Emerging Technologies

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Advantages.
V irtual real ity has been extensiv ely used to treat phobias (such as
a fear of heights, fl ying and spiders) and PSTDs (post-traumatic
stress disorders). This type of therapy has been show n to be
effectiv e in the academic setting, and sev eral commercial enti ties
now offer it to patients. It w as found that the computer-based
simul ations afforded a number of adv antages ov er the l iv e training.
Their objectiv e w as to increase exposure to l ife -l ike emergency
situations to improv e decision -making and performance and
reduce psychological distress in a real heal th emergency.
Disadvantages.
Some psychologists are concerned that immersion in v irtual
env ironments coul d psychologically affect a user. They suggest
that V E systems that pl ace a user in v iol ent situations, p articularly
as the perpetuator of v iol ence, coul d resul t in the user becoming
desensitized. In effect, there’s a fear that V E entertainment systems
coul d breed a generation of sociopaths. Engaging v irtual
env ironments coul d potentially be more addictiv e.
Another emerging concern inv olves criminal acts. In the v irtual
w orld, defining acts such as murder or sex crimes has been
probl ematic. At w hat point, can authorities charge a person w ith a
real crime for actions w ithin a v irtual env ironment? Studies indic ate
that people can hav e real physical and emotional reactions to
stimul i w ithin a v irtual env ironment, and so it’s quite possible that a
v ictim of a v irtual attack coul d feel real emotional trauma.
Challenges.
The big chal lenges are dev eloping better tracking systems, finding
more natural w ays to al low users to interact w ithin v irtual
env ironment s and decreasing the time it takes to buil d v irtual
spaces. Whil e there are a few tracking system companies that hav e
been around since the earl iest days of v irtual reality. Likew ise, there
aren’t many companies that are w orking on input dev ices
specifical ly for V R applications. Most V R dev elopers hav e to rel y on
and adapt technol ogy original l y meant for another discipl in e.
Without w ell-designed hardware, a user coul d hav e trouble w ith his
sense of bal ance or inertia and coul d experience cybersickness.