Cancer glasses - virtual reality helps medicine !

Virtual reality is very usefull technology and when I read about projects like this, I like it more and more. Cancer glasses aren't yet official device that can't be use in medicine, but I really do hope it will become one.

What it is about ?

Cancer glasses is a device that allow surgeons to better see cancer cells during the operation. Why is it needed ? Because it is very hard to distinguish normal, healthy cells from the cancer one. 

How does it work ? Before the operation, a special dye is injected into patient. Surgeon wears special blind googles with two cameras, one normal and one workin with infrared. The infrared camera is able to see the cancer cells that are marked with dye. It is combined with the image from normal camera and displayed on screen inside the googles. That way, surgeon is able to see and recognize the sick cells.

This technology allows to increse the quality of the operation, it allows to cut out all of cancer cells that prevent recurrence of the illness. Isn't this a great usage of virtual reality?

Why I'm talking about this ?

It is important to spread informations about projects like this. It is fantastic when technology can help us and can make our life better and more safe. I hope that this project will pass all tests and receive every needed acceptance.

We need to talk about ideas like this, we need to think about what can we do better. Only people with passion, with calling can pull us forward. Thanks to people like this, we can see projects simillar to cancer glasses than literally can save someones life and every effort that will save even life of one person is worth it.

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Project "Comradre"

What stands behinind this codename ? It is a project on which researchers in the Microsoft lab of Jaron Lanier are working on. It is focused on multiperson virtual reality. Sounds good.

What is all about ?

As I've mentioned, project is focused on possibility to interact with same virtual object by many persons during one session. It opens many different possibilities for VR as a technology. I'm not talking about gaming - but to be honest this is the first one I thought about - but about training software or for the first time business usage.

Virtual reality is getting more and more popular, the technology allows us to achive really great things using it and one of the biggest limitation is that you can do all this fantastic things only by yourself. Of course you can show the results on the screen but you can't invite anybody into your virtual world. 

Think how military training can change if there would be a possibility to render whole world for whole team. What about architecture ? Design a building, or bridge and show it to potential investor, invite him for a virtual walk and show everything what you will be able to achive if he will fund it. 

Natural step ?

Probably yes. As I've mentioned, we can currently do a lot of great stuff using VR, our technology allows us to build whole new worlds, VR devices are getting more handy and comfortable in usage. It was a matter of time when someone would want to get something more. This may be it. 

In this article I've mentioned that virtual reality already lost the "wow" effect. It is with us for so long time and that made it not as fascinating as before. If we achive multiperson interaction it may change, it can be an impuls for VR reborn.

I hope they will do it. I know that we need to wait for true effect of their work but current progress is very promissing.

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Why VR is getting more and more popular ?

Recently we can observer increased interest in virtual reality. We can find a lot of articles related with new devices, companies investing in new project/startups etc. All of this forced me to ask this question...why ?

It isn't anything new

Let`s be honest, virtual reality is not a new idea, it isn't even a new technology. Virtual reality was with us for a long time now. So why now ?

Well first of all it is caused by evolution of technology. We have better software and better hardware. Miniaturization is one of the keys that is responsible for growth of virtual reality. It is just much better than in the past.

Is it all about technology ?

I think not. I think that this change is related with change of our perception, of our need for consumption content in newer, better (?) way. We can see that increased interest with virtual reality is strongly related with a much bigger consumption of video content. Internet TV (Netflix), Facebook (more video on the wall, idea of using video instead of profile picture), video blogs, increased role of sites like youtube, twitch.

We evolved from text, through images to video and we won't stop now. Images were a better way to represent our thoughts. Video is better way to present what we wanted to show on couple of images. We always want more, we always want something better, there will be always someone that will want to see something more. So how can we go further ? Yes ! Using virtual reality. Virtual reality will allow us to show more and to interact with the things that are represented.

Welcome to the future

To be honest, we`re already between video and VR by using more often 360 videos. It already allows us to see the same thing from different point of view, to see more. Same movie can be seen a couple of times, and every time we'll see something that wasn't seen before. It increase our interest, it increase our involvement, and it pumps a bit our imagination. The next natural step is to interact with elements of the content, to become part of this, to get into it.
Probably we'll se more and more projects related with virtual reality and this will be probably a next big revolution if our lives. Prices of headsets are getting chipper. More projects and more possible clients and new technologies will probably lower them even more. VR will be something standard in our lives and this will change a lot in the way how we interact with our computers, how interact with content. This will a new chapter.

Virtual reality and augmented reality ?

Interesting is that augmented reality is not using the same pattern. The differences (you can read more about them HERE) are too big. Usage of both technologies are on the opposite ends of the stick. Augmented reality will not be able to increase our perception of the video and even if than probably the quality of this will be too low so it will be still a waste of time. Augmented reality is focused too much on the useable part of ur live. Is that bad ? I don't think so.

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Augmented reality is new Virtual reality ? I don't think so

I've came along with this article: "Augmented Reality is the new Virtual Reality"

 Spend couple of minutes and read it cause it is quite interesting and than think about it. Do you agree with this statement ? This question is very tricky. You need to think about it.
If you think only in terms of trends, fashion, current "hype", then yes, augmented reality is the new virtual reality. Augmented reality is currently making everybody say "woooow it`s sooo coooool". It look great, you can feel like hero of sci-fi movie from top shelf. Everybody is talking about it. Large companies invest a lot of money in it, Microsoft with Hololens, Apple with Metaio, Daqri with their helmet, and so on. It looks futuristic, it looks nice, it is promoted as good fun, as a must have of every modern person. If you think only this way you must agree with:

Virtual Reality is cool, don't get me wrong - but VR has been around for ages, and just like your parents and the acronym "lol", it's just not cool anymore. It had its time.

 Ok so why did I wrote that I don't agree ? You need to think more about technology itself. About the usage, about the possibilities related to it, about the purpose of it. Than something is missing, something does not fit into the puzzle. Why ? Because AR and VR are totally different. I've described technical differences here so there is no point to write it again.

Lets focus on different aspect. Differences will never allow to substitute one technology by another. Virtual reality will never push augmented reality from the market, and same story in the other way. For example:
You will never make - using augmented reality - as good training software as the one made in virtual reality. And in the other way, you will never make software that will help worker to assemble a car using virtual reality, and using augmented reality you will. This is only one trivial example, but with out any effort you will easily think about many different ones.

As you can see there is always other side of the coin. This topic probably will be touched many times in future. And it is good news, both technologies are fascinating, both can help a lot of people, but we also need to remember that both of them have also a dark side. Virtual reality can build so beautiful worlds that people can be lost in them, they can lose control and forget that VR isn't real. Augmented reality - mostly project related with glasses/goggles - are bringing more and more legal and ethical problems. That is why we need to remember that there is something more than technology in the background

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Augmented reality vs Virtual reality

After Facebook bought Oculus people started to wonder..."what is it"? They watched youtube, googled virtual and augmented reality and didn't think a lot about the differences between this two technologies. That is a big mistake. As for me there is more differences then similarities.

Lets start from some simple definitions:

Augmented reality (AR) is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality.^[1] By contrast, virtual reality replaces the real world with a simulated one.^[2][3] Augmentation is conventionally in real-time and in semantic context with environmental elements, such as sports scores on TV during a match. With the help of advanced AR technology (e.g. adding computer vision and object recognition) the information about the surrounding real world of the user becomes interactive and digitally manipulable. Artificial information about the environment and its objects can be overlaid on the real world.

And

Virtual Reality (VR), which can be referred to as immersive multimedia or computer-simulated life, replicates an environment that simulates physical presence in places in the real world or imagined worlds and lets the user interact in that world. Virtual reality artificially creates sensory experiences, which can include sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste.

Most up to date virtual reality environments are displayed either on a computer screen or with special stereoscopic displays, and some simulations include additional sensory information and focus on real sound through speakers or headphones targeted towards VR users. Some advanced, haptic, systems now include tactile information, generally known as force feedback in medical, gaming and military applications. Furthermore, virtual reality covers remote communication environments which provide virtual presence of users with the concepts of telepresence and telexistence or a virtual artifact (VA) either through the use of standard input devices such as a keyboard and mouse, or through multimodal devices such as a wired glove or omnidirectional treadmills. The simulated environment can be similar to the real world in order to create a lifelike experience—for example, in simulations for pilot or combat training—or it differs significantly from reality, such as in VR games.

As you can see a lot of differences. Lets talk about some of them:

1. Link user - software

In augmented reality user is not restricted by device. He can use it or not. Augmented reality is delivering extended experience, more informations using data that are available around the user. It allows to interact with environment on higher level, in different (in my opinion better) way.

On the other hand Virtual reality is all about hardware and special software. It exists as long as the device is on the users head and as long as it is turned on. The world that is presented for user is fully virtual and it can simulate our real one or present something drastically different.

2. Interaction

Augmented reality extends possible ways to interact with environment. It shows new paths, new ways and gives something that you call - in some cases of course - extra sense.

Virtual reality allows user to fully interact with the virtual world. The only restrictions are those provided by software. In some cases you can have more options in other less.

3. Usage

Augmented reality is about extending possibilities, giving more flexibility and options for user in his every day actions. It can speed up user, it can make his life easier, it can provide necessary data and informations in current moment.

Virtual reality is more for fun or training. This are two most presented usages of this technologie.

4. Devices

Augmented reality need only a small device that will be able to collect data nesesery for the software. It can be a laptop, tablet or a smartphone or a nice glasses.

Virtual reality is a bit less flexible. You need a special headset that will be conected to a computer. The headset is used for presenting the generated world. Of course you can substitute headset with a special version of car or tank with big screens that will display surrounding world.

Remember that this differences are not making one technology better or worse. Virtual reality and augmented reality are just different technologies created for different purpose. They are very good at thing that they ment to do.

Sources:

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_reality

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality

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