Virtual Reality Gets Real 虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)：奇妙新世界

Maria+Konnikova++譯+楊銳

虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)（virtual reality，簡稱VR）對(duì)很多人來說還是個(gè)虛無縹緲的概念。但在2016年1月的國際消費(fèi)類電子產(chǎn)品展覽會(huì)上，一系列炫酷的VR產(chǎn)品吸引了人們的眼球。盡管VR技術(shù)的發(fā)展仍不夠成熟，但它已開始在教育、娛樂、考古、醫(yī)療等領(lǐng)域應(yīng)用。說不準(zhǔn)哪一天，虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)就會(huì)走進(jìn)你我的生活，創(chuàng)造出一個(gè)超乎想象的奇妙新世界。

In 1965， Ivan Sutherland， a computer-graphics pioneer， addressed an international meeting of techies on the subject of virtual reality. The ultimate virtual-reality display， he told the audience， would be “a room within which the computer can control the existence of matter. A chair displayed in such a room would be good enough to sit in. Handcuffs displayed in such a room would be confining， and a bullet displayed in such a room would be fatal. With appropriate programming， such a display could literally be the Wonderland into which Alice walked.”

Virtual reality has advanced rapidly in the past couple of years—the much-anticipated Oculus Rift headset1） is expected to arrive in stores in 2016. Yet the technology is still very new， and Sutherlands vision seems little closer to actual reality. “Right now， its like when you first had cellphones，” Richard Marks， one of the lead engineers working on Project Morpheus2） told me. “A lot of focus is still on the most-basic things.” I recently spoke with scientists， psychologists， engineers， and developers about the possibilities for this emerging field. Where might it eventually take us—and will that be somewhere we want to go？

Being Virtually Anywhere

During a recent demonstration of Google Cardboard3） I found myself by turns atop a rocky peak， in a barn next to a snorting horse， and on a gondola4） making my way up a mountain. The gondola ride gave me vertigo5）. We react like that， experts say， because our brains are easily fooled when what we see on a display tracks our head movements. “We have a reptilian instinct6） that responds as if its real： Dont step off that cliff，” Jeremy Bailenson， the founding director of Stanfords Virtual Human Interaction Lab， told me. “The brain hasnt evolved to tell you its not real.”

Much of the excitement about virtual reality has come from the gaming community. Who wouldnt want to experience a game so completely？ But gaming is just the start. David Laidlaw， the head of the Visualization Research Lab at Brown University， told me that his team has re-created a temple site in Petra， Jordan， enabling researchers to see previously unclear relationships between objects found there. Google is testing Expeditions7）， a way of sending students to places like the Great Barrier Reef， where they can virtually scuba dive as part of a lesson on marine biology and ocean acidification. Similar approaches may enhance professional training. By donning a pair of goggles， a neurosurgeon could navigate brain structures before surgery. Another possibility： Imagine that youre unable to attend a family gathering. With a pair of glasses， youre in the middle of the action. And everyone there wears glasses that make it appear as though youre present. The whole thing is recorded， so you can replay the experience whenever youd like.

Seeing Through Others Eyes

In his lab at Stanford， Bailenson studies how virtual reality changes behavior. Hes found that if your avatar is taller than you are in real life， you become more confident. If you have a particularly attractive avatar， you become friendlier. These changes last even after you leave the virtual realm.

And avatars could soon become more convincing. Most commercial virtual-reality systems capture only the movement of your head and hands. In 2013， though， Apple acquired PrimeSense， an Israeli company developing technology to track the movements of your whole body with infrared8） sensors and special microchips. And a company called Faceshift is working to capture facial expressions， so that if you smile or roll your eyes， your avatar will too.

Virtual reality has already proved useful in treating phobias and PTSD9）. It can help people overcome a fear of heights， for example， through simulations of standing on a balcony or walking across a bridge. Bailenson and others think it could also be used to build empathy. What if you could step inside a documentary， rather than just watching it on a screen—almost literally walking in someone elses shoes？ That was the goal of Clouds Over Sidra10）， a virtual-reality film that followed a 12-year-old girl in a Syrian-refugee camp in Jordan. And what if you could do something similar in real time？ “Combine this sort of immersive storytelling， as it evolves， with technologies like Periscope11） and Meerkat12）， and you can in essence see the world through anyones eyes，” Clay Bavor， the head of Googles virtual-reality initiatives， told me.

Engaging All Your Senses

Google recently acquired Thrive Audio， a company that specializes in spatial audio—sounds that your ear registers as emanating from a particular place. A virtual waterfall grows louder as you move toward it. Something catches your ear from behind. You turn， and see a deer approaching. The audio becomes three-dimensional， truly surrounding you. Smell could become part of the virtual experience as well. A company called Feelreal has developed a mask that releases scents， such as the smell of fire or the ocean， to enhance what you see in a headset. Closely related is the ability to taste what you see. Researchers in Singapore are developing electrodes that， when placed on your tongue， mimic basic tastes， such as sweet， salty， bitter， and sour.

What about touch？ Could we one day find that when we dip our fingers in virtual water， it actually feels wet？ David Laidlaw considers resolving this challenge， known as the haptics13） problem， to be the holy grail14） of virtual reality. But that doesnt mean its insurmountable. “Im confident well do it within our lifetimes，” Palmer Luckey， the founder of Oculus， told me. “There are no fundamental physical laws that prevent us from building something thats almost perfect.”

A Neuromancer15） Future？

Jeremy Bailenson was inspired to work in virtual reality in part by Neuromancer， a 1984 novel that depicts a future in which people can “jack in16）” their brains directly to a virtual world. Perhaps， Bailenson speculates， thats where virtual reality is headed. He imagines that in 50 or 100 years we might develop a brain-machine interface that taps directly into the nervous system.

Perhaps then well find that rather than jacking in for a while and calling it quits， we can， like Alice， move wholly into a Wonderland where the laws of the prosaic17） world （gravity， aging） no longer apply. Virtual reality could then become akin to the Singularity18）， a concept described by Ray Kurzweil， a futurist and Google engineer， among others： a way for our minds to separate from our bodies and， uploaded into a digital realm， live on even as our physical selves grow old and die. Just like Wonderland， its a vision both equally entrancing and frightening.

1965年，計(jì)算機(jī)圖形學(xué)先驅(qū)伊凡·薩瑟蘭在技術(shù)人員參加的一個(gè)國際會(huì)議上發(fā)表演講，演講的主題是虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)。他告訴聽眾，最終的虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)展現(xiàn)出的將是“一個(gè)房間，房內(nèi)物質(zhì)的存在皆由電腦控制。房間里展示的椅子足夠結(jié)實(shí)，可以坐上去；手銬可以限制人的自由；子彈也可以致命。只要加以適當(dāng)?shù)木幊?，這樣的展示真的可以成為愛麗絲漫游的奇境”。

虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)在過去幾年迅速發(fā)展——備受期待的Oculus Rift頭戴式顯示器預(yù)計(jì)2016年可上市。但是這項(xiàng)技術(shù)還很新，薩瑟蘭的設(shè)想似乎并沒有更接近實(shí)際的現(xiàn)實(shí)。“眼下，就像你剛剛擁有手機(jī)一樣，許多焦點(diǎn)還聚集在最基本的東西上。”另一款顯示器Project Morpheus的一位首席研發(fā)工程師理查德·馬克思跟我說道。我最近和科學(xué)家、心理學(xué)家、工程師、研發(fā)人員都有過交流，探討這個(gè)新興領(lǐng)域的發(fā)展前景。這一領(lǐng)域最終將帶我們走向何方？那會(huì)是我們想去的地方嗎？

處處可虛擬

在最近的一次谷歌Cardboard演示會(huì)上，我發(fā)現(xiàn)自己一會(huì)兒登上亂石嶙峋的山頂，一會(huì)兒身處馬圈，旁邊就是一匹馬兒在噴鼻喘氣，一會(huì)兒又乘著貢多拉駛向山頂，坐在貢多拉里，我感到陣陣眩暈。專家們說，我們之所以有這種反應(yīng)，是因?yàn)檎故驹谖覀冄矍暗木跋笤诟櫸覀冾^部的動(dòng)作，此時(shí)我們的大腦就很容易被騙?！拔覀冇信老x腦的本能，這種本能做出反應(yīng)，就好像這些是真的一樣：不要邁下那個(gè)懸崖，”斯坦福大學(xué)創(chuàng)辦虛擬人類互動(dòng)實(shí)驗(yàn)室的主任杰里米·拜倫森對(duì)我說道，“大腦還沒進(jìn)化到能告訴你這不是真的。”

對(duì)虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)的亢奮情緒大多來自游戲圈。誰不想徹底體驗(yàn)一個(gè)游戲呢？但游戲僅僅是開始。布朗大學(xué)可視化研究實(shí)驗(yàn)室的主任戴維·萊德勞告訴我，他的團(tuán)隊(duì)已經(jīng)再現(xiàn)了約旦佩特拉城一處神廟的遺址，可以幫助研究者們厘清在遺址里發(fā)現(xiàn)的各種文物間的關(guān)系，之前人們對(duì)這些文物間的關(guān)系并不清楚。谷歌正在測(cè)試Expeditions項(xiàng)目，該項(xiàng)目可將學(xué)生送入大堡礁之類的情境中。學(xué)生們能在那兒虛擬戴水肺潛水，這是海洋生物和海洋酸化課的一部分。類似的方法也許能用于加強(qiáng)職業(yè)訓(xùn)練。戴上一副眼鏡，神經(jīng)外科醫(yī)生就可以在手術(shù)前探索大腦結(jié)構(gòu)了。另一種可能：想象一下，你無法參加家庭聚會(huì)。只要有一副眼鏡，你就可以身臨其境。參加聚會(huì)的每個(gè)人都戴著眼鏡，這些眼鏡使場(chǎng)景顯得好像你也出席了一樣。整件事都會(huì)被錄下來，這樣你不管什么時(shí)候想看都可以回放。

透過他人的眼睛看世界

在斯坦福大學(xué)的實(shí)驗(yàn)室里，拜倫森研究虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)如何改變行為。他發(fā)現(xiàn)，如果你的虛擬化身的身高比你在現(xiàn)實(shí)生活中的身高要高，你會(huì)變得更自信；如果你有一個(gè)特別迷人的虛擬化身，你會(huì)變得更友好。這些變化甚至在你離開虛擬世界之后仍會(huì)持續(xù)。

不久，虛擬化身會(huì)變得更令人信服。多數(shù)商業(yè)虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)系統(tǒng)捕捉到的僅僅是你頭部和手的動(dòng)作。然而，2013年，蘋果公司收購了PrimeSense。這是一家以色列公司，其所開發(fā)的技術(shù)可通過紅外傳感器和特殊的微型芯片來追蹤你全身的動(dòng)作。一家名為Faceshift的公司正致力于捕捉面部表情，這樣你如果微笑或者轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)眼珠，你的虛擬化身也會(huì)這么做。

事實(shí)已經(jīng)證明，虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)對(duì)于治療恐懼癥和創(chuàng)傷后壓力心理障礙癥很有用，比如可以通過模擬站在陽臺(tái)上或走過大橋來幫人們克服恐高癥。拜倫森和其他一些人認(rèn)為，虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)還可以用來建立共鳴。如果你可以走進(jìn)紀(jì)錄片而不僅僅是在熒屏上觀看，幾乎是完全進(jìn)入別人的角色，那會(huì)怎么樣？《錫德拉灣上的云》就是一部以此為目標(biāo)的虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)電影，它關(guān)注的是約旦一處敘利亞難民營中一個(gè)12歲的姑娘。你要是能夠?qū)崟r(shí)做一些相似的事情會(huì)怎么樣？“隨著浸入式敘事的發(fā)展，這種敘事可以與Periscope及Meerkat等技術(shù)結(jié)合起來，屆時(shí)你實(shí)際上就可以通過任何人的眼睛來看世界了?！惫雀杼摂M現(xiàn)實(shí)項(xiàng)目的主管克萊·巴沃爾告訴我。

調(diào)動(dòng)你所有的感官

谷歌最近收購了Thrive Audio，一家專門致力于空間音頻技術(shù)的公司?？臻g音頻能讓你的耳朵覺察出聲音是從哪個(gè)特定的地方發(fā)出來的。一個(gè)虛擬瀑布，你越是靠近它，聽到的聲音就越大。你聽到身后有什么東西，一轉(zhuǎn)身，看見一只鹿在靠近。這種音頻有三維立體效果，真實(shí)地環(huán)繞著你。嗅覺也可以成為虛擬體驗(yàn)的一部分。一家名叫Feelreal的公司研發(fā)出一種可以釋放氣味的面具，比如火的味道或海洋的味道，使你在頭戴式設(shè)備中看到的景象更逼真。與此緊密相關(guān)的是你能品嘗到所見物體的味道。新加坡的研究者們正在研發(fā)一種電極，放在舌頭上時(shí)會(huì)模擬出基本的味道，比如甜、咸、苦和酸。

那觸覺呢？我們會(huì)不會(huì)有一天發(fā)現(xiàn)，當(dāng)我們把手指浸入虛擬的水中時(shí)真的會(huì)有濕潤的感覺？戴維·萊德勞認(rèn)為，解決這一被稱作觸覺學(xué)問題的挑戰(zhàn)，是虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)研究的最高理想。但這并不意味著這一挑戰(zhàn)不可逾越?！拔矣行判?，我們能在有生之年做到這一點(diǎn)，”O(jiān)culus公司的創(chuàng)始人帕爾默·勒基對(duì)我說，“沒有什么基本的物理定律會(huì)阻礙我們建立近乎完美的東西?！?/p>

一個(gè)《神經(jīng)漫游者》的未來？

杰里米·拜倫森從事虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)研究，部分原因是受了小說《神經(jīng)漫游者》的激勵(lì)。這部于1984年出版的小說描繪了一個(gè)未來世界，那里的人們可以直接將自己的大腦與虛擬世界“連接”起來。拜倫森猜測(cè)，或許那就是虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)發(fā)展的方向。他想象50年或100年后我們或許可以研發(fā)出一種能直接接入神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)、連接人腦與機(jī)器的接口。

也許屆時(shí)我們會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，我們不是“連接”一小會(huì)兒然后停止，而是能像愛麗絲一樣完全進(jìn)入一個(gè)奇境。在那兒，這個(gè)乏味世界的定律（引力、衰老）都不再適用。那時(shí)，虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)可能會(huì)變得與谷歌工程師、未來學(xué)家雷·庫茲維爾等人描述的“奇點(diǎn)”相似：我們的思想從身體中分離出來，然后上傳到數(shù)字世界，即便在我們的肉體衰老、死亡之后，我們的思想仍然繼續(xù)存在。就像愛麗絲的奇境那樣，這一設(shè)想既令人著迷又令人恐懼。

參與Expeditions項(xiàng)目的學(xué)生在體驗(yàn)谷歌Cardboard

1. Oculus Rift headset：Oculus公司推出的一款為電子游戲設(shè)計(jì)的頭戴式虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)顯示器

2. Project Morpheus：索尼公司發(fā)布的PlayStation游戲機(jī)專用的頭戴式虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)顯示器

3. Google Cardboard：一款能自行組裝的虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)眼鏡，形似紙盒。

4. gondola [?ɡ?nd?l?] n. 鳳尾船（尤指意大利威尼斯的一種兩頭翹起的平底船，又稱“貢多拉”）

5. vertigo [?v??（r）t?ɡ??] n. 眩暈

6. reptilian instinct：此處指人腦的爬蟲腦本能。根據(jù)美國神經(jīng)學(xué)家保羅·麥克林提出的“三重腦”理論，人腦可分為爬蟲腦、哺乳腦和皮質(zhì)腦三部分。其中，爬蟲腦主要負(fù)責(zé)判定周遭環(huán)境是否安全并做出應(yīng)激反應(yīng)。

7. Expeditions：谷歌面向教育機(jī)構(gòu)推出的免費(fèi)虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)體驗(yàn)服務(wù)

8. infrared [??nfr??red] adj. 紅外線的

9. PTSD：創(chuàng)傷后壓力心理障礙癥（post-traumatic stress disorder）

10. Clouds Over Sidra：《錫德拉灣上的云》，世界首部虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)紀(jì)錄片

11. Periscope：一款流媒體直播應(yīng)用

12. Meerkat：一款視頻直播應(yīng)用

13. haptics [?h?pt?ks] n. [復(fù)]觸覺學(xué)

14. holy grail：圣杯（傳說耶穌基督在最后的晚餐中使用的杯子）；極難找到（獲得）之物

15. Neuromancer：《神經(jīng)漫游者》，第一部同時(shí)獲得雨果獎(jiǎng)、星云獎(jiǎng)與菲利普·狄克獎(jiǎng)這三項(xiàng)科幻小說大獎(jiǎng)的著作

16. jack in：連接

17. prosaic [pr???ze??k] adj. 平淡無奇的

18. Singularity：“奇點(diǎn)”理論。該理論認(rèn)為人工智能發(fā)展到某個(gè)關(guān)鍵的轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)時(shí)會(huì)完全超越人類智能。屆時(shí)，人類（身體、頭腦、文明）將發(fā)生徹底且不可逆轉(zhuǎn)的改變。