio lab, intelligent systems research group in the department of electronics, invited views from Yorkshire Post readers on his project. He can be reached by email at dh@ohm.york.ac.uk
Altering the way we live
THE virtual cocoon has the potential to change the world and the way we live in it.
In theory, we would no longer need to drive a car or board a plane to have 'real' experiences of other parts of the world.
According to Professor David Howard, the cocoon could be linked to Google Earth to investigate the ambience of a restaurant on the other side of the world when planning a holiday.
We could also visit the Serengeti game reserve in southern Africa as a family, even if family members were scattered across the globe.
We could select our desired listening position at a concert at the Royal Albert Hall or visit ancient Rome during history or Latin lessons.
It could also significantly change shopping on the internet as potential customers will be able to smell flowers, feel the fabric of a dress or try out a new sofa with the confidence that the experience is the same as if there in the shop.
Prof Howard said: "What will people make of virtual cocoons and how will they change tomorrow's society?
"We cannot yet say what the exact nature of the virtual cocoon will be to achieve widespread adoption and economic success, but we do assume it will need to be low-cost, easy to interface with and highly portable."
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Friday 25 May 2012
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