3D and Virtual Reality

Flash:  Facebook to buy Oculus, VR startup for $2B!

Yes, that is a B as in Billion or 2E9 dollars.  This is for a company started on https://www.kickstarter.com/ (goal $250K, raised nearly $2.5M).  

Wow!  3D and VR!  Affordable!  Open API!

Just how old is 3D?  Did you know that 3D films have been around since 1915 and were very popular in the 1950s (well before my time)?  There was somewhat of a revival of 3D in the 1980s.  One of the first 3D movies I remember was Jaws 3-D (1983); I was NOT impressed.

Recently, there has been a surge of 3D movies like Avitar and even 3D TV (not selling well).  For some, 3D adds a lot. For others, you wonder why they bothered with 3D (maybe some marketeer's dream?).

And what is VR?  Virtual reality (VR) is "a computer-simulated environment that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world or imagined worlds".  VR has been around even longer than 3D, conceived of in the mid-1800s. The goal of VR is to create "immersive, highly visual, 3D environments".  However, good VR requires good 3D technology, lots of computing power, and small electronics -- all of which are now available.

All this brings us to the Oculus Rift....  Cool technology with an open software development kit!

The Oculus Rift, while cool and now supported by Facebook, is not without competition.  Sony recently announced their Project Morpheus, a similar system, but intended for the Playstation 4.  Google Glass is commercially available today; it is not fully immersive virtual reality, but is is augmented reality.

If you think 3D and VR Tech is COOL, here is food for thought!  Some believe we might live in a simulation much like that in the movie The Matrix (1999).  The Simulation Hypothesis "proposes that reality is a simulation and those affected are generally unaware of this".  The truth may be that reality is an illusion! Scientists are even coming up with ways to test the hypothesis.   This site contains an excellent FAQ about the hypothesis!

Is Deep Thought real (and the source for 42)?

Does this mean that we might truly glimpse reality using 3D virtual reality and the Oculus?