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The original was posted on /r/singularity by /u/3ntrope on 2024-01-21 16:31:19+00:00.
The topic of Full Dive VR appears frequently in futurist communities, but there seems to be a disregard of issues that hold it back and realistic timelines until its available. BCIs are difficult and advancement in biomedical tech is slow due to the practical and ethical limitations associated with human testing. We could easily be 50-100 years away from it simply due to limitations in performing the human testing and clinical trials that would necessarily ensure safety. In most countries this would be considered unethical unless there was a medical need, which greatly limits how quickly the technology can advance.
However, VR enthusiasts are in luck because the technology for the next best thing to FDVR is almost here. A VR headset and the ability to move naturally in the virtual world is something that can be readily available, and already is to some extent. Current VR game experiences can be broken down into:
- Cockpit-based VR Simulations (flight, racing, etc.)
- Primarily Social VR Experiences
- Action VR Games (shooters, platformers, sports, etc.)
Arguably, for flight and racing simulations, "full dive"-like VR is already here. A motion system + a high end PC VR headset can provide an extremely realistic experience. There are even options for home motion rigs. They are not cheap, but not unreasonable for a hardcore enthusiast.
The hardware for primarily Social VR experiences is also available, although costs for the eye and full body tracking is high. Even though the popularity of social VR is growing, the hardware costs and poorly optimized and questionable software hold it back from reaching its full potential. Still, the hardware is available for immersive experiences if the goal is purely socialization. Since most movement in these worlds is standing and dancing, it can be covered with basic full body tracking without additional hardware like an omnidirectional treadmill.
Then there are Action VR games. These include the types of activities that I would imagine the bulk of the population would want to experience in VR. The VR headset visual quality and haptic controllers are improving to enable this, but we are missing readily available omnidirectional treadmills to emulating walking and running through virtual worlds. There's been good and bad prototypes of omni treadmills for at least a decade now, and its possible one day some group figures out how to make them available to the masses.
The combination of a human resolution, human FoV VR headset + force feedback haptic gloves + perfect omnidirectional treadmill will be nearly as good as "full dive" VR and is something that is technologically feasible within our lifetimes. The challenges that remain include creating better hardware while make it affordable for the average person. And of course, there's the software and developing the immersive VR worlds themselves, but that will require the hardware to be ready first. Rather than hoping for a BCI for FDVR that may never arrive within our lifetimes, we should consider how we can improve current VR hardware to make super-immersive VR worlds. I think we are very close.
Note: I excluded VR productivity applications or "Spatial Computing" as Apple calls it because that fits under Mixed Reality and Augmented Reality, and is not really on the path to "full dive" or super-immersive VR.