We all knew that a day would come when distinguishing between the real and digital world would be complex. However, we didn’t expect it to arrive so soon. The recent research in the AR/VR sector is pushing us into a new era. Augmented realities and Virtual realities are achieving new heights.
Salzburg University of Applied Sciences has gifted us with Markus Tatzgern and his pioneering designing team with AirRes Mask. Let’s dig deeper to learn about it:
What Is The All-New AirRes Mask?
AirRes Mask is a new piece of equipment that you can pair with your AR/VR headsets. It enhances and enriches the virtual experience a person has in the digital dimension. The purpose of the AirRes mask is to control the flow of air and our breathing. In turn, it offers an additional sensory perception to virtual reality and augmented reality, and helps with controlling various experiences.
Currently, it is head-mounted gear, which is also a little bulgy and covers the entire mouth.
In short, AirRes Mask is the next step into the AR/VR industry. However, it is not in production yet. Therefore, it is not available in the market. The device still requires a lot of research and examination because of the potential dangers.
The Team’s Insights
According to the leading team, they are utilizing breathing resistance for the novel sensory feedback modality. In simple words, they are using breath resistance, often found in training masks, to help create air resistance that would mimic the air conditions of the environment the virtual avatar is in.
This could lead to people perceiving various altitudes in virtual reality. It could be an excellent asset for psychotherapy, training simulations, or training danger perception in general.
The Use Of AirRes Masks In Metaverse
Let’s just admit that Metaverse is a term often connected to virtual reality and augmented worlds. So, the uses of AirRes in VR/AR, or Metaverse, are plenty:
- The breathing simulation will enable people to get a more realistic feel of the situation. It could be great for a movie experience.
- Correlatively, it can be great for games where you have fire and smoke, for users to experience some form of suffocation without making it uncomfortable.
- AirRes could also be the next step in Fire Management Training. Firefighters and everyday folks could use it to learn how to survive smoke and fire.
- It could open a frontier for the body to feel winds or even sensory touch in the future. If not, then it could help induce the feelings controlled via air circulation utilizing breathing resistance in training simulations.
- In the future, we could witness AirRes that could even replicate the scents and smell. That would be a significant achievement for the AR/VR industry.
Of course, most of these points are just speculations and predictions. Nothing is set in stone yet, as the device is still undergoing examinations and approval.
The Need For Sensory Equipment – Is It A Nightmare?
There will always be two sides to the coin, and there will be people who will oppose this idea. After all, it will make things challenging for people, like distinguishing realities. People could potentially get stuck in alternative realities for more extended periods.
However, tech development has been striving for multiple sensory stimulations for a good while. AirRes Mask could prove to be a groundbreaking discovery and invention. Sure, it is intimidating to think about the feeling of suffocation via AirRes Mask, but then it also offers a more natural experience.
Other Examples Of Sensory Equipment
A couple of other innovative teams worldwide are working towards offering a multi-sensory experience through AR/VR. Another team from the Future Interfaces Group of Carnegie Mellon University showcased another VR Headset. It was an off-the-shelf design that works with ultrasonic transducers. The objective of the headsets was to offer a sense of touch to the users in the mouth.
Of course, the experiment ultimately mimicked the sensory experience of a spider tossing acid in your mouth, but it was an achievement. It only goes to show that with a little more improvement, we could be looking at a better sensory experience.
Conclusion – It Is A Fast-Changing World
Just, when you thought Web 3.0 and Metaverse had hit their peak, we hit a new milestone. It is proof that we are just beginning to step into uncharted territory. The possibilities of the Metaverse are endless.
We are sure that a multi-sensory experience for the virtual dimension will become a milestone for the Metaverse and Web 3.0 worlds. It doesn’t just revolve around DeFi, DeSoc, or DAO concepts anymore.
Web 3.0 is at the adolescent stage, and much like Web 2.0’s developments from immersive websites to apps, we could witness various innovations in the new technological era.
No doubt as the tech advances the virtual experience for breathing resistance will become almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
