In the sci-fi world presented by Ready Player One, drones and VR headsets are finally bug-free
[Technews Technology News]The science fiction movie "Ready Player One" directed by Steven Spielberg is currently in theaters around the world. On April 2, @Douban Movies revealed that "Ready Player One" was released in China for three days, with a box office of 388 million (about 61.85 million U.S. dollars). ), surpassing North America and ranking first in the world. On the morning of April 2, the box office of this movie in China has exceeded 400 million yuan.
"Ready Player One" describes a future science fiction world: in 2045, material resources for human survival are extremely scarce and the Internet is developing rapidly. People are addicted to the VR (virtual reality) game "Oasis" and use the game to escape from the real world. Before his death, the founder of "Oasis" announced that he had set up three easter eggs in "Oasis", and his billions will be left to the player who first discovers the three easter eggs hidden in it. As a result, the male protagonist living in the slums and a group of game players embarked on a treasure hunt in the game world.
The author watched this movie on the day it was released. The 1970s-like poster style at the beginning, the high score of 9.1 on Douban, and the "spoiler" content of netizens in the movie that pays homage to many animations, games, and movies all made me vaguely aware of the movie. I am worried that this masterpiece may be a carnival for movie/game fans, and others may not be able to resonate with it. The result will naturally be that the author is "slapped in the face": this is a science fiction masterpiece that countless people can be excited about.
In addition to the emotional tribute, the film's depiction of the future science fiction world and the director's handling of the opposition and connection between the virtual world and real life are very clever, allowing movie fans to clearly examine the relationship between high technology and human beings after being addicted.
What is even more exciting for the technology media is that technologies such as VR and drones that have yet to be improved in the real world have evolved into 2045 in the movie and have become very popular and can complete a series of "explosion" A difficult move.
Everyone loves VR headsets, and the problems of delay and dizziness no longer exist.
VR helmets appear very frequently in movies: the game players of "Oasis" are naturally not a problem. The male protagonist wears VR in the slums, and citizens on the street wear VR headsets to immerse themselves in it. The villain in the play also plays it himself, and the game company he works for "Easter egg hunters" or enslaved game players will also be cultivated in order to discover game easter eggs as quickly as possible, harvest wealth, and reach the peak of life.
▲ VR helmets appear frequently but are profitable (Source: Douban Movie)
▲The "Easter Egg Hunter" trained by the villain (Source: Douban Movie)
In comparison, in the real world we live in, VR headsets are not so popular. There are two main pain points: the lack of high-quality VR content; and hardware defects that cause dizziness caused by VR helmets, limiting users’ time to experience VR equipment to less than 15 minutes. These two points affect our experience of VR.
In the world of "Ready Player One" in 2045, VR content has become rich and colorful, and we can get a glimpse of the world presented in "Oasis". In addition, it can make many players obsessed and stay online for a long time. This also shows that VR hardware solves problems such as screen delay and refresh rate. Low delay and high refresh rate will make the game screen more delicate and smooth, and visual dizziness will become less obvious.
Drones deliver food, strap bombs, and do tracking: the battery life problem is solved
As soon as the movie opens, there is a scene of drones delivering pizza to slums. The following plot makes people gasp: the villain uses a drone to bind a bomb to achieve a fixed-point explosion, and the drone is equipped with a smart camera to perform accurate face recognition and image recognition in the downtown area.
The battery life of the compact drone in the movie may not exceed 30 minutes in the real world, and the battery life may also be reduced due to weather conditions. It comes and goes every 30 minutes. Whether it is delivering food, transporting bombs, or monitoring and tracking, there is a risk of it falling from the sky due to lack of power in the middle.
▲ Amazon drone delivery (Source: Amazon)
Therefore, the reason why the drones in "Ready Player One" can perform so well should be due to a major breakthrough in lithium battery technology, which has greatly improved battery life in a small size, or the advent of new batteries with more advantages.
Completely immersive: you still need a set of electronic skin equipment
The visual "deception" brought by VR helmets allows players to immerse their brains in the virtual world, but the body below the head cannot intuitively feel the collision and passion brought by the VR world. So as soon as the male protagonist in "Ready Player One" received gold coins, he bought himself a set of skin equipment that he could wear on his body. It can bring a synchronized physical experience to the players in the game.
For example, dancing and caressing your girlfriend in the virtual world...
For another example, when you are in a duel with an enemy, if you are hit by the opponent, you will feel pain in the corresponding body part. What if they were hit by countless bullets... I can't imagine why players are so self-inflicted. Maybe they are just pursuing true immersion?
In the real world, soft and wearable electronic skin has appeared. It is a thin film that can be worn on people or machines and uses sensing technology to feedback information to people and machines.
Electronic skin applied to the human body, like human skin, has sensation and touch. One of its values is in the medical field, such as restoring sensation to people wearing prosthetics.
▲ Electronic skin applied to prosthetics (Source: University of Colorado, Boulder)
In the future, electronic skin will also assist intelligent robots, allowing them to acquire environmental information and have mechanical flexibility.
In the field of VR, some scientists are also studying electronic skins that allow users to manipulate virtual objects from a distance. This function is not consistent with that in the movie, but through interactive innovation, it can also improve people's experience in the virtual world.
(First picture source: Douban Movie)
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