Will the metaverse come to life sooner than we think?
It depends on who you ask at CES. At CES, companies showcased innovations that could take us deeper into virtual reality, also known as VR.
The Metaverse is actually synonymous with a three-dimensional virtual community where people can meet, work, and play. This year’s Las Vegas International Consumer Electronics Show lasted for four days and ended on January 8. The Metaverse is a big theme this year.
Taiwanese tech giant HTC has released a high-end VR headset that aims to compete with market leader Meta. There are also a host of companies and startups touting augmented reality glasses and sensory technology that will help users feel and even smell virtual environments.
Among them, a helmet exhibited by OVR Technology from Vermont, USA, contains a sleeve containing eight basic odors, which can be combined to produce different odors. The product is planned for release later this year.
The company released a version focused on commercial applications earlier, mainly for the marketing of fragrance and beauty products. The new VR glasses integrate the earlier version, allowing users to smell various scents, such as romantic rose beds, in the The smell of marshmallows roasting on a campfire, etc.
OVR Technology says the product, designed to relax consumers, will be marketed as a digital spa that integrates with Instagram and comes with an app.
“We are entering a new era in which rich reality experiences will drive commerce, entertainment, education, social interaction and wellness,” Aaron Wisniewski, the company’s CEO and co-founder, said in a statement. The field is evolving. The quality of these experiences will be measured by how immersive and emotionally engaged the user is. Adding scents can make these experiences powerful.”
But in the field of innovation, there is still a long way to go to harness smell and taste in a more reliable and immersive way. Experts say even virtual reality, which is more widely available, is still in its infancy and still too expensive for many consumers.
Data shows that interest in virtual reality headsets is on the decline. According to the research firm NPD Group, sales of VR headsets will drop by 2% in 2022, which is bad news for companies that are optimistic about the application prospects of VR headsets. VR headsets are often used in the field of gaming.
Companies such as Meta invest billions
Big companies like Microsoft (Microsoft) and Meta have invested billions of dollars in VR. A host of other companies have joined the battle for market share by backing, among other things, wearable technology that replicates the sense of touch.
But the product experience is often difficult to impress customers. Ozan Ozaskinli, a technical consultant from Istanbul, came to attend the International Consumer Electronics Show after a 29-hour journey. He put on yellow gloves and a black vest to try out a so-called haptic product. The product is able to deliver sensations through beeps and vibrations, simulating the sense of touch.
Ozaskinley tried typing a code on the keypad that would allow him to pull a lever that would open a box containing a shiny gem. But the actual experience was disappointing.
“I think there’s a huge gap between it and reality at the moment. But if I’m thinking about using it to replace Zoom meetings, why not? At least you can feel it,” Ozars Kingley said.
Proponents argue that the ubiquity of virtual reality, which makes it possible to be with others anytime, anywhere, will ultimately benefit different social groups. While it’s still too early to tell what role these technologies will play as they mature, companies that want to bring users the most immersive experiences are welcoming these advances.
Flare plans to release Planet Theta, a VR dating app next month, and Aurora Townsend, the company’s chief marketing officer, said her team’s app will be ready as the technology becomes more ubiquitous in the consumer market. Integrate more senses, such as touch, etc.
“When you walk with your partner, feel the ground, feel like you’re holding hands, as haptic technology brings full immersion to the VR world, the subtle ways we interact with people will change,” Townsend said. .”
But metaverse expert Matthew Ball pointed out that in the next few years, it will be difficult for many products, even in the field of games, to be widely used. Instead, he argues that the first movers to adopt these technologies may come from areas with larger budgets and more precise needs, such as the bomb disposal unit and medical fields that use haptics and virtual reality to help with tasks.
In 2021, neurosurgeons at Johns Hopkins University said they performed a spinal fixation on a patient’s spine and removed a cancerous tumor using augmented reality technology.
Israeli company Lumus is a company that produces augmented reality glasses. David Goodman, vice president of marketing, said the company’s optical technology has been used by underwater welders, fighter pilots and surgeons, among others. These doctors want to be able to monitor a patient’s vital signs or MRI scans during surgery without having to look at different screens.
Boston startup Xander makes smart glasses that display real-time captions of conversations for the hearing-impaired. Alex Westner, the company’s co-founder and chief executive, said the company will partner with the US Veteran’s Administration to launch a pilot program next month to test some of the technology. He said the Veterans Administration will allow veterans with hearing loss or other hearing problems to make appointments to try on glasses at some clinics. If it works out well, the unit could become a customer for the company, Westner said.
Also, big companies ranging from Walmart to Nike have launched different projects in the field of virtual reality. But it’s too early to tell how much these companies will benefit from the technology’s infancy. Consulting firm McKinsey predicts that the Metaverse could generate as much as $5 trillion in revenue by 2030. But Michael Kleeman, a technology strategist and visiting scholar at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), said VR technology is still mainly used for marginal entertainment outside of the field of games.
“When people promote this technology, they have to answer the question, what is the value of this technology? How does it generate profit? Instead of promoting how fun, cute and interesting it is.” (Fortune Chinese Network)
Translator: Liu Jinlong
Reviewer: Wang Hao
Is the metaverse closer than we think?
It depends on who you ask at CES, where companies are showing off innovations that could immerse us deeper into virtual reality, otherwise known as VR.
The metaverse — essentially a buzzword for three-dimensional virtual communities where people can meet, work and play — was a key theme during the four-day tech gathering in Las Vegas that ends on January 8.
Taiwanese tech giant HTC unveiled a high-end VR headset that aims to compete with market leader Meta, and a slew of other companies and startups touted augmented reality glasses and sensory technologies that can help users feel — and even smell — in a virtual environment.
Among them, Vermont-based OVR Technology showcased a headset containing a cartridge with eight primary aromas that can be combined to create different scents. It’s scheduled to be released later this year.
An earlier, business-focused version used primarily for marketing fragrances and beauty products is integrated into VR goggles and allows users to smell anything from a romantic bed of roses to a marshmallow roasting over a fire at a campsite.
The company says it aims to help consumers relax and is marketing the product, which comes with an app, as a sort of digital spa mixed with Instagram.
“We are entering an era in which extended reality will drive commerce, entertainment, education, social connection, and wellbeing,” the company’s CEO and co-founder Aaron Wisniewski said in a statement. “The quality of these experiences will be measured by how immersive and emotionally engaging they are. Scent imbues them with an unmatched power.”
But more robust and immersive uses of scent — and its close cousin, taste — are still further away on the innovation spectrum. Experts say even VR technologies that are more accessible are in the early days of their development and too expensive for many consumers to purchase .
The numbers show there’s waning interest. According to the research firm NPD Group, sales of VR headsets, which found popular use in gaming, declined by 2% last year, a sour note for companies betting big on more adoption.
Meta and others investing billions
Still, big companies like Microsoft and Meta are investing billions. And many others are joining the race to grab some market share in supporting technologies, including wearables that replicate touch.
Customers, though, aren’t always impressed by what they find. Ozan Ozaskinli, a tech consultant who traveled more than 29 hours from Istanbul to attend CES, suited up with yellow gloves and a black vest to test out a so-called haptics product , which relays sensations through buzzes and vibrations and stimulates our sense of touch.
Ozaskinli was attempting to punch in a code on a keypad that allowed him to pull a lever and unlock a box containing a shiny gemstone. But the experience was mostly a let down.
“I think that’s far from reality right now,” Ozaskinli said. “But if I was considering it to replace Zoom meetings, why not? At least you can feel something.”
Proponents say widespread adoption of virtual reality will ultimately benefit different parts of society by essentially unlocking the ability to be with anyone, anywhere at anytime. Though it’s too early to know what these technologies can do once they fully mature, companies looking to the most achievable Immersive experiences for users are welcoming them with open arms.
Aurora Townsend, the chief marketing officer at Flare, a company slated to launch a VR dating app called Planet Theta next month, said her team is building its app to incorporate more sensations like touch once the technology becomes more widely available on the consumer market.
“Being able to feel the ground when you’re walking with your partner, or holding their hands while you’re doing that…subtle ways we engage people will change once haptic technology is fully immersive in VR,” Townsend said.
Still, its unlikely that many of these products will be widely used in the next few years, even in gaming, said Matthew Ball, a metaverse expert. Instead, he said the pioneers of adoption are likely to be fields that have higher budgets and more Precise needs, such as bomb units using haptics and virtual reality to help with their work and others in the medical field.
In 2021, Johns Hopkins neurosurgeons said they used augmented reality to perform spinal fusion surgery and remove a cancerous tumor from a patient’s spine.
And optical technology from Lumus, an Israeli company that makes AR glasses, is already being used by underwater welders, fighter pilots and surgeons who want to monitor a patient’s vital signs or MRI scans during a procedure without having to look up ids at creens, several sa David Goldman, vice president of marketing for the company.
Meanwhile, Xander, a Boston-based startup which makes smart glasses that display real-time captions of in-person conversations for people with hearing loss, will launch a pilot program with the US Veteran’s Administration next month to test out some of its technology, said Alex Westner, the company’s co-founder and CEO. He said the agency will allow veterans who have appointments for hearing loss or other audio issues to try out the glasses in some of their clinics. And if it goes well, the agency would likely become a customer, Westner said.
Elsewhere, big companies from Walmart to Nike have been launching different initiatives in virtual reality. But its unclear how much they can benefit during the early stages of the technology. The consulting firm McKinsey says the metaverse could generate up to $20 trillion. outside of gaming, much of today’s VR use remains somewhat of a marginal amusement, said Michael Kleeman, a tech strategist and visiting scholar at the University of California San Diego.
“When people are promoting this, what they have to answer is — where’s the value in this? Where’s the profit? Not what’s fun, what’s cute and what’s interesting.”
This article is reproduced from: https://www.fortunechina.com/keji/c/2023-01/21/content_426445.htm
This site is only for collection, and the copyright belongs to the original author.