Reality + : A more informed environment
Insert virtual reality rant here
There is always a contingent of people in the techology sector looking for the next big environment - the next big platform. These people see virtual reality and think, a world where I can create anything for people to consume? Amazing! I need to make this into our next platform, our next moonshot, our next big effort for when it happens in 10 - 20 years!
These people are wrong. Virtual reality will have its place but it's not in the everyday nor is it the first thing you'll reach for in the morning when you get up. It's going to be an immersive gaming experience or a way to pre-view your vacation but it will not replace that vacation. We're not going to be become:
Image shameless take from @burenothebear
People like reality, people want reality, people love interacting with the world around them. What drives people away from the want to interact with their environment is the fear and anixiety created from the unknown and unfamilar. These barriers block information from being easily digested and recognized. What we want is Reality +.
We want a world that is marked up with the information we need. We want hotel rooms that inform the valet to pull the car around when we are leaving the room. We want to know which button to press for hot water. We want information that gives us clues to the decisions we are about to make. Ideally what I am describing is good design. But just good design is lacking. We need a spacial design that uses technology to better orient us to our ever changing environment. This is Reality +.
There is an opportunity with the tech around us to enhance the environments we are is. The most used at the moment is iBeacons with push notifications to your cell phone. But this is just the begining. How we harness these embedded technologies that are now all around us will create something new. Thinking Microsoft Hololens. Something better informed. It has to be more than augmented reality though. Something more personal and less forceful, something like Reality +.