Worlds of promise
The people wearing the giant goggles and laughing, ducking, jumping, and wildly waving their arms weren’t the only ones having fun. “Watching people in visual reality is the best thing,” said a man as he waited for a chance to don a large black headset and hand-held controllers and take a turn as a professional hockey goalie deflecting virtual pucks. “Dude, it’s addicting,” said another, fresh from a trip to the ocean floor and a close encounter with a blue whale. Across the hall, a line formed for a motion simulator that mimicked a shaking race car, taking headset-wearing users for a spin on a virtual speedway. For a real-world observer at the Harvard Innovation Lab (i-lab) on Wednesday, the entertainment potential of visual and augmented reality was abundantly clear. But what many consider the next great tech revolution isn’t only about fun. Experts say it has the potential to transform business, art, education,...