This presentation was made at CAASE18, The Conference on Advancing Analysis & Simulation in Engineering. CAASE18 brought together the leading visionaries, developers, and practitioners of CAE-related technologies in an open forum, to share experiences, discuss relevant trends, discover common themes, and explore future issues.

Resource Abstract

Virtual and Augmented reality have been hyped as the “future” of how humans will interact with computers, but even though VR/AR technology has been available for nearly a decade, that revolution hasn’t yet occurred. Really not much has changed, with the notable exception of mobile computing, since the development of the mouse and graphical user interface (GUI) over forty years ago. But few people remember that the mouse and GUI also languished in obscurity for over twenty years prior to the mainstream interest that came with the 1984 introduction of the Apple Macintosh desktop computer. Public acceptance and demand finally occurred because of the rise of a “killer” application (desktop publishing), effective marketing by Apple, and porting of successful programs to GUI interfaces.

This presentation examines the current state-of-the-art of AR and VR, using actual use cases as examples. Rather than present edited videos or pre-rendered images, these examples will be presented live, with the audience co-experiencing in real time as the presenter navigates the digital environments. Several examples will be presented:

• Virtual and augmented product placement
• Virtual architectural tours
• Virtual training applications
• Virtual product design and simulation visualization

These examples will demonstrate how VR and AR are creating new ways for people to interact with digital information. Instead of the current use-model where words and images are presented on a flat screen, in the near future information will be cohesively integrated within the user’s virtual environment. This environmental experience will replace the book experience of the last fifty years, creating infinite possibilities for greater understanding, communication and collaboration.

So, is 2018 going to be 1984 all over again? Only time will tell for sure, but if these examples are any indication of where AR and VR are headed, the future of computing is here, and our ubiquitous rodent friends are finally headed for the technology junkyard.