Virtual Reality in the Year 3000
Picture this. It’s summer 2003, you’re listening to Busted’s ‘Year 3000’ on a CD on your walkman, you have jelly flips flops on and a Von Dutch cap perched on your head, dancing along with a fruit winder in one hand and a SunnyD in the other, dreaming of marrying Alex Pettyfer in a Juicy Couture tracksuit. Life is good.
Growing up, there was a lot of talk about what the future would hold. Would we be getting from A to Z with little rockets on our feet? Would we live on Mars? ‘Not much has changed but they live underwater’ was Busted’s answer and quirky futuristic reference, rather than a nod to the very real possibility we now face as we drive our earth headfirst into a climate disaster.
As part of the first generation to grow up as the internet grew up, it has been truly terrifying, wonderful, anxiety inducing, connected, and also hugely complex. The internet, like an over-achieving younger sibling, grew up faster and quicker than we ever could have imagined. Youtube is 16 years old. Facebook is 17, Instagram is 10 and Netflix is the same age as me. And despite my wisdom conveyed on these blog posts, I have really not been on this earth for very long.
Its wild.
It is very strange to think that some people were not actively formed by social media like I have been. I remember when you used to have a computer room in your house, and when you used it, you put a CD in it, and if someone rang your house phone then the whole thing would cut out. Now, I shudder to look at what my screen dwelling times are on my phone, I can virtually try on clothes before I buy them, and I can walk around an art museum on my laptop.
And in the Year 2021, we find ourselves not underwater (yet) but rather behind a screen.
Our futuristic dreams of living on Mars may not have come true, but our ones of virtual reality have come within reach. What does it feel like to be at the precipice of a huge leap into an unknown future?
On theVOV, we use leading XR technology to create a 3D virtual environment, where you can walk around each institution’s gallery, zooming into eye-watering proximity to art works, click on the art to learn more about the artwork and the artist, even be digitally taken by the hand by the director of the museum or curator of the show, and attend live events hosted by the artist streaming into your living room.
We have created state of the art gallery spaces, from replicas of the hallowed halls to fantastical creations ( not exceeding 30,000 polygons of course ! ) Life has been truly augmented.
The ‘Year 3000’ is already here, and we are all on theVOV. Join us.
Lottie @ theVOV
theVOV Glossary
XR - augmented, virtual and mixed reality
VR - computer-generated simulation in which a person can interact within an artificial three-dimensional environment using electronic devices
Polygons - used to measure the amount of details in a virtual environment