![]() Rosedale says, “We’re experimenting with our own very simple bits of hardware to capture head motion, and also looking at many other cool devices like the Hydra, zSpace, and Leap Motion.” In early 2013, he hooked the gyro from a Rift headset onto a pair of glasses to track head motion and, watching himself in the mirror next to a simple avatar tracking his movements, was blown away. The result was spooky good, the precision uncanny, the latency lower than anything the human eye would pick up. Whereas the enabling technology for Second Life was broadband, it was the latest body tracking technology that convinced Rosedale now is the time to take the next step. Until we have realistic body language in the virtual world, folks won’t be drawn there. Our virtual selves should precisely mimic our movements in the real world in as close to real time as possible. Body language is a key element of satisfying real world interactions. He recently told a group of students at Singularity University that interfaces need to be more intuitive. Second Life uses a mouse and multiple keys on the keyboard, both 2D inputs, to navigate a 3D space-it’s like learning to play the piano. (Join our member program to watch this talk and more like it.)įurther, he wants to make avatar interaction a richer experience. Rosedale has clearly put some thought into what might be improved. But Second Life never caught on in the massive way some thought it would. Second Life, his first virtual world, hosts a million users and a $6 billion economy. “I think the general ideas are pretty straightforward and powerful-create a virtual place with the kind of richness and communication and interaction that we find in the real world, and then get us all in there!” Philip Rosedale. ![]() High Fidelity’s mantra goes, “If it doesn’t hurt to think about it, we’re not going to try it.” However, although some of the technical work “under the hood” hurts the brain, Rosedale told us anyone can appreciate the bigger picture. Search “high fidelity” and prepare yourself for a barrage of John Cusack. To date, the firm has largely kept itself out of the spotlight. High Fidelity was quietly launched earlier this year with funding from Second Life’s Linden Lab, Google Ventures, Kapor Capital, and True Ventures. And while Oculus develops a consumer-ready virtual reality headset, Second Life creator, Philip Rosedale, and his latest startup, High Fidelity, are hard at work constructing a next-generation global virtual world. Back here in a comparatively rosy 2013, we don’t have a fully immersive virtual experience-yet.īut virtual reality is undergoing a renaissance. In Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One, humanity escapes a gritty dystopia by donning VR goggles and entering a virtual world called OASIS.
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