{"id":520,"date":"2021-11-10T13:39:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T13:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cogitateandpercolate.com\/?p=520"},"modified":"2026-06-29T13:52:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T13:52:04","slug":"a-history-of-xr-cross-reality-part-6-of-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cogitateandpercolate.com\/?p=520","title":{"rendered":"A History of XR Cross Reality Part 6 of 6"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Almost there! Only five years to go and then into the future, she writes and points like Doc Brown.<\/span><\/p>\n

2014 – Future<\/span><\/h2>\n

2015 <\/b>Google Cardboard<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Source: Wikicommons<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Google (again? They were just in Part 5) sends out Google cardboard in the New York Times (and other media<\/a>),
\n expanding the new idea– a cheap VR viewer where you use your
\nsmartphone and some special apps. Pluses: mass market availability,
\ncheap, created buzz. Negatives: absolutely no hands. People want to do
\nmore than look, they want to touch<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

2016<\/b> Emotiv<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Source: Wikicommons<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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OK
\n – I will go on record and say I do not like this product. It records
\nthe user\u2019s brain waves when a certain action is requested (like open
\nemail) and then translates future instances of those brain waves as
\ncommands to repeat the learned action. Why don\u2019t I like this? I cannot
\nfind many instances of telekinesis that have worked so far for humanity.
\n Maybe in a future I can\u2019t see, but for now, nope.  Just remember, there
\n is no spoon.<\/span><\/p>\n

2016<\/b> Mobile World Congress – Facebook gets into the VR action. <\/span><\/p>\n

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It is interesting to note that when very<\/b> large corporations make steps into a certain technology, all of our heads should be turning. <\/span><\/p>\n

Facebook\u2019s
\n virtual world Horizon (once called Spaces) just opened in October 2019.
\n Horizon so far doesn’t seem to be getting a warm reception. [Update: Horizons was set to shutdown and then quickly backtracked<\/a> this decision in 2026.] <\/p>\n

This
\ninvention represents an inflection point in technology where
\n we double back on ourselves and create a conundrum. When asked if they
\n would utilize a virtual world to ‘be’ (embodiment) with their friends, I
\n see most regular users of Facebook shying away from the concept. These
\nare the same users that lived totally without Facebook…uh…before
\nFacebook. As such, they were synchronously and physically with<\/i>
\npeople before. Being with people should not, by itself, weird out this
\npopulation. So why the hesitation near this concept now? Are we
\n‘friends’ with people and do things within Facebook that we would not do
\n when in-person with them? #Research needed here.<\/span><\/p>\n

2019 January<\/b> – Apple patenting new gesture capture devices? <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe?
\n As I\u2019ve said though, no need for gloves or devices attached to people.
\nDitch that idea. New gestures to mean new things though?? [Edit: I’ve deleted and now downplayed Apple here, they did got for a high end “Pro” headset…that didn’t do so well<\/a>.]<\/span><\/p>\n

2019 October<\/b> – AWE conference in Munich #AWE2019<\/span><\/p>\n

The headset detects hands.<\/b> At the time, cool.<\/span><\/p>\n

2019 <\/b>– Magic Leap<\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t love this product. Why? See my Future of XR Headsets<\/a> article. Magic Leap can be redeemed in my opinion though. I will wait this out. [Update: Magic Leap died in 2024 and been resuscitated in 2025<\/a>.]<\/span><\/p>\n

2019<\/b> – Microsoft Hololens 2<\/span><\/p>\n

Excellent
\n product. Why? Because the person looking at the user can see their
\neyes. Besides what I wrote about in my Future of XR Headsets article,
\nMicrosoft has taken a page from their own (MS Office) playbook for this
\nlaunch. They are going directly to the business market. As such, there
\nwill be back-pressure into education to prepare learners for the
\nworkplace. This product has many of the characteristics of future
\nsuccess.<\/span><\/p>\n

2019<\/b> – example of room-based VR<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>plus here? Accessibility. Also, you could get more people into
\nthe same experience. So this is VR for more than one person.<\/span><\/p>\n

2019<\/b> – Microsoft demo of a hologram gives a partial keynote speech in Japanese, when the speaker does not speak Japanese at all. <\/span><\/p>\n

Very much #thefutureistoday.<\/span><\/p>\n

2019<\/b> – Disney\u2019s The Void – example of location-based VR. <\/span><\/p>\n

Negatives:
\n Must go to a location to experience this. Experience is not cheap.
\nPositives: Increase in quality content (Star Wars!) and you can
\nexperience this in group (more than one at a time).
[Update: The Void died in the pandemic due to financial problems<\/a>.]<\/span><\/p>\n

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So my predictions for the future of XR *based* on studying the past:<\/span><\/p>\n