Issues Concerning Virtual Reality

For my blog post this week I was really hoping to find some kind of news article on the internet concerning advancements made in virtual reality, as that's where my interest with science and technology lies outside of gaming. Upon searching, however, I only found this article on how veterans are using virtual reality to help with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder therapy. Not to say that this isn't that exciting--it's good to see technology being put to beneficial use for those that put their lives on the line for our country rather than spying on our every move. The reason why they say it works is that virtual reality allows soldiers to re-experience traumatic events instead of trying to relive it through words. They make it akin to trying to remember the lyrics of a song--it's easier to remember the lyrics once you hear the song's melody.

Other than that, I didn't really see anything else concerning virtual reality. The closest is probably this article about how virtual reality may be making a come back, especially with companies trying to eliminate the main hindrance of virtual reality--motion sickness. The Oculus Rift, which was mentioned in the article, is getting pretty damn close to what I imagined virtual reality to be like--it senses your head movements to perform certain actions in a video game, so it's more than just plastering a screen right in front of your eyes. A little more fine tuning and perhaps we may see the likes of technology that can use brain wave patterns or even nerve signals to control actions.

But as with most technology, one has to consider the ethics behind it. What role would better virtual reality technology play in society? Would it be safe? I ask these questions because two issues come to mind with the development of virtual reality software and hardware--it's role in society and it's affect on people's health.

How can virtual reality be used effectively for society? Well, as seen in the first article mentioned, it can be used for therapeutic reasons, allowing people suffering from mental illnesses or conditions to get the therapy they need. It can even be used in training to minimize the risk of injury or provide rookie workers fast experience so that they can perform their jobs more effectively, as seen in this article.

In terms of health, virtual reality can be risky to one's health, especially if the technology isn't developed correctly. Prolonged exposure to the hardware could pose possible health hazards, but just think about it--having some kind of hardware that would interface with your brain to make virtual reality seem real. Does that not sound like it's risky? Perhaps the engineers would have to tell people to limit their use, but as with Terms of Service, do people actually follow the guidelines for how long we use a piece of technology? As I gamer, I know I don't.

There are probably other issues concerning the development of virtual reality technology, but I'm hopeful that it'll work out so that we have something exciting to look forward to.