En el mundo contemporáneo, donde la tecnología avanza a pasos agigantados, el legado de Stephen Hawking cobra especial relevancia, especialmente en el contexto del mundo virtual. Este innovador científico no solo hizo aportes significativos a la física teórica y la cosmología, sino que también planteó preguntas cruciales sobre la naturaleza de la realidad y cómo esta se entrelaza con la tecnología.
Hawking imaginó un futuro donde las simulaciones y entornos virtuales podrían ofrecer a las personas experiencias únicas, permitiendo una exploración del cosmos sin necesidad de abandonar la Tierra. En este sentido, el mundo virtual no es solo una herramienta de entretenimiento, sino un espacio donde podemos aprender, experimentar y, quizás, entender mejor el universo que nos rodea.
Los avances en realidad virtual (RV) y realidad aumentada (RA) pueden cambiar la forma en que interactuamos con el conocimiento. Desde aulas virtuales hasta simulaciones complejas de eventos cósmicos, las tecnologías inspiradas en la visión de Hawking están transformando la educación y la divulgación científica. ¿Cómo podemos formar a las futuras generaciones para que sean los científicos del mañana en este entorno digital?
Al explorar el mundo virtual a través de la lente de Stephen Hawking, descubrimos no solo las maravillas de la ciencia, sino también la importancia de cuidar el equilibrio entre la realidad y las experiencias simulativas.
Descubre más sobre la intersección entre la ciencia y el mundo virtual, y deja que Hawking inspire tu curiosidad.
**Hashtags:** #StephenHawking, #MundoVirtual, #CienciaYTecnología
**Keywords:** Stephen Hawking, mundo virtual, realidad virtual, avances tecnológicos, simulaciones, educación digital, ciencia y tecnología, cosmología, impactos de la RV, futuros científicos.
Hawking imaginó un futuro donde las simulaciones y entornos virtuales podrían ofrecer a las personas experiencias únicas, permitiendo una exploración del cosmos sin necesidad de abandonar la Tierra. En este sentido, el mundo virtual no es solo una herramienta de entretenimiento, sino un espacio donde podemos aprender, experimentar y, quizás, entender mejor el universo que nos rodea.
Los avances en realidad virtual (RV) y realidad aumentada (RA) pueden cambiar la forma en que interactuamos con el conocimiento. Desde aulas virtuales hasta simulaciones complejas de eventos cósmicos, las tecnologías inspiradas en la visión de Hawking están transformando la educación y la divulgación científica. ¿Cómo podemos formar a las futuras generaciones para que sean los científicos del mañana en este entorno digital?
Al explorar el mundo virtual a través de la lente de Stephen Hawking, descubrimos no solo las maravillas de la ciencia, sino también la importancia de cuidar el equilibrio entre la realidad y las experiencias simulativas.
Descubre más sobre la intersección entre la ciencia y el mundo virtual, y deja que Hawking inspire tu curiosidad.
**Hashtags:** #StephenHawking, #MundoVirtual, #CienciaYTecnología
**Keywords:** Stephen Hawking, mundo virtual, realidad virtual, avances tecnológicos, simulaciones, educación digital, ciencia y tecnología, cosmología, impactos de la RV, futuros científicos.
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DiversiónTranscripción
00:00I am Stephen Hawking, and I'd like to take a picture of the future.
00:04Wow!
00:05In each episode, we'll see how five great scientists
00:08investigate completely revolutionary discoveries.
00:12This is amazing.
00:14The consequences of progress are very close.
00:17We'll show you how to increase your chances of success.
00:20We'll show you how to increase your chances of success.
00:23We'll show you how to increase your chances of success.
00:26We'll show you how to increase your security.
00:29You'll play better, you'll connect faster,
00:32you'll live longer, you'll see beyond,
00:35and you'll be smarter.
00:38With the technology at our disposal,
00:41the possibilities have no limits.
00:44So welcome to the science of the future.
00:49Seventy years ago, the first computers were turned on.
00:53Now the microprocessors are so present in everything
00:56that the limits between the physical and the virtual
00:59are beginning to dilute.
01:02Our five scientists are going to examine
01:05how a door is opening to a completely new dimension.
01:12The virtual world.
01:1490% of all the data has been generated in the last two years.
01:19And a good part of it is made up of videos.
01:22Computer-generated environments are already used in many areas,
01:26but can we make even better use of this technology?
01:29Military and police forces often face dangerous situations,
01:33and their training can make a difference between life and death.
01:37Is it possible to create a virtual world
01:40in which they could experience extreme situations?
01:43Is it possible to create a virtual world
01:46in which they could experience extremely dangerous situations
01:49without the threat of being injured?
01:52Karim Bondar will go to Georgia to investigate
01:55the innovative system that is being tested in recruits.
02:11Training with firearms is mandatory for any first-line officer,
02:15but it's not enough.
02:17You also need teamwork and tactical exercises.
02:22But even after many hours of training,
02:25the only way you know if you're ready
02:28is to face someone who tries to kill you.
02:31What tactical exercise can prepare you for that?
02:35Karim is about to find out
02:37when he faces armed murderers face to face.
02:41This isn't a video game.
02:43It's an advanced military exercise.
02:49These guys are trying a new form of fully virtual combat training.
02:55Seen from the outside,
02:57all they do is run through an empty room.
02:59It's very...
03:00Yeah, yeah, it's very weird.
03:02Explain to me what's going on here.
03:04This is VirSim, the most complex immersion simulator in the world.
03:09We can put up to 13 soldiers or police
03:12inside a virtual world
03:14and recreate the experience of a battlefield.
03:18OK, so set up,
03:20what are we seeing in our virtual world?
03:23We have a warehouse
03:25where we have a group of enemies
03:27with no good intentions,
03:29up to no good,
03:30and our guys have to go in
03:32and clear the building of bad guys.
03:34Clear.
03:35The idea is to recreate a virtual environment
03:38but similar to reality
03:40to prepare our soldiers and police
03:42to face dangerous situations under a lot of pressure.
03:45They are seeing the screen in front of their eyes.
03:48They've been shot.
03:50Can you tell what they've been shot with?
03:52Yes, when you get shot, you get a warning, so to speak.
03:55You get a sensory stimulation in the muscle.
03:57Basically, this allows you to know
03:59how you'd react if someone pointed a gun at your head.
04:02Yes, it's very important
04:04because you don't know how people are going to react
04:06until they have someone pointing a gun at their head.
04:08In a shooting range, you shoot the whites
04:10but they don't shoot you either.
04:12So, thanks to VIRSIM, we can see how our men behave
04:14in a stressful situation.
04:16That's what stress is about.
04:18It makes them feel stressed.
04:20You put them in a place where they'd want to be.
04:22One of the reasons we started creating VIRSIM
04:24was because almost all the simulators in the world
04:26had always been bought and financed to train pilots.
04:29We've done a lot of work with the planes
04:31but in the wars they've almost always been soldiers
04:33or those who have fought on the ground,
04:35those who have died or been injured.
04:37So, this is a simulator for everyone else.
04:39Now, I'm going to put myself in the front line
04:41of fire to see how it works.
04:45Instead of using the usual battle gear,
04:47I'm going to equip myself with a kit
04:49which will track the movements of my entire body.
04:51So, there's these little markers
04:53on top of the knees, on the feet.
04:55Tell me about why the markers are important.
04:57The markers are placed
04:59in certain parts of the body
05:01so that the cameras always look for them.
05:03During your live broadcast,
05:05an avatar will appear
05:07based on the location of these markers.
05:09So, it's going to look like me?
05:11It's going to look like you
05:13in size and dimension.
05:17The markers emit infrared light
05:19towards the 84 cameras
05:21mounted all over the ceiling.
05:23They determine my position,
05:25they follow the movements of my limbs
05:27and they send the information
05:29to the computer in my backpack.
05:31This visor is stereoscopic
05:33and will allow me to experience
05:35a fully virtual 3D world.
05:39The cameras will detect me,
05:41send the information to a large server system
05:43and transmit it wirelessly to my backpack
05:45and that's how the virtual world
05:47will be able to see me.
05:49Exactly. I couldn't have explained it better.
05:51Today, we don't have an M16.
05:53Today, we will be firing electronic weapons.
05:55They are as heavy as the real ones.
05:57You aim the same way
05:59if they have a recoil.
06:01You have to practice a little
06:03before you start the exercise.
06:05Did I get it?
06:07No.
06:09Oh.
06:11Up and to the left.
06:13Okay, thank you.
06:15Did I get it?
06:17No.
06:19Not that I want to kill anyone,
06:21but...
06:23Yes, now, yes.
06:25Good shot.
06:27This whole experience
06:29confuses my senses.
06:31I feel like I'm there.
06:33The fact that the gun
06:35looks so real when you shoot
06:37and that everything moves
06:39when you move,
06:41it's totally real.
06:43It confuses your mind completely.
06:45VirtSim is the closest thing
06:47to the experience
06:49of being in the front
06:51without actually being there.
06:53And now, Karin is about
06:55to discover how extreme
06:57the virtual danger can be.
06:59Situation.
07:01We have spotted some armed individuals
07:03in an apartment complex.
07:05Your mission will be to enter
07:07and clear the building,
07:09room by room.
07:11There have been several shots
07:13and they have taken a hostage.
07:15Each of us has an avatar
07:17that reflects everything we do
07:19and we can interact with each other.
07:21Okay, Karin, follow me.
07:23Yes, okay.
07:25Stay close to me.
07:31Okay, Karin.
07:33Let's go first to the left
07:35and then to the right.
07:37Okay, the bathroom is clear.
07:39Okay, bathroom clear.
07:41Now enter the room on the left,
07:43the one behind you.
07:47Clear?
07:49Yes.
07:51Okay.
07:53You don't know how scared I am right now.
07:55You watch the back
07:57and I'll watch the front.
07:59What was that, Karin?
08:05Man down!
08:07Man down!
08:09Corridor clear.
08:11Okay.
08:13There's nothing here.
08:15Clear this room.
08:19Stay here.
08:21They shot me.
08:23Two muscle stimulators
08:25fixed to my triceps
08:27discharge an electric shock
08:29to tell me that they shot me.
08:31Video game graphics
08:33may be better,
08:35but this is not a game.
08:37Oh!
08:39Oh, my God!
08:41Man down!
08:43Cross your legs.
08:45Put your hands behind your head.
08:51Oh, that was intense.
08:53Oh, I am sweating.
08:55My heart is racing.
08:57I was like a little bit terrified.
08:59I was scared to go
09:01from one room to the next
09:03and then right at the end
09:05I get shot.
09:07I just get down.
09:09It hurts.
09:11And for me, the game is over.
09:13Time for the verbal report.
09:15Joe Harmon is going to tell us
09:17how the hostage mission went.
09:19As we sit here,
09:21you're clearing the room
09:23and you keep the gun in a good position.
09:25You're keeping your eye on the dangerous areas.
09:27You're moving very well, methodically.
09:29You're entering the rooms
09:31in a very decisive way.
09:33That's why I mean you're pointing the gun
09:35and you're looking at the next lethal threat.
09:37Here you're pointing
09:39at your partner's head,
09:41which is not always a very good idea.
09:43I don't know why I put it up.
09:45But Charlie's angel posture,
09:47you master it perfectly.
09:49So, great.
09:51Here you're doing very well.
09:53You're covering from behind.
09:55And look at this.
09:57Here, both me and the others
09:59were surprised by the speed
10:01that you actually got into combat
10:03in a real-life situation.
10:05You've done an impressive job,
10:07Karin.
10:09Playing back the scene
10:11is a fundamental instruction
10:13for the combatants.
10:15And this feedback and training
10:17with simulation can be used
10:19in many other areas,
10:21from sports training
10:23to complex surgical procedures.
10:25Here's where they shot you.
10:27Do you have any idea
10:29where you were?
10:31Well, I don't know.
10:33I guess I wasn't being very careful.
10:35Well, I think you had it in mind.
10:37You wanted to be careful,
10:39but look at the position you're in.
10:41Yeah.
10:43It's a very large room
10:45and it's been very quick
10:47towards the centre of the room.
10:49Yeah.
10:51And that has made you open up
10:53to angles that you weren't ready
10:55to cover.
10:57Yeah.
11:17The virtual world
11:19offers us the opportunity
11:21to escape to places
11:23that we couldn't visit
11:25in any other way.
11:27In my case,
11:29I'd be investigating
11:31what another galaxy would be like
11:33here on Earth
11:35with satellite navigation.
11:37We have mapped maps
11:39with incredible precision,
11:41but there are still
11:43large spaces
11:45that even the GPS
11:47hasn't been able to access
11:49until now.
11:51Let's face it,
11:53the satellites have created
11:55an extensive database
11:57of digital maps
11:59that allow us to see
12:01exactly where we are
12:03in 360 degrees.
12:05But our virtual map of the world
12:07is far from complete
12:09because neither the GPS
12:11nor the panoramic street view
12:13can access the buildings
12:15or underground.
12:17So we are still largely based
12:19on architectural projects
12:22but now scientists
12:24from Baltimore
12:26are trying to change that.
12:29Arati Prasad
12:31is about to find
12:33a new and fascinating invention.
12:38Like any city,
12:40the center of Baltimore
12:42is full of buildings.
12:44I can use satellite navigation
12:46to find any of them,
12:48but once I get into one,
12:50they don't work at all.
12:52But this could be about to change.
12:54In the physics lab
12:56applied to Job Hopkins
12:58where the idea of GPS
13:00was born 50 years ago,
13:02another team of engineers
13:04has invented an artifact
13:06capable of mapping
13:08these hidden 3D worlds.
13:10And I'm about to put that
13:12to the test.
13:14This revolutionary mapping
13:16technology came about
13:18in 2005.
13:20Hi.
13:22So this is where it all started.
13:24Yes, this is the robot
13:26we were investigating.
13:28In 2005 we were working
13:30with autonomous vehicles
13:32and we wanted those vehicles
13:34to be able to do things
13:36by themselves.
13:38And in indoor environments
13:40you can't receive GPS
13:42so we used a technology
13:44called SLAM,
13:46which allows you to use
13:48that map essentially
13:50to wander around
13:52and move around.
13:54The laser spins around
13:56and scans through infrared
13:58and the computer measures
14:00how long it takes
14:02the beam to go out and come back.
14:04The little white dots
14:06on the screen
14:08show where the laser
14:10has hit the objects
14:12around it,
14:14and you can see
14:16in real time
14:18around the robot
14:20with which it could never
14:22hit anything.
14:24How did you develop
14:26this technology
14:28to make it useful
14:30to people?
14:32I can show you the backpack
14:34in which we take the basic premise
14:36of what we did with the robot
14:38and we move it to something
14:40that a human can carry around.
14:42So this is the map
14:44as you walk around the area.
14:46So this is like a normal backpack?
14:48Yes.
14:50Great.
14:52No, it's not heavy at all.
14:54So I'm here.
14:56I'm the red dot
14:58in the middle.
15:00I'm going to zoom in.
15:04So it's looking
15:06similar to what came out
15:08with the robot
15:10with the white dots
15:12that we saw before.
15:14Yeah, so it's capable of
15:16capturing a lot more
15:18details than the robot.
15:20Unlike a robot,
15:22I can't keep the laser
15:24steady, so they had to
15:26add sensors to measure
15:28the movement of the backpack
15:30to compensate for my steps.
15:32So something special
15:34we've added to the backpack.
15:36If you press the camera button
15:38and you can actually turn it,
15:40you'll see it's a 360-degree panoramic view.
15:42Oh, wow.
15:44See what's in it.
15:46So I could make my own
15:48streetlights.
15:50So eMaps works well
15:52in the laboratory,
15:54but it has to be a tool
15:56in all kinds of buildings
15:58for it to be a truly versatile
16:00tool in a changing world
16:02like ours.
16:04How will this impressive portable
16:06camera work?
16:08This is the U.S. Coast Guard
16:10American.
16:12It's a labyrinth of narrow
16:14and winding corridors
16:16with more than 140 rooms
16:18spaced in over 2,500
16:20tons of steel.
16:22It's completely
16:24impenetrable for GPS.
16:26All right, so
16:28I'm going to put the backpack
16:30in and I'm going to try to
16:32cartograph this ship because
16:34it's got to be able to do
16:36something outside,
16:38go up the stairs, go down the doors.
16:40There are pipes, ducts,
16:42curved walls.
16:44This is going to be a much
16:46bigger challenge than
16:48what the robot was doing,
16:50right?
16:52Okay.
16:54All right.
16:56What's most extraordinary
16:58about this little backpack
17:00is every intricate detail
17:02And he's doing it as I move along the ship.
17:06The map looks great, doesn't it?
17:08I've been through... well, you can see how narrow these passages are.
17:13It's like a maze.
17:16I've been going up and down. The ship itself is inclined.
17:20I've climbed steps, I've had to bend over because the doors are very low.
17:25I'm very impressed with what this technology has achieved.
17:29I've got a really nice map.
17:31And what surprised me the most was all the details that it has captured.
17:35You can see the walls of all the rooms.
17:38Yes, each of the small squares on the map is about five centimeters.
17:41At every step, the camera has been capturing images.
17:44So if we click on the camera icon, and then in this room, we can see...
17:48This is where we are now.
17:50Yes, we can turn around and see what was there when you went through this room.
17:55If you've got a camera, what else could you add to it to better detect the environment?
18:00Well, one of the things we wanted to do with this system was to be able to integrate many other types of sensors.
18:05For example, this one in the front is another laser scanner pointing up.
18:09So it scans the environment as you move through it, and you get a set of 3D points.
18:14So you can create a complete 3D panorama of the area you've been through.
18:18And we also want to add a few more sensors.
18:21For example, let's say you want to make a map of a supermarket and see how the Wi-Fi coverage varies all over the place.
18:26You could incorporate the sensor into the system and create a map that will show you both the map of the place and the coverage that's on top of it.
18:33And it's also interactive.
18:35Yes, it's interactive because it gives you images.
18:37This is the type of technology that allows you to see a place virtually without having to be there.
18:42And it's amazing. It's impressive to see how accurate it is.
18:46eMaps has already proven that it's capable of making ship maps.
18:49Over the coming years, more and more buildings will be added to our 3D virtual world map.
18:55Even in a shopping mall as big as this one, we'll never get lost again.
18:59It also could be used in more serious cases in the near future.
19:04It could help rescue services make a map of a collapsed building in an instant.
19:09And the police could do the same in the scene of a crime in seconds.
19:16There is more information being shared around the world in a second than was stored on the internet 20 years ago.
19:24With this colossal digital capability, one of the possibilities is to create things in the virtual world and bring them to life in the real world.
19:33And I mean bringing them to life literally.
19:36This is a field that could provide incredible benefits.
19:41When I was diagnosed with a degenerative disease, I was 21 years old.
19:47The doctors saw that I had more than two years.
19:51Thankfully, I'm still here.
19:53In a lot of cases, people who are diagnosed with a multi-organic dysfunction face a similar prognosis.
19:59But now radical thinking beyond that offers a hope for the future.
20:03Transplanting body parts to size.
20:07A team of scientists from California thinks that if something can be designed by a computer, it also has to be able to be printed.
20:14Daniel Kraft will investigate if that idea is well-founded.
20:19One of the most exciting technologies that is about to revolutionize our day-to-day is 3D printing.
20:26It works on the same principle as the 2D printers we have at home.
20:30But instead of words, the machine is able to read a three-dimensional design
20:33and put different layers of liquid material, in powder or paper,
20:36to create almost any shape that can be designed by a computer.
20:40In fact, I have a 3D-printed belt on me all at once.
20:43They've even scanned me too and given me another version of me, a mini-me.
20:50Now the researchers want to apply 3D printing to more serious issues.
20:55In the United States, an average of 18 people die every day waiting for organ transplants that never arrive.
21:01There are very few organs.
21:03As a physicist, I know that although there are organs available,
21:05you have to hurry to go, extract them and take them to the place where the transplant is expected.
21:13What if there was another way to merge science and tissue engineering
21:16to create personalized organs available to the patient
21:19at the time they need them and based on their own body?
21:25Sounds like science fiction,
21:27but in Organobo they are already printing the first human tissues, cell by cell.
21:39Keith Murphy is the co-founder.
21:41So Keith, do you imagine an era in which personalized organs can be printed?
21:45We have not yet reached the point of being able to manufacture complete organs,
21:48but we can build smaller tissues.
21:50Right now we can make blood vessels
21:52and we have extracted cells from a patient from his adipose tissue
21:55and we have made a blood vessel from that single source of cells.
21:58But how do you make a live blood vessel?
22:01The process is remarkably similar to the one that followed for my elegant belt.
22:05The first thing scientists like Vivian do is virtually design the tissue they want to print.
22:10I just finished creating an example of a tubular structure or blood vessel.
22:15The interface is very good because it is very simple for the user.
22:18For example, by clicking on the blocks,
22:20you can choose whether the material is a gel, a type of cell,
22:23and so the printer knows how to print.
22:25So there we have the cells A, B and C, for example,
22:27and when it comes to different types of cells,
22:29it uses different types of tape.
22:31Okay, and you could create, for example, a blood vessel
22:33with a different shape than the round one?
22:35Can I try it?
22:36Sure, try it.
22:37Okay, so now the same doctors can design blood vessels.
22:39How many cells would each of these blood vessels have?
22:41We would be talking about millions of cells for each blood vessel.
22:45It's amazing.
22:46It's as if we were using one of those computer programs
22:49that allow us to draw a square or a screen image,
22:52but not just to create an object, but a genetic material.
22:56In this case, a blood vessel.
22:59The challenge is to transform the design of a virtual cell structure into a reality.
23:03First, you need the raw material, the biological ink for the printer.
23:07In this case, it's human liver cells,
23:10very similar in size to the ink drops of an injection printer.
23:15For this test, we're going to print a miniature liver.
23:18It will be only half a millimetre thick and four millimetres high,
23:22but it will be able to do almost all the functions of a real one.
23:28Hi, Vivian.
23:29So, here's the printer.
23:30From what I can see, there are two cartridges.
23:32What's inside the cartridges?
23:33Well, look, in this cartridge are the patient's cells,
23:36and in this one, cells that help them bind.
23:41The function of a biological printer
23:43is very similar to that of the ink printers that print words.
23:46Following the pattern designed by the computer,
23:48the 3D printer creates sheets of biological paper
23:51compatible with the cells made from collagen or gelatin
23:54and retains the cells for a while.
23:56Then, it prints the living cell groups on the biological paper, drop by drop.
24:00Each drop of biological ink has a width of approximately 250 micrometres,
24:05a little bigger than a strand of human hair.
24:07Pinpoint accuracy is essential.
24:10The best thing about 3D printers
24:12is that we can control where we want to place the cells exactly.
24:16That way, we can put them wherever we want
24:18and let them do their job and create a tissue.
24:22That's one of the most surprising aspects of the process.
24:25Once the cells are in place, nature takes care of the rest.
24:28It's like being in an incubator.
24:30The different groups of cells start to merge
24:32and create more complex tissues.
24:34Now we're going to see some tissues that we printed yesterday
24:37and that have been incubating all night.
24:39So, they're going to go from printing, from incubation, to cultivation in 24 hours.
24:43This could be studied toxicologically right now, for example.
24:46But the question is, does it really look like a printed tissue or a real one?
24:50Let's compare it with a cross-section of the human liver.
24:54It's a very delicate material.
24:57It's going to be 5 micrometres thick.
25:00This would be a cell layer.
25:02Once it's on the object carrier, we're going to add a few drops
25:05and we're going to put it under the microscope to see what we have.
25:08Here I have a sample of the human liver,
25:10a very fine sample in which we can appreciate the complexity of the liver,
25:13the main organ of the body in charge of cleaning our blood.
25:16Organobo has also printed living human cells,
25:19a three-dimensional human liver created from mother cells.
25:24We're going to need a microscope to check the results.
25:27How does this compare to a normal human liver? Do they look the same?
25:30Yes, they do. We're looking at a very viable tissue.
25:32The cells are happy, healthy, well-organised,
25:35and we can achieve all of that in such a perfect way
25:37thanks to an automated process carried out by a computer.
25:40The success of 3D biological printing
25:42implies that these liver cells could be used right now
25:45to test drugs or investigate diseases.
25:48And because the tissue is exactly the same DNA as the donor,
25:51these tests could be carried out to measure individual patients,
25:54a great advance in medicine.
25:56So, Keith, how far do you think we can go in the future?
25:59Well, in the far future, what we expect from this technology
26:01is that it will allow us to take a patient's cells
26:03and take them to a plant where we can make an organ for their subsequent transplant.
26:07So we're in a fascinating era for the future of medicine
26:10with all this change in 3D printing, tissue engineering,
26:13computer-made designs, genomics.
26:16Unifying all these concepts allows us to create new organs,
26:19new tissues in a novel, powerful and impactful way.
26:22The set date to start injecting these tissues into humans is 2015.
26:27Now that the liver printed with biological ink is already a reality,
26:31this field that so much invites reflection is advancing rapidly.
26:34It's clear that there is still a long way to go
26:37until complete organs like the kidney can be printed.
26:41But I hope that does stop being a fantasy one day.
26:44However, it's clear that the fantasy world is evolving as fast as any other.
26:49And I've heard about an entertainment system
26:52based on such an immersive virtual reality
26:54that makes you react as if you were in it.
26:59In the lucrative world of entertainment,
27:02virtual reality has been a dream for decades.
27:06Frankly, it's been a disappointment.
27:09Will we ever be able to engage to the point
27:12where the real and the imaginary can only be distinguished in our minds?
27:17A team from California claims to have made quite an advance.
27:22Chris Eliasmith is on his way to test the futuristic artifact
27:26they have developed to find out
27:28if it's right to be all the interest that's being generated.
27:38When I was a kid,
27:39virtual reality was going to open the door to any universe you could imagine.
27:43It could be a warrior, the captain of a spaceship,
27:46or the driver of a snowmobile,
27:48anything, anywhere, at any time.
27:51And the technology of virtual reality was around the corner.
27:54Out of the way, out of the way.
27:56Snowmobiles and trees aren't a good combination.
28:00This is big.
28:01It's loud.
28:02It's pretty fast.
28:04It isn't virtual.
28:05We've won the gold medal.
28:07First, you can dance, dance.
28:10That's right.
28:13Governments and companies are investing millions of dollars
28:16in the research of virtual reality.
28:18This is a dream of science fiction
28:20that has never materialized in real life.
28:23Is it about to change that?
28:27I'm here in Southern California to talk to Palmer Lackey.
28:30Has he made virtual reality a fact?
28:32I'm going in.
28:33If there's a secret in there, I'm going to find out.
28:37Chris Eliasmith.
28:38Palmer Lackey.
28:39How are you?
28:40Good.
28:41Well, Palmer, you probably know better than anyone
28:43that virtual reality has been around for 20 years, more or less.
28:46What have you done in particular to achieve it
28:48when others have failed in the attempt?
28:50If you've seen The Matrix and you like video games,
28:52you want to have all that technology in all your games.
28:55What I discovered as I was researching
28:57is that virtual reality wasn't as advanced as many people believed.
29:00Did you go over what came out?
29:02I bought an enormous number of screens mounted on my head
29:05and I started to analyze them, to see how they worked
29:08and try to improve them and make modifications.
29:10So you've got all kinds of material on your desk,
29:12but there's one thing that stands out about the rest.
29:14It's a pair of I.O. glasses for a computer.
29:16Do you want to try them on?
29:17Sure, of course.
29:21There we go. There's a grid.
29:22Very good.
29:23Now you're in a revolutionary virtual reality environment.
29:26Yes, it's amazing.
29:27So you can see, I'm looking here and I'm going back.
29:31The problem in this case is obvious.
29:33This outdated technology doesn't follow the movement of my head with precision.
29:36The walls are moving in a strange way and they make me dizzy a little.
29:39There's a kind of deviation.
29:42So can you explain to me what I'm seeing and why it's so disorienting?
29:46What you're seeing is the tracking that an accelerometer is doing
29:50and the problem with the accelerometer is that it can only measure the acceleration
29:53and the direction of gravity.
29:55So, as you can see, the whole room doesn't stop changing
29:57as you're looking around.
29:59Yeah.
30:00This poor tracking causes another problem.
30:03Latency.
30:04Your movements are reflected with delay.
30:06It doesn't offer a comfortable or useful experience.
30:09But apparently Palmer Luckey and his team
30:12have overcome the problems of deviation and latency in their Oculus Rift.
30:17It's time to see how it works.
30:19So here we have the development kit for the Oculus Rift.
30:21Cool.
30:22So can I pick this thing up?
30:24Of course.
30:25So this is very similar to ski goggles.
30:28Exactly.
30:29What's this guy doing?
30:30That's all the tracking we've designed specifically for virtual reality.
30:34Nate says that this chip contains a digital gyroscope
30:37that detects 1,000 times per second the changes in the orientation of the head
30:41as well as the internal ear,
30:43sending signals to a complex processor.
30:45And we put it on the visor
30:47to be able to follow all the user's movements.
30:49This all reminds me of how the brain works.
30:51Basically, you're following the same procedures
30:53that the brain uses in order for what appears on the screen
30:56to change in the same way that the real world does.
30:58Yes.
30:59So the Oculus Rift has a kind of brain on the chip.
31:03Oculus Rift has reduced the problems of deviation and latency.
31:07But for virtual reality to really work
31:10from the moment you enter it,
31:12you have to be able to disconnect from your real environment
31:15and immerse yourself in the virtual.
31:17The technology has to make you believe in what you're seeing.
31:22Now, these...
31:23This doesn't look so common.
31:25What's this about?
31:26This doesn't usually come with ski goggles.
31:28Sure.
31:29So this is all about the lens assembly.
31:31A good part of the secret magic of the Rift is here.
31:34Basically, these are glasses that magnify,
31:37that give a distortion that surrounds you
31:39when you look through them.
31:41This is allowing me to cover my entire field of vision
31:43and make the experience more immersive.
31:45Exactly.
31:46Unlike the small screens before.
31:47Right, so you point to that screen.
31:49I think I know what this is.
31:50To see how it works,
31:51you need to turn them on and take a look.
31:53Take that with both hands.
31:55Bring it up to your eyes
31:56and adjust the tape to your head
31:57the same way you would adjust your glasses.
31:59Okay.
32:00It looks pretty blurry.
32:01What you want to do
32:02is find the optimal focus of the lenses
32:04so that if you look up or down...
32:06Better?
32:07Yeah, the first one.
32:08Perfect.
32:09I'm hooked up.
32:10I'm going to try a very well-known video game,
32:12but I'll be doing it in a three-dimensional virtual world.
32:15What I'm looking at on the monitor
32:16is exactly the same thing
32:17that's being played on the Oculus Rift.
32:19We have two images,
32:21one for each eye,
32:22split in the Rift.
32:24And inside, what you're seeing, Chris...
32:26There's only one.
32:27There's only one, exactly.
32:28Your brain is fused to both.
32:30It's designed to act
32:31in the same way that the eyes do in real life.
32:34And to a great extent,
32:35that's what makes the Rift so immersive,
32:37its stereoscopic depth.
32:39You actually look at it from a certain distance
32:41and you're able to perceive distance and relief.
32:43Now do the following.
32:44Look left.
32:45Look right.
32:47Up.
32:48Down.
32:50And then actually, if you look over your shoulder now...
32:52I don't have legs.
32:53Turn 180 degrees,
32:54turn around and look what's behind you.
32:56You're able to follow the movement of your head
32:58in 360 degrees with very little latency.
33:00One of the main reasons
33:01that makes the experience with the Rift so immersive.
33:03Okay.
33:04Now I'm going to give you a command.
33:05Put your hands up.
33:06There you go.
33:07So there you are.
33:08You can explore Hawken City.
33:10Great.
33:11You can turn your head
33:12and see everything that's around you.
33:14It's like you're in the city.
33:15So here I am,
33:16fighting the evil Meg Warrior
33:18and I don't have any problems following him on the track.
33:20I can run and not stop looking at him.
33:22Why is it so easy for me?
33:23One of the key features of the Rift
33:25is its low latency in tracking the head.
33:27It's essential for the experience to be immersive.
33:30We have to make the player feel as if they were in that world.
33:33There's no way we can show the experience
33:35the same way I experienced it.
33:37But I didn't detect any latency problems.
33:39The information from the sensor is processed so fast
33:42that the delay is barely 30 milliseconds.
33:44That's getting similar to what we experience
33:46when we see the real world.
33:47Under 20 milliseconds,
33:48any delay stops being noticeable.
33:51To see the cover well,
33:52we have to minimize the latency to the maximum.
33:54Reduce it to almost 0 milliseconds.
33:58So, tell me your first impressions.
34:00This is as if I was there.
34:02I don't know.
34:03It's, well,
34:04as soon as you start falling,
34:06you can feel it directly in your inner ear.
34:09The neuroscientist I have inside me has come out.
34:11It's like you're really falling.
34:13It's amazing.
34:14That's what we're trying to do with the Rift.
34:16That the players get into the game and live the experience.
34:19Welcome back.
34:20Wow, sorry.
34:21I'm all sweaty.
34:22It's okay.
34:23In virtual reality,
34:24your body reacts in the same way that it does in real life.
34:27So, the feeling of falling gives you a little bit of fear.
34:30It causes you a little bit of panic.
34:32It increases your heart rate and you sweat.
34:34You're right.
34:35It's hard to describe.
34:36I'm speechless.
34:37It's impressive.
34:38That's the reaction we're looking for.
34:39Impressive.
34:40So, I play video games.
34:41I don't believe them.
34:42When can I buy an Oculus Rift?
34:44We don't want to launch anything that's not ready.
34:46We have to make sure it works,
34:48but at the same time,
34:49we want it to come out like the rest of the world.
34:51So, are we talking about weeks, months, years, decades?
34:54We're talking about months, not years.
34:55The full team will be launched in 2014.
34:59With virtual reality,
35:00this kind of fantasy and evasion will be even more impressive.
35:03The technology industry is convinced
35:05that the Oculus Rift will change the rules of the game.
35:08As processing power continues to increase,
35:11virtual reality is destined to improve.
35:14But there is still a question to be solved
35:16between us and technology.
35:18To avoid any kind of interruption,
35:20computers should be able to read our minds.
35:23Can science make that possible?
35:26Someday, the convergence between the real world
35:29and the digital world will be so profound
35:31that it could become a decisive force
35:33that will help us shape the future.
35:36Today, interaction is limited
35:38by our bodies and the devices we use.
35:41I would like to witness an era
35:43where this is no longer the case.
35:45That would be a real liberation revolution.
35:48But is it possible that this will happen?
35:50Jim Al-Khalili is in the Netherlands
35:52looking for the answer.
35:56Imagine if one day you could interact with technology
35:59and the rest without needing anything
36:01but the power of thought.
36:04Good morning.
36:06Devices like this could become just a memory.
36:14But is it possible to control a machine
36:16just with the mind?
36:22A team of neuroscientists
36:24from the University of Maastricht
36:26will show Jim how their experiments
36:28in this area are going.
36:30The driving force behind this project
36:32is Bettina Sorger.
36:35She's developed a system capable of translating
36:38three types of mental activity.
36:40Reading, arithmetic, and image visualization
36:43in alphabetical letters.
36:45There are several regions of the brain
36:47involved in the execution of a mental task.
36:49When you perform tasks of mental visualization.
36:52Like right now, when I'm moving my hand.
36:54Right now, you have many active areas.
36:56But the regions involved in the execution of another task
36:59will be different.
37:01For example, in mental calculation.
37:03Like when we go over the multiplication tables?
37:05Yes, and also in another task, in speech.
37:07When you recite a poem that you know by heart,
37:10a third of a network of brain regions will be activated.
37:15So, in this way, the different mental tasks
37:18activate different combinations of brain regions.
37:23So here, Jim, you can see a 3D representation of the brain.
37:27As the colored areas,
37:29these are the regions that are activated
37:31during the execution of a mental task.
37:33Is it possible to have a view of it from just one angle?
37:36Sure.
37:37To see the different parts that are lit.
37:39Okay, here we have it.
37:41Two areas that are activated
37:43when a subject is performing a task of motor visualization.
37:46So, when someone is making a drawing,
37:48these are lit?
37:49Exactly.
37:50Yes.
37:51These areas need energy, oxygen,
37:53and that's what we measure with our magnetic resonance system.
37:56Bettina has created a program that can read ours.
38:00The functional magnetic resonance already existed.
38:03What have you done to make it so novel and different?
38:06Our intention is to adapt the technology
38:08to use the knowledge we have about the brain
38:11so that we can create a computer brain interface
38:14that allows us to write letters from the mind.
38:17Wow.
38:18So I could connect my brain to the computer.
38:20I wouldn't need to write or use a mouse.
38:23That's right.
38:24Without any intermediary that we can see,
38:26just with thought.
38:30With the help of a functional magnetic resonance scanner,
38:33the program detects each of the different mental tasks
38:36in a certain period of time
38:38and assigns each brain activity different alphabet letters.
38:41I want to check how it works,
38:43but first I have to learn the language of the machines.
38:45It's time to go back to school.
38:47So, to guide you through this coding with letters,
38:51we have visual representations.
38:53We differentiate them according to the tasks.
38:55Seven.
38:56Fourteen.
38:57Now we stop.
38:58Now we wait for the entire rows to disappear.
39:00The theory is that if I want to say the letter A,
39:03I have to draw an image in my mind
39:05while the letter A appears on the screen.
39:07Very ingenious.
39:10I think I'm ready to try for real.
39:12I think so too.
39:13All right, let's go.
39:14Can this really work?
39:16It seems like a lot of work to write a single alphabet letter.
39:20My whole world is reduced at this point
39:23to what I have in front of me,
39:25that is, to a monitor that I'm going to have to look at
39:27and that I'm going to have to read.
39:29Okay, Jim, now I'm going to ask you a question,
39:31and that question is,
39:32where did you spend your last vacation?
39:35Very good.
39:38So, if I draw a shape in my mind,
39:41the scanner should capture the activity
39:44of the different regions of the brain that perform that task,
39:48and then assign that signal a particular letter,
39:51in this case, the H.
39:57This looks like...
39:58Good, good.
39:59The H.
40:00Responds very well.
40:01Very...
40:02That's good.
40:03And the last letter is also correct,
40:05so one, two, three, four, five letters out of seven.
40:09Very good, Jim.
40:10I'd say you've been to Hawaii.
40:12She's right.
40:13Extraordinary.
40:14A computer has just read my mind.
40:19Well, how have I done?
40:20You've done a very good job.
40:22Come here.
40:23I'm going to show you the results.
40:25Here we have the first options in the first row.
40:28In the second, we have the second options,
40:30and so on.
40:31The first character is an H, the first option.
40:34Here you can see that the second letter
40:36has been decoded as a B instead of an A,
40:38but the A is the second option that we've been given.
40:41The other two letters have also been correct.
40:43Here the same thing happens again.
40:45The second option is the good one,
40:47and the last one is also the correct one.
40:49In short, in five of the seven cases,
40:51the correct one has been indicated as the first option.
40:54So there will be another program that determines
40:56that for those results to make sense,
40:58it will be the word Hawaii.
40:59Yes.
41:00That is incredible.
41:01It has read my mind.
41:02Yes, and you've done a great job.
41:04And when do you think we'll be able to
41:06have this technology more easily?
41:08We will try to transfer this system to mobile technology
41:11and we can expect it to be ready
41:13in the next five to ten years.
41:20And will there come a time when someone
41:22sits in front of a computer
41:24and instead of having a keyboard,
41:26he puts on a helmet and sends direct orders thinking ...
41:29Well, that could be an option
41:31for someone who has no other possibilities.
41:33Right now, technology has advanced to this point
41:35and we will try to improve it
41:37and see how far we can go.
41:39Even so, this is already completely amazing.
41:42The digital domain is substantially changing
41:45our way of seeing the world.
41:47There may always be a barrier
41:49between the virtual and the real,
41:51but in the future,
41:53it is possible that we will not be able
41:55to distinguish which world we are in at all.
41:57The distinction between what really is
41:59and what is not,
42:01may eventually become irrelevant.
42:04And since we have not yet invented
42:06time travel,
42:08we have run out of our own.
42:11Thank you for your attention.