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John Blackford |
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Virtual reality is neat, but virtualized reality will be still better. There was a hint of what's coming during last January's Super Bowl game, when 30-odd video cameras were synchronized to produce Matrix-like replays, using technology developed at Carnegie Mellon University. CBS is working to refine the system, and eventually viewers may be able to ride a football on its way from quarterback to receiver, as well as sit next to their favorite jazz pianist during a performance.
Then comes the real fun. Drawing on the computational sea that will envelop tomorrow's world, technology will spawn alternate realities. Michael L. Dertouzos, head of the Laboratory for Computer Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, predicts that virtualized reality will restore the sense of shared community that people had before we began sequestering ourselves in front of tv sets and computer screens. Only this time, communities won't be defined by physical proximity. Geography will become immaterial. For example, nanoscale sensors and simulators could relay all the sensations of being in California's Muir Woods. Dozens of fellow bird watchers could be gathered among the sequoias with you, observing native species. When you must physically travel far from home, an array of pseudo senses could enable intimate encounters with your lover, indistinguishable from reality. For amusement, there would be a library of adventure experiences. Instead of watching a travelogue about the South Pacific, you'd wirelessly download signals that would provide all the pleasant sensations of walking along a beach in Tahiti. No doubt, some people will still want the job of recording the original sensations.
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