The Prophet
Let me tell you about our many fine products, Neo
Sony patents 'real life Matrix'
IMAGINE movies and computer games in which you get to smell, taste and perhaps even feel things. That's the tantalising prospect raised by a patent on a device for transmitting sensory data directly into the human brain - granted to none other than the entertainment giant Sony.
“This was a prophetic invention. It was based on an inspiration that this may someday be the direction technology takes us”
Wrapping up "Creepy Brain Tech Week" with this gem from New Scientist. This patent is just a little CYA from Sony so that, in the event that direct-to-brian virtual reality technology emerges within the next 20 years, they are ON that mofo. Seriously, this is just a convenient mix of corporate PR and R&D wanking, but I'm sure that at least a handful of very forward-looking executives somewhere are drooling over the licensing potential of cerebral beaming entertainment.
Even should this "prophetic" technology become available and even ubiquitous within my lifetime, I'm not sure I'd ever be comfortable with using it. Given their horrible customer service track record, I'm not sure I'd like to give Sony the opportunity to poke around in my brain with the ultrasonic equivalent of a big stick. What if they broke it? I'd have to send it back to them at my cost and wait for a replacement or a refurbish from the factory, and that takes six months, assuming the ship doesn't get held up in San Diego. Then there's the warranty card and the third party maintenance fees... I just wouldn't be up to dealing with that, especially after damaging my motor cortex with a bad copy of "Bikini Gun Bunny Adventure III."
6 comments:
Also of interest:
http://www.compfused.com/directlink/662/
Virtual, reality AND cool! So much better than "Dactyl Nightmare."
That IS very cool, Ben. AR was also something that we were tossing about in the Neon City design. Good to see that people are actually working with the concept.
I confess that I'm not entirely sure I got that. I had a hard time understanding that outrageous French accent.
What did I just watch?
That was a demo of Augmented Reality. Multiple video cameras allow the computer to triangulate a video image into 3 dimensional space, then render 3D objects into that space in real time. The actors in the video feed can then interact with the CG objects as if they were real and the objects themselves respond appropriately to items and environmental features in the video feed. All in real time.
Very very cool. It also means that with those stick-on motion capture dots, technically there can now be LIVE ANIMATED CHARACTERS. I saw a prototype for a live-action Duke (from Doonesbury) on CNN once. It was creeeeeeepy.
Tell me about Neon City. I want to make sure that my Kerrio Dell stories (think Sam Spade in the Ghost in the Shell universe) don't cross into your territory too much.
I may post some overview info about Neon City on the blog once I collate the more usable elements. I'll drop you an email when I do that.
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