February 28, 2007
Audio and Virtual Worlds : Jared as Virtual Reality Specialist
Over the years I have worked with many different platforms for multi-user virtual worlds.
Our first experiments with 3D worlds were with NTT’s Interspace which used webcams for avatar heads and microphones for audio. We then moved to Onlive! (now Digispace) Traveler which also had an audio component but its audio had the added benefit of being directional. Basically it was like real life: you could hear people better who were closer and in front of you. Educationally this was fantastic, as it allowed students to practice their language skills while hiding behind the mask of an avatar – a virtual safe haven for expression.
Today, Second Life announced it would be adding voice to its network. Will audio hurt or help Second Life? Will it overload the grid or help to clean it up?
Pro:
Not everyone can type
Free audio conferencing spaces
Encourages smaller / reasonably sized groups
You can tell who is male and who is female
Adds another critical dimension making the space even more immersive
Con:
Everyone should learn to type
People need to learn the etiquette of mutli-user voice chat – not only is this vastly different from multi-user text chat but most people don’t care if they step on each other’s toes with words – with audio it is much worse.
Larger groups will be overwhelming
There will be a need for moderation controls
People will come up with audio bombs like giant radios
Adds another critical dimension making the space even more immersive
Will it work?
We shall see. But its definitely a step in the right direction and its been a missing component from many of the virtual worlds solutions to date (such as Adobe Atmospheres) and while game chatting add-ons are nice it would be nice to walk up to a complete stranger and just say “Hello”.
http://www.digitalspace.com/traveler
http://www.secondlife.com
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070228/ap_on_hi_te/techbit_second_life
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February 04, 2007
Introduction: VR : Jared as Virtual Reality Specialist
The most exciting and most sporadic portion of my career involves my role as virtual reality specialist first at Case and currently at the Cleveland Museum of Art. For me, virtual reality covers so many technologies including: stereoscopic photography and videography, holography, lenticular display systems, head mounted displays, projection technologies, spatial and temporal stereoscopic technologies, virtual worlds, spherical and cylindrical panoramas, virtual objects, 3d modeling, and video games. I’ve worked on a wide variety of projects and have always been fun and exciting.
It’s the portion of my job I would do for free and I am thankful for every opportunity that lets me work in this truly cutting edge field.
Posted by jeb2 at 11:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack