Ready Player One

Virtual reality and why it's not as far off as you might think. Ready Player One April 24, 2015 INTRO Hello and welcome to Terrifying Robot Dog! Episode 3 for Friday, April 25, 2015. I'm Jonathan Stark - and I'm Kelli Shaver - and we are here to talk about how technology is changing the way we interact with the world. This week we discuss virtual reality and why it's not as far off as you might think. Please stay tuned, Terrifying Robot Dog is next... FEATURE We talk about: The path from Facebook+Oculus/Xbox+HoloLens to The Oasis from Ready Player One by Ernest Cline How virtual reality can minimize traditional disabilities while creating new ones. How would it affect social interations if we could literally be anyone? What sides of yourself would you show if you could choose to be selective? What would our social behaviors be like if our environment could be literally anything? NOTES Anonymity is paramount (even between vschool and greater Oasis) Huge range of I/O quality (haptic gloves, suits, chairs, smell tower) There are some strong parallels between the Oasis and Facebook (immersive, addictive, lock-in, in app games, etc) If you imagine adding Oculus Rift to Facebook, you can see a clear path to Oasis type situation Facebook already allows us to show only the best version of ourselves - now add 3d avatars. LINKS Ready Player One The Martian Second Life Neuromancer Snow Crash Ultrahaptics HoloLens Oculus Rift Samsung VR CLOSING That's our show for this week. I'm Jonathan Stark, and I'm Kelli Shaver, and we hope you join us again next week for Terrifying Robot Dog. POST-SHOW Would you like to support TRD but aren't sure how? It's easy! Just think two friends who would dig the show and send them to terrifyingrobotdog.com for links to itunes, facebook, and rss feeds. Or if you don't have two friends - because you're always jacked into the oasis - you can still help us out by leaving a nice review in iTunes. It would mean a lot to Kelli and I. Thanks! :)