Ask HN: What will happen to make VR finally explode, if anything? - Fission
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taylodl
VR - virtual reality, isn't really all that interesting outside of
gaming/simulation and training. AR - augmented reality, is where the real
money-making opportunities lie. Lots of companies have field
services/technicians who would benefit greatly from AR. It's not hard to see
the transportation and distribution sectors also benefitting. Even healthcare.
The upshot of it all being AR is where the action is, not VR.

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pinkrooftop
The map is not the territory and there is no value merging the two. Overlaying
data onto vision is just a distraction and assuming something magical happens
when you overlay data instead of putting it next to you on a screen is
delusional

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detaro
There is little reason to believe that humans are so good at matching from
screens to reality that proper located AR information isn't better (in domains
like mapping it's quite well studied how error-prone humans are/how hard it is
to communicate the right subset of details, while VR research has demonstrated
how well real-world representations work).

Regarding distractions, attention management is extremely important for AR,
but has also been researched a lot. As long as we keep advertisers out of AR
applications we'll be fine.

Not surprisingly, the military already uses it, and I doubt they'd give figher
pilots AR helmets if a screen would be more efficient.

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pinkrooftop
It adds efficiency for military grade targeting but the everyday applications
are more novelty than explosive technology. A field technician will have
minimal benefit from a heads up targeting display.

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jotux
>A field technician will have minimal benefit from a heads up targeting
display.

I can think of a lot of scenarios where AR would be a great benefit. For
example, imagine an electrician running wires through a commercial building
and having the wiring path displayed for him. No digging through
documentation, measuring, and marking necessary to get the job done. Or
imagine fire fighters with AR heads-up displays getting routing information
inside building that is smoky and difficult to traverse.

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taylodl
In fact my company is exploring doing that for underground wiring. We're also
looking into technicians going into a transmission substation and when looking
at the equipment it's overlayed with voltage and temperature gauges with a
link to access service manuals.

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mikestew
Answering the open questions would be a good start. I'm a geek and a man of
means. Maybe I'll go get one of those HTC Vibes. Seems popular, Steam supports
it. Look, all I want to know is how much is it going to cost me to walk into a
store and walk out with _everything_ I need. If I get home and find out I need
to place an emergency order to NewEgg to get it working, it's getting boxed up
and returned. If I have to go digging through video card specs, no deal. Do I
even need a computer to hook it to? If so, what OS? Will my 2012 Macbook Pro
do?

Not a single one of those questions is answered by the HTC Vibe web site, at
least not that I could find. So me, a tech worker with loads of disposable
income and a willingness to take a bit of a chance on new tech, won't be
dropping $800 on your new device. How in the hell does one expect the
proverbial Joe Sixpack to jump on board?

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dudul
Porn?

I'm serious. The Porn industry has been leading technical changes and
innovations more often than not.

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mikestew
Would you seriously use it? Seems like a bit of bother to me versus just
firing up a fave on the ol' 2D 27" monitor, but perhaps my personal tastes
don't run parallel to the market in question.

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dudul
I wouldn't no, I don't think so. But I think the industry has been exploring
this option for a little while now.

TBH, like you, I feel that most of my personal tastes don't seem to mach the
actual market (be it for movies, video games, etc).

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afarrell
Cheap high-powered graphics cards are one prerequisite.

If industrial history in general is any indication, than some sort of heavy
use by militaries, probably for training.

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jetti
More computing power in the headsets that allow it to be used without needing
a relatively beefy computer. When there is the ability to use the headset
without a computer then it will be able to reach a broader audience

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EJTH
Price of entry has to be lower. A vive + a gaming rig that can actually handle
VR decently is quite expensive for the avarage consumer.

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axvk
When someone figures out how to move around inside VR. Right now you're stuck
in a tiny room, but how awesome would it be to play FPS games where you run
around and duck behind objects. Most htc vive games i've played have mastered
shooting but I'm always stuck on a tiny platform or standing in one place.

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GFischer
My own belief is that retail will benefit from the VR revolution the most, but
mostly for using the VR headsets to access an in-store experience using live
360 video / AR .

(edited because mentioning my Y Combinator application didn't come across
well)

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dontJudge
Plug into your brain, so it looks more like reality.

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LordWinstanley
Using Samsung batteries might do it.

(I'll get me coat!)

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CaptainSwing
Going by usernames we should probably be friends Mr Winstanley

