I stepped into the driverless car, sat in the passenger seat, and watched as the doors smoothly slid shut. The dashboard came to life, and a holographic assistant greeted me with a friendly wave. As the car silently glided onto the highway, the assistant started to display options for entertainment, news, and navigation.
However, as I tried to focus on the holographic display, I realized I was feeling increasingly anxious and claustrophobic. The sleek, minimalist interior and absence of windows made it feel like I was in a high-tech cocoon hurtling down the highway. I tried to take deep breaths and distract myself with the latest news, but my discomfort only grew. In the end, I couldn’t wait for the journey to be over, and I vowed never to take a driverless car again.
At the annual gaming convention, E3, attendees lined up for hours to experience the latest virtual reality game releases. The immersive technology allowed them to step into a different world, wielding swords, casting spells and exploring new realms. But as the excitement wore off and they removed their VR headsets, some found themselves feeling disoriented and dizzy. Despite the potential side effects, many still see virtual reality as the future of gaming and entertainment, with major companies investing in the technology and developers pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. As the line between reality and virtual reality continues to blur, it remains to be seen how far this new world will take us.
At Orange’s metaverse demonstration, users were transported to a futuristic neon-hued technoscape with lightning bolts, giant robots, and a falcon carrying a green orb in its talons. A dancing figure appeared, representing the movements of a real-life dancer wearing motion-capture gear. Although the consumer purpose of this dazzling display was not immediately clear, it was demonstrated by Miguel Angel Almonacid, Orange’s network strategy director for Spain, how new 5G networks will eliminate lag for metaverse users watching something happening far away. Analysts said that the metaverse might be more suited to practical purposes in the workplace. “That’s where we’ll see traction first because the barriers aren’t as high,” said Gartner’s Nguyen. For example, augmented reality glasses could be used by a worker to pull up diagnostics or an instruction manual. The metaverse is used by Spanish startup La Frontera to provide virtual meetings with “realistic avatars,” as guided by Marta Ortiz, a business development executive, through the company’s metaverse.
The usefulness of the virtual world could also be demonstrated in showcasing products that are too large to move easily or too small for humans. A sci-fi setting was displayed, with crimson walls rising up around us, representing the inside of a blood vessel. Reddish-brown doughnut-shaped blood cells were seen floating past, followed by spiky orbs. The blood vessel’s wall opened up, exposing pulsing white streaks on a blue background, depicting neurons in a brain. “How a drug works in the body at a cellular level” is shown by La Frontera’s collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, according to Ortiz. In this case, it was a medicine to treat multiple sclerosis, which attacks brain neurons.
