The virtual reality industry has come a long way-from the 1800s to be exact. Humans started off using panoramic paintings as a means to be apart of an alternate reality. By using paintings in this way, viewers of this felt as if they were more present in whatever the artist was trying to depict. From here, we moved onto Charles Wheatstone, who was doing research on brain processing and image viewing. He found out that by placing two stereoscopic images side by side, the viewer's brain processed these images in a way that gave them more depth. The basis of this idea went on to be the foundation of the View-Master, created by Willam Gruber in 1939. From here, our society moved forward in it's exploration of a virtual reality through science fiction. Writer Stanley G. Weinbaum wrote about goggles where the wearer could experience all of the senses in a fictional world. By the mid 1950's, we were discovering virtual reality through film. Cinematographer Morton Heilig developed the Sensorama, which was an arcade-like theater meant to engage all senses. This theatre involved speakers, a stereoscopic 3D display, fans, a vibrating chair and functions to generate different scents. To add to the experience, he even created short films that played in the theater. In 1960, Heilig had developed the Telesphere Mask, which was the first head-mounting display. It involved a 3D view with a wide vision accompanied with sound. In 1961 even larger steps were taken with virtual reality. Comeau and Bryan were two Philco Corporation engineers who developed the first motion tracking system for a camera. The Headsight was created for military research-so that they could create immersive experiences of dangerous situations. Jumping to 1987, the term “virtual reality” is finally coined. During this time, Jaron Lanier developed multiple types of virtual reality gear including head mounts, goggles and gloves. In the 90s, the virtual reality concept and technology jumped to games and movies. “The Lawnmower Man” was a film based partly on Lanier and his experiments. Today virtual reality has a broader reach in what is being achieved. A new way that people have been looking at VR more recently actually has to do with meditation and consciousness. It all seems to have started when researchers started using VR technology as a therapeutic tool. When using it as a pain management technique, it was clear to see that there were some obvious effects happening in the brain. This lead to broader thinking on how the brain works, which lead to the brain on meditation. There are more and more VR apps being developed that center around meditation. Mostly, VR apps that help you meditate. One app in particular takes you to different relaxing locations and leads you in a guided meditation. You can customize the meditation to fit your needs or you can even let the app choose an experience for you. The VR meditation experience doesn't stop here, though. Deepak Chopra, a prominent figure in advocating for alternative medicine, is adding his expertise to VR meditation apps. He created an app through the VR studio, Wevr that uses Deepak's voice to guide users while they view multiple geometric formations and colors to promote relaxation. His hope is that VR headsets will be used in hospitals, doctors' offices, wellness centers and even airports. With the growing research on how VR really can reduce physical pain when using a headset, it's no wonder that a meditation experience could have a tangible effect. In one study, MRI brain scans showed just how much pain-related brain activity reduced in those who were experiencing thermal pain stimulations. If simulated realities can actually reduce how the brain processes pain, the health possibilities with VR are potentially endless. Meditation apps could be created to help change thinking patterns and emotional responses to different situations, such as pain experiences. Virtual reality could become a key tool in how people experience and process their own realities. Meditation is one way that people already change the way they interpret the world so combining these two seemed inevitable. The future of this technology seems bright and exciting as we continue to do research on body and brain responses. Pairing VR with body-scanning technology will continue to pave the way into determining just how effective apps will be and how we can make them even more effective. The combination of these technologies will be key in how VR and the meditation experience develops-it's vital that research continues to be done on body and brain responsiveness in order for VR to be seen as an effective tool.
From here, our society moved forward in it's exploration of a virtual reality through science fiction. Writer Stanley G. Weinbaum wrote about goggles where the wearer could experience all of the senses in a fictional world. By the mid 1950's, we were discovering virtual reality through film. Cinematographer Morton Heilig developed the Sensorama, which was an arcade-like theater meant to engage all senses. This theatre involved speakers, a stereoscopic 3D display, fans, a vibrating chair and functions to generate different scents. To add to the experience, he even created short films that played in the theater. In 1960, Heilig had developed the Telesphere Mask, which was the first head-mounting display. It involved a 3D view with a wide vision accompanied with sound. In 1961 even larger steps were taken with virtual reality. Comeau and Bryan were two Philco Corporation engineers who developed the first motion tracking system for a camera. The Headsight was created for military research-so that they could create immersive experiences of dangerous situations.
Jumping to 1987, the term “virtual reality” is finally coined. During this time, Jaron Lanier developed multiple types of virtual reality gear including head mounts, goggles and gloves. In the 90s, the virtual reality concept and technology jumped to games and movies. “The Lawnmower Man” was a film based partly on Lanier and his experiments.
Today virtual reality has a broader reach in what is being achieved. A new way that people have been looking at VR more recently actually has to do with meditation and consciousness. It all seems to have started when researchers started using VR technology as a therapeutic tool. When using it as a pain management technique, it was clear to see that there were some obvious effects happening in the brain. This lead to broader thinking on how the brain works, which lead to the brain on meditation. There are more and more VR apps being developed that center around meditation. Mostly, VR apps that help you meditate. One app in particular takes you to different relaxing locations and leads you in a guided meditation. You can customize the meditation to fit your needs or you can even let the app choose an experience for you.
The VR meditation experience doesn't stop here, though. Deepak Chopra, a prominent figure in advocating for alternative medicine, is adding his expertise to VR meditation apps. He created an app through the VR studio, Wevr that uses Deepak's voice to guide users while they view multiple geometric formations and colors to promote relaxation. His hope is that VR headsets will be used in hospitals, doctors' offices, wellness centers and even airports.
With the growing research on how VR really can reduce physical pain when using a headset, it's no wonder that a meditation experience could have a tangible effect. In one study, MRI brain scans showed just how much pain-related brain activity reduced in those who were experiencing thermal pain stimulations. If simulated realities can actually reduce how the brain processes pain, the health possibilities with VR are potentially endless. Meditation apps could be created to help change thinking patterns and emotional responses to different situations, such as pain experiences. Virtual reality could become a key tool in how people experience and process their own realities. Meditation is one way that people already change the way they interpret the world so combining these two seemed inevitable. The future of this technology seems bright and exciting as we continue to do research on body and brain responses. Pairing VR with body-scanning technology will continue to pave the way into determining just how effective apps will be and how we can make them even more effective. The combination of these technologies will be key in how VR and the meditation experience develops-it's vital that research continues to be done on body and brain responsiveness in order for VR to be seen as an effective tool.
References:
http://www.vrs.org.uk/virtual-reality/history.html
http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/seattles-virtual-road-to-transcendence/
http://vrscout.com/news/deepak-chopra-guided-vr-meditation/
https://www.hitl.washington.edu/projects/vrpain/
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