This panel focused on how VR/AR will change the world. In this session, leading AR/VR developers discussed how they have been impressed with this new medium and provided examples of content that had an emotional impact on them. This included 360º documentaries that created a much greater sense of empathy, but also came with a warning. You may think you are seeing thru the eyes of another person, but their brain is processing this information differently than you are,” said Steve Feiner of Columbia University. “Fairness will be key to providing these new perspectives.”
VR needs to also evolve to create hands and full body avatars so the VR world can become more social. This was a trend and need that was echoed throughout the day.
Isabelle Bourduas of Minority VR sees VR helping in many medical applications including helping children pre-visualize situations that may be traumatic for them to help get over their fears. Likewise, she sees virtual travel as a potentially big market opportunity.
Story telling will surely be the key to wide adoption all agreed. Bourduas gave one example of a VR experience based on the “50 shades of gray” book and movie they worked on. The VR episode is from the perspective of the woman who is being seduced by the handsome man. But unless you establish the courtship of the two first, the seduction felt more like an assault.
