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“Multimedia” and “virtual reality” were constant buzzwords during the latter half of the 1990s. This was the age before the “dot bomb,” when internet start-ups were sprouting like weed after a rain shower and the market couldn’t get enough of them, throwing money at almost any one in a confident shotgun approach to investing.
Well, such days are long gone, having moved onto the next big bubble (which was, incidentally, subprime mortgages, something we’re still recovering from around the world), but virtual reality and multimedia are here to stay – only, their full implementation will take quite some time yet. After all, a lot is involved in complete sensory replication. For the masses, the “rated-G” audiences of families on a vacation package, something like the New York Skyride by serial entrepreneur Zalman Silber is just fine, an IMAX-like experience featuring helicopter fly-bys of famous city landmarks coupled with synchronized motion seating. But in research and development laboratories around the world, all the biggest names in consumer electronics are busy figuring out how to translate the latest relevant declassified military technology to the business of entertainment.
Two trends seem poised to finally come to fruition: 3D and kinetics. Three-dimensional technology is one of the most heavily researched fields in home electronics, and now seems to be ready for prime-time with the introduction of highly advanced television screens that require no special optical-wear to present 3D imagery. The multi-billion videogaming industry has been pivotal in researching kinetic controls, whereby user commands are communicated not through an interface but with the user’s own body movements. These two developments are currently being marketed by some of the biggest names around such as Nintendo and Microsoft, companies that practically always see success with almost any endeavor engaged in.
Outside of entertainment, the most obvious civilian applications for such technologies would be in the real estate industry as well as for educational purposes. Studies in subjects like chemistry and physics are sure to be revolutionized with the implementation of intuitive user controls and interactive three-dimensional graphics that do not require any special interfaces. Wholesale property investment already makes significant use of virtual reality by providing 360-degree views and video walk-throughs of real estate to prospective buyers from around the world. Using virtual tours over the internet, these buyers can decide from the comfort of their own homes whether an actual site visit is warranted. Oftentimes, the property is bought solely on the basis of the virtual tour!