The 3 Body Problem headset isn’t the VR we want – it’s our worst nightmare
If nothing else I’ve learned from watching Netflix 3 Body problem it’s that there are limits to what I want to experience in virtual reality.
I haven’t seen the entire season of the sci-fi drama, which means I’m unlikely to spoil anything (but if you prefer to be cautious, I suggest you stop reading now).
However, I’ve seen enough to be both blown away by the alien-built headset technology and absolutely shocked by what this wearable gear can do.
For those who haven’t yet dived into the show, which is based on a critically acclaimed novel, the story revolves in part around alien contact with inhabitants of a dying planet. Apparently we contacted them first, and they responded enthusiastically, and now appear to be enlisting humans in an attempt to save their planet, possibly by destroying us all.
The headset plays a crucial role in the plot, as it is used to recruit the brightest minds in the world (or so I thought).
Wear this at your own risk
As a technologist, I have a habit of fixating on technology in TV and movies, even when it’s just there to advance the plot. I don’t think I’m alone in this, and I have good reason. When it comes to innovation, the past (or the future as depicted in the past) is prologue. Tom Cruises’ gesture-based computers in Minority Report were a precursor to our own gesture-based, eye-tracking Apple Vision Pro. Most science fiction films and films feature ultra-thin, transparent smartphones and tablets that are now starting to look less like fantasy and more like short-term reality.
3 body problems headphones, however, are not the same kind of incremental tech fantasy in the near future. The metal headsets are much more powerful than the best VR gear, including Meta Quest 3 and Apple’s Vision Pro.
Of course, the show’s headset probably uses both eye and gesture tracking, but most of its best work seems to take place at the neural level. The headset not only tracks brain activity, but also fills it with images and experiences that can best be described as lucid dreams.
As far as we can see, hear and explore in current VR, headsets like Vision Pro cannot deliver taste, smell, touch or sensations. Yes, you could strap on some haptic gear to feel a virtual blow, but none of that hardware is natural or organic. It is a poor simulation of the real feeling of touch, slap, hug or kiss.
In 3 Body problemHeadphone wearers can taste dirt, smell body odor and feel a knife cutting through their neck. No one claims that what the characters see and feel is real. In one scene, a character reminds her companion that even though they appear to be boiling alive, “it’s not real” and with that simple sentence she is able to ignore the psychic pain, dive to the bottom of the pot and touch the base. to enable a core game feature (fast forward).
The show struggles with realism, and to immerse yourself in this world you have to employ a pretty strong suspension of disbelief. A requirement for buying into the show’s conceit is the acceptance that alien life is real, that there is a technology that can remove humans not only from videos but from actual playback, and that a headset with no visible technology on your brainwaves can change in such a way. that you fully believe in the fiction it delivers.
Within the fantasy
I’ll give the show’s creators (Game of Thrones showrunners DB Weiss and David Benioff) credit for getting the first VR headset experience right. Every time someone puts on the stylish headgear, they see their own eyes, which then merge together before being thrust into the fully immersive and often dangerous 360-degree environment.
There is almost no insight into how these headsets work. We know nothing about how they are powered and I noticed that even sitting in their light Vision Pro moon case-like containers, there is no indication that they are charging. Maybe the headset and case charge wirelessly.
While the headsets are too thin to hold much battery, I believe they could house a decent Qualcomm Snapdragon AR2 Gen 1 chip. I think that chip has the processing capabilities to… 3 body problems fictional game? No, I don’t.
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The headset looks like stainless steel, but that would be too heavy and uncomfortable for the head. I admit this is probably an alien alloy. By the way, I wore a replica of the headset at Netflix 3 Body problem activation at CES 2024. It was made of plastic and simply offered an excellent VR experience. At various intervals, Netflix pumped heat, cold, and wind into the room to approximate the show’s in-game experience. (see my TikTok below).
Whatever the technology, I don’t want this level of immersion. For starters, I never want to know what it would feel like to be cut in half by a ninja blade. On the other hand, this is exactly the kind of experience that might prompt some to never return to the real world.
Maybe I just don’t understand the point of this show. For me it’s about a VR experience gone wrong. More discerning viewers will likely connect with the parable of stability and chaos and how if we don’t take care of our world, someone or something will come and take it from us, all while locking us into VR that seems fun but certainly is. our worst VR nightmare.
@techradar
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