We had a lecture on future technology in week 1, and this was a great insight into what the future has in store for design. What we will be designing for is home living, so it is important that we ensure that it is appropriate in a home scenario and enhances living experience. I started by doing some research into a few different future technologies to see if I could understand them better and see if I could use them for this project.
“Virtual reality, or VR, is a simulated three-dimensional (3D) environment that lets users explore and interact with a virtual surrounding in a way that approximates reality, as it's perceived through the users' senses.”
This definition by TechTarget explains VR very well. VR is usually in the form of a headset, but can be used with goggles, glasses or even bodysuits. VR is all about immersing in another place, which takes them away from real life. There are different types of VR, which are:
Overall I’m not sure about how VR can be much use in daily-living. Industry trends show that is most commonly being used for gaming, interactive experience, and also specialised training. So far I don’t think it can enhance daily living but take away from it, as using a VR headset too much will cause you and others more hassle when trying to do everyday tasks.
What is Virtual Reality? How it's Used and How it Will Evolve
“Augmented Reality (AR), is a technology that overlays an interactive digital layer onto the world around us.”
This is the definition of AR by Zappar. AR technology usually comes in via smartphone cameras, and allow us to see the real world with additional elements when looking through the device. Pokemon Go was the first AR game that reached a world-wide audience in 2016. The game allowed you to find different Pokemon characters in the real world, by looking through a smartphone. I can see AR being very useful in daily living scenarios and so far I think it is the most promising upcoming technology that will actually be useful for daily living. I like the way it enhances objects by providing more data that may be useful. An example in one of the images below is someone scanning a coffee table, and using AR they can see the dimensions of it.
Zappar: World-leading Augmented Reality solutions since 2011
“Mixed reality is a blend of physical and digital worlds, unlocking natural and intuitive 3D human, computer, and environmental interactions.”
This is how one of the leading tech companies Microsoft defines MR. Although that MR is the most sophisticated and futuristic technology here, it will provide the closest and most natural human-computer interaction. This is because it blends human, technology, and environment all together so that they are perfectly one. MR will be in the form of a headset, goggles, or glasses. It is basically AR but instead it is fully interactive with the real world, as objects can be anchored to a location in the real world. MR is a hands free experience, with no touch screen involved. I think that this technology is super cool and but I am skeptical about how healthy it will be for us to dissociate with the real world so much, as there is a point where we lose our ability to do simple tasks because everything is done for us by computers.
