Posted on 04/25/2014 3:42:53 PM PDT by null and void
Oculus Rift's prospect of credible virtual reality opens the door for many forms of therapy
Once heralded as the Messiah of virtual reality, but now a topic of controversy, the Oculus Rift is sure to induce intense emotion one way or another. After a long battle with cancer left Priscilla Firstenberg’s grandma physically disabled, the video game artist turned to Oculus VR, producer of the Rift, for one last shot at helping the older woman venture outside.
Grandma Roberta Firstenberg’s body no longer responded to chemotherapy and radiation therapy, leaving her with one to two months left to live. It was around this time that Priscilla moved in to help comfort and take care of her. Then, one day while debating the merits of the Oculus Rift with colleagues, Priscilla was inspired, suddenly realizing that the Oculus Rift could offer her grandmother some psychological therapy.
A determined Priscilla e-mailed Oculus’ Customer Service department, hoping for the best, but expecting the worst. To her complete and utter surprise, Oculus’ Customer Service Lead responded within a day stating, “I’ll work to get one of these Rifts out the door to you today if I can. Please provide me your address, city, state, and zip. I’ll take care of the rest.” Priscilla’s status and dedication to the game industry entitled her to one of the dev units commonly loaned to game developers.
The unit arrived a short time later, loaded with a demo featuring a seaside in Tuscany, villa and all. “I can’t believe it, I mean, you hear about things, and you think you’re prepared for it, but it’s like dropping straight down into a mirage! It’s beautiful, awe-inspiring. Honey this is fantastic…” exclaimed the awe-stricken grandma. Exploring the villa, she can’t help but notice her newfound virtual mobility: “The stairs! I can climb stairs! Normally when I climb stairs it’s a struggle, but in this you just take off and glide.” Clips from her experience can be viewed below.
[video]
Roberta Firstenberg passed away four weeks following her virtual adventure in Tuscany. Her experience with the device may be ahead of its time, but nascent demonstrations such as these are what foster the credibility needed to explore all implications of virtual reality, not just entertainment.
“You could be in pain, like I am in pain, but somehow, when you see a blue butterfly reach out and kiss you, it makes you realize that we are all part of this world, and it’s very precious to us,” reflected Roberta.
Via The Rift Arcade
Keep the hankies handy.
Red Dwarf Ping!
It really is “Better Than Life”
This tech can also be used to make virtual classrooms for homeschooled children so they can attend an art class in paris and a history class in the 1776 colonial era.....
I think this tech could become a comeplete game changer for education, especially for homeschoolers, imagine being taught by plato and einstein!!!!
A small preview of heaven perhaps.
Blurry screen alert.
Thanks for the hanky warning.
:-)
Indeed!
If only the education professionals could be trusted to leave out their leftists biases — but they can’t.
In 1989 Bill and Ted sought out So-crates and Freud for a history project.
We are approaching the point where the only weak link in the techno-sphere is the human being.
Skynet is less than a generation away.
I wonder if it was anything like this (Sol euthanasia scene):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvxpETbsn08
God bless her… and God help us.
I’m a genealogy buff, and I think this technology would be a good way for people today to understand the hardships our ancestors went through. For instance, my grandfather was a coal miner in Leeds, England, who came to America by boat with his wife and kids in 1912. I can’t even imagine going on such a journey with 3 kids under the age of 6. An application like this could show what life was really like back then and would probably be a big hit.
First thing that popped into my head...
Only because you aren’t a Red Dwarf fan. It was the second thing for me...
Lucky he didn’t take the Titanic.
BFL
I only saw an ep of Red Dwarf once more than 20 years ago, and I was in New Mexico on vacation. I don’t think they ever ran it here in TN.
It is only as good as the people who program it.
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