Virtual Reality: Reach Out and Grab It

Disney recently released a video demonstrating the new experiments using virtual reality interacting with real life and it's amazing. In the video we see a guy equipped with VR goggles interacting with another person in a ball throwing activity. This experiment shows how soon, using nodes attached to real life objects along with a glove with nodes worn by the player, we will be able to interact with the world around us through virtual reality. This is the future we always dreamed of that used to only be seen as science fiction in the 1980's and 90's, and now it is here, and available.

Using a technology that is still new to us, people are working more and more to advance it even further and the future of virtual reality technology is endless and mind blowing. In the video, Disney researchers Matthew Pan and Gunter Niemeyer demonstrate some of the features that are being worked on with these new advances such as basic throwing and catching, targeted throwing and catching, predicted trajectory. and predicted targets. They do this using the new virtual reality head set, the Oculus Rift, which was released late last year and add motion trackers, which are also available for the HTC Vive. All of these things are in the beginning stages but have definite and promising futures in many different aspects of life.

The military has also been implementing VR into their training as of late as the accuracy and technology have advanced. Experiments are also being conducted to eventually allow virtual reality surgery, interactions with people, cognitive help for the elderly, gaming, life and death situations such as bomb diffusing and raids, and many other aspects of daily life. The possibilities are nearly endless and only time will tell what the future holds for VR, but the world is ready and we can't wait to see what comes next! If you would like to read further into this amazing world of technological advances check out Pan and Niemeyer's research paper for the VR ball catching experiments here.

From Tribal to Futuristic: How "Tech Tattoos" Will Change the World

Tattoos have been around since as early as 12,000 B.C and have a long and branching history. From being used as tribal markings thousands of years ago to being works of art and expression in modern society, tattoos still have a major place in cultures around the world. Here in the United States there are mixed feelings about tattoos, where some see them as beautiful others find them ugly, but whatever your stance on tattoos is, one day they may become a huge part of your life, may even save it. How so?

Electric conductive tattoos, or "tech tats' are something that is now in beta testing and could very soon become a major part of everyday life, and don't worry, they aren't permanent. These tattoos are hopefully going to be used in the future for everything from monitoring a persons health and vitals to storing bank account and identity information. The tattoo is very simple to use, it is applied much like the lick-and-stick tattoos from childhood, being set and applied by wetting with a damp cloth. They will come in packs, with multiple tech tats per pack. In the health world they will be able to be applied and then read all of a persons vitals and other information normally gathered at a yearly check up and then send that information to a doctor for review, if anything is wrong the doctor simply gives the patient a call, easy as that and no more waiting rooms!

The tech tat has been under research and development since about 2012 and is making more and more progress each day. I feel like it is an amazing use of technology that seems to have limitless possibilities. It would help so many people, like those with diseases and in need of constant monitoring without having to be hooked up to bulky and immobile machines. They say the goal is to make it so cheap "it will be like buying a pack of band-aids" which would really help those who may not have health insurance. Not only will it be possible to use this tech for advancements in modern medicine but also it could take the place of credit/debit cards, social security and birth certificates, passports, ID, and countless other data one needs to carry on them. It is an exciting and mind blowing advancement I would have never seen coming and one that I plan on keeping track of throughout the development to see where this will go and how it will shape our future. Tech tats, in short, are the ink of the future, and the first step to helping us become cyborgs, well not quite, but they are something that has many positive and amazing possibilities.