A Blend of Worlds

Second Life enjoys unprecedented boom of popularity. Business in that and many other virtual worlds is thriving, as are social relations.

So what about blending the old world, which we habitually call "real", with the virtual ones?

Think video display on the inner side of your's glasses. Appropriately differentiated right/left eye video feed results in perfect 3D experience. Imagine a fine motion detector tracking your movements - left/right, up/down. A fast, realistic one; no silly delays.

Now log in to Second Life. Figuratively speaking, of course. Your login credentials are automatically checked against your retina scan.

See? Your body movements now translate to the movement of your avatar in the virtual world.

Next, get a virtual 3D model of your neighbourhood. It is not unthinkable Google Earth, or other cartographic giant with some sharp eyes on the orbit, will soon be providing up-to-date fly-through maps with resolution down to millimeters.

Can you see it? You are now walking your neighbourhood, past your favourite cafés, shops.

Walk on your street, meet a friend, colleague, people in flesh and blood. Between them, there are others as well, those who are not really there. Meet modern ghosts, apparitions.

Quite possibly more real than not, considering you may never see them in the real world - considering they may, actually, not exist! Meet relatives who cannot afford or stand flying across continents. Meet talking animals, meet robots. Meet extraterrestrials. Meet your dream. Enjoy!

Vacilando Anza from Second Life

Tomáš Fülöpp
Sint-Agatha-Berchem, Belgium
June 4, 2007, January 8, 2008
Tomáš Fülöpp (2012)

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Tagsaugmented realityvirtual realitysecond lifevirtualrealityessay
LanguageENGLISH Content typeARTICLELast updateOCTOBER 20, 2018 AT 01:46:40 UTC