Сборник материалов международной научной конференции студентов, магистрантов, аспирантов

П.А. Кугаев, К.А. Березина

Республика Беларусь, Брест, БрГТУ

Научный руководитель – О.В. Бань

PERFECT VIRTUAL REALITY: UTOPIA OR ACTUALITY?

Nowadays there are many different interpretations of the term “virtual reality”. They differ not only in terms of definition of this concept, but also of its interpretations, history and the sphere of usage.

The first variant: virtual reality (VR) is the latest achievements of the firms engaged in multimedia production. To be more precise, VR in this example is the graphics which imitates the reality to the maximum.

The second variant: the same graphics serves as virtual reality, but with all kinds of “virtual reality helmets”, “virtual costumes” and other “virtual accessories.” All these things are based on the impact on human nerve endings in order to make all feelings as close to the reality as possible.

Finally, the third variant: virtual reality is simply a VRML – Virtual Reality Modeling Language. It is nothing more than an arrangement of three-dimensional objects on the plane. Using a mouse or a keyboard, you can inspect these objects from any side, at any angle and even pass through them.

The most popular and more widespread is the second variant.

In fact, none of the variants mentioned above can be defined as virtual reality. If the second variant is at least an approximate parody of VR, then the first version is a wrong term for multimedia innovations, and the third variant is a name of a programming language.

What is virtual reality?

It came from the Latin word “virtual” that means “possible”. Explanatory dictionaries of the English language define it as “having the properties of some thing, but it is not really this thing.”

We can state that the main difference between virtual reality and everyday reality is that VR allows you to control events. On condition that virtual reality is inseparably linked with the computer, any event which happens in virtuality is programmed.

Understanding of VR is a very subjective matter. Everyone represents it in his own way. Some statements can be called true, and some are false. For example, Michael Heim, the author of “The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality”, states that virtual reality should not be very real in order to awake imagination. Here “be real” means “be as close to reality as possible”. Heim says that virtual reality must contain the worlds that are not so “real” to make imagination work.

It should be noted that there is nothing illogical in this statement as VR is not a pure reality, and it cannot posses such quality as to be or not to be real.

Firstly, imagination can be maximum set in motion only while designing VR, not during the stay in the already designed virtual world. For example, you see some birdie with a snake tail and cow hooves, your imagination will easily add some antlers to this creature, but it is quite difficult to perceive it constantly with these antlers. Undoubtedly, your imagination will be involved, but it will not be free, it will be in constant tension, so as not to lose the image of antlers. Using his imagination by 100%, the creator immediately embodies a mental image into the real one. The following observation of the image provides imagination with rest, though imagination will always be unconsciously involved because the observed image was once the mental one. We face subjectivity again. Here the creator gets maximum pleasure thanks to the fact that everything around him is created by his imagination. The user will be dissatisfied because his visualization is not identical to the creator’s.

Secondly, many would like to kill a monster or ride a dragon using magic spells, satisfying their needs for extraordinary sensations. But, in our opinion, many would like to reconsider their way of life, entering the world, maximum close to real one. They live parallel lives: real and virtual.

Only the creator of virtual world can experience virtual pleasure. His fantasies are embodied here not only in reality, but in virtuality as well.

The user of the constructed virtual world is also inside fantasy. But the problem is that it is not his fantasy. He observes and uses a borrowed fantasy. He will be able to choose between virtual worlds if the creator (or creators) designs more than one virtual world. But, in any case, his own imagination will be unsatisfied.

We can say that anyone who wants to plunge into virtual reality, has to be a creator, he must create a virtual world for himself.

Let us assume that everyone is a skilled programmer and can create his own virtual world. Another problem emerges here: the future of the world is uncertain. The creator of virtual world is similar to the reader who is faithful to his handbook rereading it again and again. The former knows all the corners of his virtual world, all possible variations of events, since he created them. There is no feeling of uncertainty for him, which significantly reduces the interest to this world. From this point of view, a non-creator benefits in terms of completeness of sensations.

Thus, we can conclude that it is impossible to create a virtual world which would be ideal in all aspects both for creators and for users. But it would be ideal in relation to the real world.

Virtual reality, as we would like it to be, is an idealized real world, a world of freedom, a world where signals “you can” are flashing everywhere and there are absolutely no signals “you mustn’t”.

In general terms, we have examined what virtual reality should be like and what it is purposed for. Emphasis is put on the word “should” which means that we have been still examining not the existing virtual reality, but only the possible model of it.

Taking into account all the conclusions made above, it is possible to say that virtual reality as utopia is possible only during the process of its designing and at the beginning of its existence. We can use it exceptionally for scientific purposes.

1. 
   Heim, M. The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality / M. Heim. – Oxford University Press, 2014. – 175p.
   

В последнее время крупные IT-корпорации делают множество открытий, связанных с погружением в виртуальную реальность. Авторы данной работы, вдохновленные этими событиями, решили осветить некоторые проблемы, с которыми может столкнуться виртуальная реальность в процессе интеграции в нашу жизнь.