I was simply blown away when I checked out the Project Natal demo video showing Claire interacting with the virtual boy, Milo (see youtube video below...).
This simple demonstration of the power of this promising new interactive and "immersive" technology inspired many thoughts and ideas...
While the gaming potential of such technology is obvious and huge in itself, I was more intrigued by the even bigger possibility of incorporating the technology into a variety of different social, cultural and commercial contexts that have, until now, typically had little or nothing to do with gaming...:
- Imagine having a virtual friend/minder with the integrated power of the web for kids to interact with and keep them company if they are home alone (when parents are working and the child is home from school early, for example, or when a parent travels for business)... while the child is kept stimulated, entertained, and/or focused on working on their homework or completing chores, the parents can be kept regularly updated on how things are going at home...
- Similarly, imagine a virtual friend/minder for a lonely elderly person or couple living alone and away from loved ones: keeping them company; integrating with state-of-the-art wireless technology to track and monitor their vital signs and physiological parameters (including EKG, blood glucose, respiratory function, etc) while helping to ensure they take any medication as needed; responding to their needs in case of emergencies or a fall; helping them with grocery shopping, etc.
- Now imagine a virtual assistant working with you to increase your productivity... taking dictation (so you may never need to ever use something as archaic and primitive as a keyboard ever again?) to help you record the next great novel/movie; manage your finances; send v-messages or set up video/audio calls with friends, family and business partners interactively wherever they might be in the world; or order pizza and get it delivered to your door.
- Beyond all this, imagine that the avatars you use are fully customizable so you could program them to capture the appearance, voice/accents, personality and/or attitude of anyone: yourself, your family, long lost relatives and friends, favorite pets, Elvis, etc, etc.... You could, if you wish, create a virtual personal council of Advisors made up of great thinkers in history (from Socrates to Gandhi) or a virtual network of loved ones (dead or alive), or even your own personal Star Trek-type inter-galactic cast of characters...
The technology to bring any of the scenarios outlined above to reality either already exists or can be developed in relatively short order...We are limited only by our imagination...
Microsoft and others developing similar immersive technologies could do worse than open up their APIs to developers so a host of interactive applications and solutions can be developed for areas we have not even begun to dream of...the availability of such technology clearly creates outstanding opportunities for entrepreneurs and visionaries to change the world and make a real difference in the way we interact with each other and with technology...
Among other things, we will undoubtedly need to overcome new ethical, moral and legal challenges that innovation inevitably brings, but such challenges are inevitable whenever we change the status quo.
Bottomline: I have seen the future....and I love the possibilities!
Dr. Gurinder Shahi
Co-Editor, Technology in a Changing World
Email: gurinder.shahi@gmail.com
Twitter: DrShahi (follow me here)
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