Published: 18 March, 2009, 21:07
Edited: 18 March, 2009, 21:07
British scientists have unveiled the prototype of a device aimed at reproducing a highly realistic virtual environment through the manipulation of our five basic senses.
While fans of computer games are dreaming of the ultimate virtual experience which would be impossible to distinguish from reality, scientists and engineers are continuing to advance their work. A research consortium from the University of York and the University of Warwick are working on plans to create a device that would be able to give the user a sensation of being somewhere else. It would manipulate vision, hearing, smell, taste and even touch.
The prototype was presented at Pioneers 09’ EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) showcase at London’s Olympia Conference Centre on 4th March.
If the prototype can really do what it is intended, it would have a tremendous potential for applications in education, business and of course medicine.
Yet the project still has a long way to go. While systems to control what a person sees and hears are well-established, touch, smell and taste are much harder to control realistically. Such technical difficulties are among the principal factors why the working prototype is still at least 15 to 20 years away, the research team warned the New Scientist.
Speaking of their priorities, Professor David Howard of the University of York underlines: “We’re focusing on creating real virtuality rather than virtual reality. It’s increasingly recognised that the way forward is the production of highly realistic multi-sensory virtual environments which complement but don’t replace ‘reality’,” as quoted on the EPSRC website.