All posts by RSkelton

Droid Delivery in London Soon?

Drones

I don’t think I am alone in thinking that delivery drones trundling along the footpath are not far off. There’s no real reason to be concerned about them, because they won’t be big enough or fast enough to be able to do real damage (unless they are used to transport explosives by terrorists…). They will certainly be more efficient for short-distance deliveries, than vehicles or posties.

They won’t really take off until they are part of a great infrastructure. A mega-delivery logistics system…

…or they go completely the other way. Ad-hoc. The Uber of delivery bots. Local small businesses delivering to local people. Tell the app an address and time. Bot turns up and you give it the goods. It trundles off and delivers.

I think there is room for both.

Anyway, enjoy the video. Read the info.

Myo Gesture Control

Augmented Reality

The future certainly involves spectacles/contacts that provide augmented reality. The jury is still out on how it will be controlled.

I have suggested a thin glove, or implants in the fingertips (depending on how dedicated you are).

Voice will certainly have its advocates. I think ultimately it will be a turn off (don’t you just hate people talking into a phone that isn’t there?), but something that lets you quietly sound out words could work.

Myo have a gesture control band. It’s a contender, although I would expect it to eventually be incorporated into smart clothing.

Full Immersion Needs Sounds

Realism

Again, paraphrasing Jim Blascovich and Jeremy Bailenson in their book Infinite Reality:

In a virtual reality version of a casino, it was “eerily quiet”. They could’t get fully into the experience without sound. Once background and situation-relevant sounds were introduced, the virtual reality became more real.

With software, this should be quite achievable:

  • record sound in the location
  • identify the sounds that trigger human responses (we block out most)
  • create a soundtrack full of randomness

The sound will be contrived but convincing. For VR to work, all of your senses need to be in agreeance.

 

 

Virtual Churches

Uncategorized

It’s only natural that the types of events I would like to attend virtually are those I have thought about the most…

church_fools_1

I’m not a church-goer, but clearly this is an important part of the lives of many. And while it is debatable, for a good portion of them attending church believe it doesn’t have to be in a particular place and time. In other words, attending virtually is juts fine (although not as lucrative for the brick and mortar church).

I can see virtual churches taking off.

  • The modern mega-churches are heavy on entertainment, so they can charge a premium, even for virtual attendance.
  • It enables a congregation to grow beyond the physical limitations of their actual location.
  • Tracking and remarketing will be easy to achieve.