In our smartphoned, GoPro-ed, Googled, Instragramed, iPhoned and LinkedIn virtual world, it’s becoming harder and harder to capture people’s attention. As our appetite for instant gratification grows to new heights, it’s forcing media companies, advertising agencies and online retailers (to name just a few) to try nearly anything to break through the clutter.
With each viral video sensation on YouTube, it’s hard to imagine what’s hot this week could ever be surpassed the following week. Yet each week, it happens once again. As it did this week. The Dubai Jetman Yves Rossy, and his protege, Jetman Vince Reffet, rocketed to the top of the click-through charts this week with their adrenaline pumping human jet pack acrobatic flight over the desert city state of Dubai.
Looking for an adrenaline rush? Why not Fly Dubai? Jetman Yves Rossy and his protege, Jetman Vince Reffet fly over Dubai in their human jetpacks.
Of course man has wanted to fly like a bird for eons (Just ask Icarus about his last flight). But all kidding aside, it does seem like we have reached a tipping point where the underlying computer power is enabling something new. It’s our expectations that are changing. We want to feel the experience.
For example, from our computer desktop at work we can zoom in on the Mars landscape — thanks to high-resolution photographs sent back from NASA’s Curiosity Rover. (Here’s the link for that btw.) Zooming around and looking at the Martian imagery is cool, but aren’t we beginning to expect something say a little more exciting? Where are the virtual reality Martian marathons or dune buggy races across Mars we can play on our PlayStation? If they are not already available, they will be soon.
How are Adrenaline Junky Expectations Affecting Industry?
Take retail entertainment, for example. A Chuck E Cheese pizza parlor birthday party with the famous talking robot bear seems absolutely quaint today. And laser tag and paintball outings of yesterday have met their match: today’s adrenaline junkies are flocking to indoor sky diving parties at iFly World franchises found across major American cities, the UK and even Dubai.
How Far Will this Adrenaline Pumping Virtual-reality Trend Go?
Outdoor sportswear retailer The North Face has taken notice. They have teamed up with virtual-reality content developer Jaunt VR to offer virtual mountain climbing in their New York and San Francisco stores, with more outlets planned. The company believes that offering these exciting virtual experiences will help connect their customers to the North Face brand. Facebook is also a believer, to the tune of $2 billion dollars, which is how much they paid for the Oculus Rift Virtual Reality technology.
In the tongue-in-cheek video below, the over-50 demographic tries out Oculus Rift headsets for the first time. Will it catch on? Google had a bit of prankster-fun teasing Facebook about its Oculus Rift investment; they introduced a DIY cardboard cutout headset, called Google Cardboard, that you can assemble yourself. Just pop in an Android-powered Google Nexus smartphone, and you’ve got a fully functional VR headset.
Will the Metaverse Become Our New Virtual Universe?
The film, video and game industries are very engaged in these technological developments. CBS Digital executive producer George Bloom provides us with a good overview how Hollywood can take advantage of these new virtual-reality technologies. He predicts widespread changes in film production methods, starting with live sets being replaced by virtual environments (already common in new TV shows and computer games). But Bloom also thinks that we are on the cusp on moving to a collective virtual shared spaces, called the Metaverse, which may be more revolutionary than the Internet as we know it today.
Is the Windows Platform a Window on the Future?
Software giant Microsoft has roared back to relevance in the software development community with its HoloLens technology. (For those of you who can recall being ‘wowed’ by the Tom Cruise film Minority Report — with its extensive use of virtual hologram user interfaces — this will seem like film fiction becoming reality.)
If you are not familiar with Minority Report, you may be floored by the holographic virtual reality interfaces demonstrated by Microsoft at their recent Build developer conference in San Francisco and Ignite conference held last week in Chicago. Microsoft HoloLens technology, if the demos can be believed, looks like it could deliver the heart pounding virtual-reality experience we’re looking for — right at our computer workstations.
Formaspace Can Take Your Virtual Order and Make it Real in Just 5 Days
If you are a hard-core game developer or virtual-reality visionary, you still need a cool computer desk for your workstation or a workbench for your gear. Even better… you need a custom heavy-duty metal one that stands out from the crowd. That’s where we come in.
We invite you to join the roster of satisfied Formaspace technical, manufacturing and laboratory furniture clients — including Apple Computer, Boeing, Dell, Eli Lilly, Exxon Mobile, Ford, General Electric, Intel, Lockheed Martin, Medtronic, NASA, Novartis, Stanford University, Toyota and more.
Give us a call today at 800.251.1505 to find out more about the Formaspace line of built-to-order computer workstations, industrial workbenches, laboratory furniture, lab benches and dry lab/wet labs — as well as our design / furniture consulting services. Like all Formaspace furniture, it’s backed by our famous 12 year, three shift guarantee.
