When we talk about Virtual Reality (VR), many of us think of science fiction films like ‘Minority Report’. However, the truth is that nowadays, this technology completely blends in with our daily lives.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock in the past week, odds have you’ve heard about the now-infamous confrontation between Comedian Chris Rock and actor Will Smith during the 2022 Academy Awards. We won’t go into the details here — we’ll leave that to the dosens of publications that have already covered the incident in great detail. That said Smith’s Episode has already become an internet sensation, resulting in an incalculable number of comedic parodies.
So it was only a matter of time until the infamous event made its way to VR. Last week MVRa YouTube specializing in 360-degree video content, released a new video on their channel that lets you relive this historic moment from the perspective of Chris Rock.
The video begins with the joke that triggered Smith’s reaction, at which point a 3D model of Smith walks onstage and delivers a powerful blow across your face. Even in 360-degree 3DoF, it’s a pretty jarring moment, one made even better thanks to real audio taken from the event.
Earlier today, MVR followed up with yet another 360-degree video depicting the incident, this time from the perspective of Smith. As hard as it is to believe, this version is somehow even more awkward, especially when Smith Returns to his seat and begins screaming obscenities at Rock. Whatever your opinion of the event, I think we can all agree that this is what VR technology was made for.
Those looking for more humorous 360-degree content would do well to check out the rest of MVR’s channel. The Creator has a number of hilarious 360-degree videos touching on everything from Harry Potter and Attack on Titan to Halo and Squid Game just to name a few.
Virtual Reality (VR) is a computer-generated environment with scenes and objects that appear to be real, making the user feel they are immersed in their surroundings. This environment is perceived through a device known as a Virtual Reality headset or helmet.
VR allows us to immerse ourselves in video games as if we were one of the characters, learn how to perform heart surgery or improve the quality of sports training to maximise performance.
Although this may seem extremely futuristic, its origins are not as recent as we might think. In fact, many people consider that one of the first Virtual Reality devices was called Sensorama, a machine with a built-in seat that played 3D movies, gave off odours and generated vibrations to make the experience as vivid as possible.
The invention dates back as far as the mid-1950s. Subsequent technological and software developments over the following years brought with them a progressive evolution both in devices and in interface design.