By Lisa Peyton

Last week I joined hundreds of commercial VR and AR experts in London to participate in VR World 2018. The two-day conference featured sessions from industry leaders pioneering immersive technology in such fields as manufacturing, automotive, entertainment, healthcare, and many others.

One of the benefits of bringing together VR and AR industry leaders is to facilitate collaboration and work together on a unified vision for this new technology. Who better to understand and predict the true potential for the latest advancements in immersive technologies than those in the trenches working on solutions daily?

Several of the conference speakers from companies like Facebook, GlaxoSmithKline and others were generous enough to take the time to provide their most ambitious predictions for the future of immersive tech and provide insight into innovative companies helping these predictions become a reality. I applaud their courage and imagination to see beyond the immediate challenges and set their sights on a bold new frontier.

Let the countdown begin…

10) Offices become obsolete

The concept of virtual workspaces is nothing new, but recent advances in hardware and bandwidth have made this possibility almost a certain reality. According to Jay Latta, Emerging Technology Strategist, the future of work will center on a private, virtual workspace that immerses the user in a 3D desktop customized to provide the ideal working environment.

Several of the major HMD producers, like the Windows Mixed Reality platform and Oculus Rift are providing a virtual desktop experience for their users. There are also several apps like Bigscreen and Virtual Desktop working to make Latta’s vision a reality but the experience has a long way to go before becoming seamlessly integrated with our daily work lives.

9) Drive time becomes down time

No more daily commute, instead any type of road-based transportation will be completed within a personalized and autonomous, immersive environment allowing the passenger to work or enjoy immersive entertainment. Building upon his vision for a private, VR workspace, Latta believes the future of commuting could include taking this workspace with you, as today’s “drive to work” becomes “drive and work.” The race toward building fully autonomous vehicles has reached a fever pitch with Google, Uber and almost every major car manufacturer working to capitalize on the new era of “mobility as a service.” There is also a host of start-ups like Seattle-based MightAI and AIMotive working to provide innovative solutions to help usher in this new era of transportation.

8) No more screen time

AR and merged reality will take away our need to look at screens – smartphones, watches, tablets, laptops, will all become a thing of the past. According to Cyril Tuschi, the CEO and founder of You-VR, super-lightweight AR glasses and XR contact lenses will soon become our standard companion. He believes that worries over the negative effects of screen time will be mitigated as our digital world will become seamlessly integrated with the real world. Tuschi also optimistically believes that there will be early education programs to help children navigate this new merged reality along with an AI driven opt-in program to mindfully deliver only relevant experiences to users.

7) Smarter planet — global knowledge and collaboration network

According to Paul Sweeney, VP and GM for DAQRI International, “immersive technology will enable collaboration between vast distributed teams, across languages, time zones and geographies thereby connecting large populations to rich digital information, in the physical world.” The implications for this type of knowledge network are robust and could help solve global challenges related to geographically isolated populations and shortages of natural resources. Ultimately a global knowledge network powered by AI could “optimize” the planet to ensure resources are distributed to sustain the global population.

6) Hyper-real intimate experiences become the norm

How we connect intimately and sexually, with others as well as ourselves, will be dramatically different in 20 years. Dr. Holly Richmond, Ph.D. and practicing sex therapist, believes that “most first dates and first sexual experiences will happen virtually, the term “digisexual” will be ubiquitous, and the idea of sex positivity will finally transcend the technology bias it has previously and currently been up against. Richmond is working to normalize the sex tech industry and her soon to be published book, Next-Sex, delivers research and insights into how technology is bringing us closer together.

Companies like Kiiroo and WeVibe are working to create extremely realistic immersive intimate experiences. Kiiroo CTO, Maurice Op de Beek, believes we’ll achieve hyper-real, sexual experiences in our lifetime. Other technology companies are developing software and hardware to help expand today’s VR experience beyond the HMD. Tobii, is working on eye-tracking capabilities which according to Richmond, will produce a much more connected and intimate experience. While HardLight VR has developed a haptic body-suit allowing users to actually feel what’s happening within a virtual experience. You can read more about technology and the future of sex in my recent post, The technological evolution of love, connection and intimacy.

5) ‘Beam me up, Scotty’ – teleporting becomes real

Be anywhere, anytime in seconds with multiple digital selves. Founder of VP Capital and technology investor Viktor Prokopenya believes “we will have a complete avatar, several bodies in different parts of the world and the travel time will be zero.” This bold vision draws upon several current day technologies and unifies them into a plausible future. Researchers are already studying the effects of embodying a virtual avatar and social, 3D virtual worlds such as Sansar and High Fidelity allow for instant teleportation to different regions on the grid. Combine this functionality with augmented reality capabilities of overlaying digital content in the real world and it’s not too hard to imagine beaming a virtual self into a real location.

Russian startup Arcona is building an innovative platform to allow digital content creators to ‘teleport’ their content into real world locations via a block-chain fueled universal, augmented reality infrastructure. The content would then be visible to anyone geographically located in the region across multiple devices and apps that house AR capabilities. In the future, once AR devices are standardized everyone in any location would see the same digital overlay which could include digital avatars or holograms.

4) Pain and suffering is a thing of the past

VR and immersive technology is poised to put an end to both physical and emotional pain. According to Chimeren Peerbhai, Global Digital Product Management Lead for GlaxoSmithKline, “VR as a distraction therapy during difficult treatments; such as those administered to cancer patients or burn victims has proven to be quite effective. Furthermore, research is starting to show some effective mental health treatments using VR Exposure Therapy in the treatment of PTSD, anxiety and addictions.”

Dr. Richmond agrees with Peerbhai on the value of VR and AR to better treat mental health patients. “Enabled by VR/AR, a therapist will be able to meet her client in the space that feels most healing, and generate environments, scenarios, challenges and support structures that are the most efficacious to the client’s goals.” There are a host of companies helping healthcare providers leverage the healing benefits of VR. (For more information on the work being done in this field, read my recent post VR can already help people heal — and it’s just the beginning.)

3) The end of loneliness and isolation

Westworld here we come! Along with ending physical pain, Chimeren Peerbhai also believes the future of today’s virtual assistant technology will eventually include “more advanced integration with AI and machine learning to create compellingly realistic virtual humans. Imagine having a virtual assistant that’s like a real person or having a companion to keep you company as you grow older. Or even bolder, being able to accurately recreate a loved one who’s passed on, in a virtual world. Who will be able to respond to you and behave just as they would have in real life!”

This exciting and perhaps worrisome vision of the future has been played out in movies like Blade Runner 2049 where arguably one of the most lovable characters was an AI-driven, robot taking the form of a beautiful, young assistant to the hero of the film.  The darker side of this reality was also depicted in a memorable episode of Black Mirror with the main character purchasing a robotic replacement of her dead husband.

While we’re decades away from achieving any type of realistic, virtual human, there are technologies like chatbots, robots and voice-activated assistants that are helping to make us more comfortable communicating with computers. And with the advances in AI, they are getting much more comfortable communicating with us!

2) Poverty and homelessness eradicated

VR will enable humans to live in the shoes of others, engendering empathy and compassion among our policymakers and society at large. This will help bring an end to polarizing issues such as social welfare, immigration and civil rights as everyone will be able to experience both sides of every argument. Journalists like Nonny de la Peña and publications such as the New York Times are creating award-winning, VR experiences that put their readers in situations that typically would have been off limits. Project Syria, authored and produced by Peña, puts the viewer on a war torn street corner in the Middle East without any of the associated risks of visiting the site first-hand.

1) World peace

Appropriately leveraged, there is no reason why technology can’t solve global disputes and improve global relations resulting in a lasting world peace. According to Anne Hiatt, VR storyteller and General Director for Opera on Tap, “Immersive tech will improve global communication without the protection of anonymity that is provided by social media today thereby forcing a more honest and open dialogue. The potential positive effects on diplomacy could result in world peace.” The VR Peace Museum shares Hiatt’s optimism and has been named one of the world’s top VR for humanity projects. The immersive experience explores historical peacemaking perspectives, and present day events highlighting the courage and commitment that define all peacemaking. These types of humanitarian projects will help shape future leaders to believe in the possibility of peace and allow them to use technology as the tool to make it happen.

Pie in the sky? Not really

While we’re still decades away from many of these bold predictions becoming reality, it’s essential for our global leaders and society at large to understand the potential power of technologies like VR, AR and MR. My hope is that posts like these help shine a light on the power of immersive technology to go far beyond gaming and entertainment. And though it’s impossible to truly see what the future holds 20 years from now, there is little doubt that dramatic changes are on the way.

Campbell Orme, AR Product Designer for Facebook, sums it up nicely, “I’d love to be able to have the smallest glimpse of how we might be interfacing with AR and VR that far ahead, even if to see how incredibly antiquated our rectangles and LEDs will have become. The qualities of AR and VR as a channel that might help communities or whole countries address challenges could well be: ubiquity, speed, language-agnosticism and accuracy at reproducing – reliving – any given moment in time. A memory experienced with absolute certainty, by anyone on the connected planet.”

By Lisa Peyton

Connection is difficult. With more distractions, demands on our time, and mediated communications like texting and social media, making time for intimacy and love can be challenging. Holidays such as Valentine’s Day can serve to reinforce this realization, further isolating singles and those who choose alternative lifestyles. There are some who feel technology is an obstacle to intimacy and love, but other experts believe virtual reality can actually help foster connecting in new and exciting ways.

“Absolutely. Virtual reality can help bring us closer together and foster love and intimacy,” said Dr. Holly Richmond, a Ph.D Sex Therapist and author of the soon to be published Next Sex: Mating, relating and masturbating in the new age of technology. Richmond sees VR and other emerging technologies as having immense potential to help break down the barriers to love and intimacy in the digital age.

According to Richmond there are several applications where VR can play a role in healthier relationships and closer connections. VR therapies are already being used successfully to treat disorders such as PTSD and common phobias, Richmond believes this treatment can extend to sexual health issues such as erectile dysfunction, low libido and performance anxiety. “VR therapy can help common disorders — pain disorders, low libido, and erectile dysfunction. By helping people understand arousal and taking the pathology out of ‘not doing it right,’ VR can provide positive solutions in a safe and comfortable environment.” Richmond is currently exploring using immersive VR environments to help treat these common issues among her patients.

She also believes there would be huge value in using VR to help teach anatomy and human sexuality in schools. Using a 3D model to explore female and male anatomy would enable students to better understand their own bodies and the bodies of potential partners. Immersive VR educational videos would also act as great tool to help explore human sexuality in a safe and nurturing environment.

Why VR?

Beyond therapy and education, Richmond also believes VR has the power to help normalize sexual expression and empower users to better understand and meet their own needs. In her practice, she outlines three elements that are vital for healthy, intimate connections. These “Three E’s” are Empathy, Empowerment, and Embodiment. VR’s immersive elements, such as having a first-person point of view (POV), enable the user to experience and feel these elements instead of just talking about them.

“VR is great place to learn and practice. It gives users an experiential component. Better than just watching, we can feel our way into things. It also gives us choice — choosing your POV, for example — gives us more control and can be very empowering. VR also allows for a mind and body connection. We can actually feel it — it’s an integrated experience. Used in education, learning outcomes are dramatically improved when someone can experience something instead of just watching.”

The Love-Tech Landscape

Individuals and couples can now use a few immersive tools to help enhance intimacy. VR films, primarily focused in the adult entertainment sector, are beginning to take more of an educational approach. For example, Badoink’s “Virtual Sexology” series, which Richmond co-authors, is positioned as a sex therapy program. It primarily consists of 360 degree videos shot from the first-person perspective. The viewer can choose man or woman’s POV, and the scene immerses them as a participant. The voice-over includes tactics like sensate focus and applied behavior applications such as positive reinforcement. While this type of immersion may be a step above traditional 2D video, it still doesn’t enable the viewer to feel what’s happening on film.

Enter Kiiroo, a growing tech company based in Amsterdam. It’s developing a solution to this problem.

Kiiroo is the leading producer of remote-controlled smart teledildonics for couples. Since 2013, this company has used technology to help couples feel more connected and intimate when they’re not together — especially when they are hundreds if miles apart. Through the use of the Kiiroo app and the devices, both male and female, couples can have an interactive experience, controlling each other’s pleasure, despite being a continent away. Couples can see each other in real-time via a 2D webcam or other similar device (like a smartphone), but according to Kiiroo’s Maurice Op de Beek, couples can now use a 360 degree camera and enjoy the VR version. “VR is so real and immersive, but historically, you couldn’t feel it. You needed touch. We have created the illusion of touch and are solving this problem.”

Op de Beek is extremely optimistic about the potential of creating more and more realistic experiences with the help of VR. When asked if we would see hyper-real sexual experiences in our lifetime, his immediate response was “Definitely! We already have this with our Launch device. It’s very real and the developments are going so fast we are about 10-20 year out from hyper-real simulated sexual experiences.” Kiiroo’s most immersive product, the Fleshlight Launch, enables male stimulation synchronized with a VR film experience. The device exactly mimics the actions onscreen, reeling the viewer into the action and providing for a new level of embodiment. The market has about 1,500 VR-enabled films that are synced to devices, with more in production.

Kiiroo is also enabling devices for women to sync with VR films, partnering with WeVibe and OhMiBod. Op de Beek has approached many of the leading device manufacturers and proposed adding Kiiroo’s smart technology to their products. Eventually there will be hundreds of thousands of these smart devices all over the globe, allowing for couples and singles to remotely connect like never before.

Richmond feels leveraging the immersion of VR can be a valuable tool for these devices: “The newest VR-enabled, remote control devices are some of the best that I’ve seen. They force couples to communicate, taking some of the guess work out of meeting each other’s needs. It has facilitated conversations about what people like and what they don’t like. Sex tech can help women be empowered and connect with their own bodies and then share this with a partner.”

On Addiction

Given the reality of achieving hyper-real sexual experiences in our lifetime, some fear that these experiences will be addicting and act as a replacement for real, human interactions. Headlines such as this one from a recent ABC post, “Virtual reality addiction threat prompts cautious approach as VR nears ‘smartphone-like’ take-off,” work to propagate these concerns. Richmond doesn’t believe VR will increase addiction and argues that technology is only working to enhance human connection, not replace it.

“The idea of addiction — I just don’t buy it. There’s no such thing as sex or Internet addiction. There will always be people who abuse technology. The VR component won’t make it that much more addictive. From print magazines like Playboy, to online adult entertainment, and now VR and teledildonics — the technology will keep progressing. We, as human beings, need to learn how to keep up with it.”

The Future is Bright

Both Op de Beek and Richmond are extremely optimistic about what the future holds for VR and making a love connection. As technology improves, so will the ways we leverage this technology to learn more about ourselves and our partners. VR is creating new communication channels, new ways to feel and empathize with one another and ultimately allow for a full range of intimate self-expression. Richmond sums it up: “My mission in life is to stop the pathologization of any kind of sexual expression that isn’t within the ‘normal’ box. And thankfully, that box is opening — we’ve got pansexual, demi-sexual, bisexual, and now digisexual.

“We’ve still got this inherent desire, especially in the US, to pathologize difference. Immersive technology, like VR, can enable us to embrace, even celebrate, these differences, and allow us to safely explore and experience ourselves in new ways. This is what I see as the biggest potential for VR.”