VR Definition, History - Part 1

Summary

This lecture dives into virtual reality (VR) and its application in neuroscience and perceptual psychology. It explores the definition of VR, its role in inducing targeted behaviors through sensory stimulation, and its impact on organisms, from humans to mice and fruit flies. The session highlights groundbreaking discoveries in brain activity, such as place and grid cells, that help define awareness in VR. The lecture also emphasizes the importance of VR testing on diverse subjects to avoid developer bias and ensure immersive, realistic experiences. Finally, it touches on motion sickness and ethical considerations in VR development.

Takeaways

• 😀 Virtual reality (VR) is defined as an experience that induces targeted behavior in an organism using artificial sensory stimulation, with minimal awareness of the interference.
• 😀 VR systems can be immersive, using multiple sensory tools like headsets for vision, headphones for sound, controllers for hands, and haptic suits for touch.
• 😀 Awareness in VR refers to how much the organism (human or animal) is conscious of the sensory interference. This is crucial for defining VR immersion.
• 😀 VR is being used in neuroscience to study neural processes by presenting controlled stimuli and observing neural responses, such as in mice or fruit flies.
• 😀 The discovery of 'place cells' and 'grid cells' in the brain helps define awareness in VR by tracking how the brain responds to new environments.
• 😀 Place cells are specific neurons that fire when an organism is in a specific location in an environment, and their activity helps the brain identify spaces as 'real' or 'virtual.'
• 😀 The distinction between awareness and consciousness is highlighted: awareness can be scientifically defined through neural structures, whereas consciousness remains a more abstract concept.
• 😀 A key experiment involving rats demonstrated that place cells fire in response to new environments, and these cells are crucial for understanding how organisms perceive their surroundings.
• 😀 VR development for humans involves both the creation and the testing of VR systems, which can lead to developer bias. Developers might unknowingly overlook flaws in their designs.
• 😀 It's essential for VR developers to test their systems on unexposed subjects (like people who have never experienced VR) to avoid biases and ensure comfort for a wide range of users, especially those sensitive to motion sickness.

Q & A

What is the definition of virtual reality according to the lecture?

Virtual reality is defined as an experience that induces targeted behavior in an organism by using artificial sensory stimulation, while the organism has little or no awareness of the interference.

How does the lecturer differentiate between VR in humans and other organisms like mice or fruitflies?

The lecturer highlights that while VR in humans often aims for entertainment, in other organisms, such as mice and fruitflies, VR is used to study neural processes and behavior. These experiments allow scientists to control stimuli and observe brain activity.

What is the role of place cells in the brain, and how do they relate to virtual reality?

Place cells are specialized neurons in the brain that fire when an organism is in a specific place within an environment. In virtual reality, if the experience is immersive enough, new place cells are activated, indicating that the brain perceives the virtual space as real.

What did the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine recognize about place cells?

The Nobel Prize was awarded for the discovery of place cells, which are neurons that fire in response to specific locations in an environment. This discovery has helped researchers understand how the brain processes spatial information and could be linked to defining awareness in virtual reality.

What is the significance of the grid cells in relation to virtual reality?

Grid cells are neurons that help to map out spatial awareness in the brain, providing a grid-like pattern that aids in navigation through an environment. They are also involved in virtual reality experiences, helping the brain perceive and understand the layout of a simulated space.

Why is awareness considered an important aspect of virtual reality experiences?

Awareness is critical because it determines whether the organism (or human) is fully immersed in the virtual environment. If the brain reacts to the VR environment as it would to the real world, with new neural structures (place or grid cells), it indicates that the experience is realistic and immersive.

How do VR developers face potential biases during development, and why is this a concern?

VR developers can experience biases because they are both the creators and the testers of the VR experiences. This developer bias can lead to flaws being overlooked, as creators may adapt to or become desensitized to issues in the system. Testing VR on fresh users is crucial to identify and correct these flaws.

What is the importance of testing VR experiences on people who have never used VR before?

Testing VR on individuals who have never experienced it (or those who are not familiar with certain gaming experiences) is important because they offer a fresh perspective. This helps developers understand how new users perceive and interact with the VR system, uncovering potential issues like motion sickness or discomfort.

How does the concept of 'motion sickness' relate to VR experiences?

Motion sickness in VR, also referred to as simulator sickness, occurs when there is a disconnect between the visual stimuli and the body's physical sensations. It can be triggered if the VR environment is not perfectly aligned with real-world physics, causing discomfort for users. Developers need to account for this when designing VR experiences.

How does awareness in VR differ from consciousness, according to the lecturer?

Awareness in VR refers to the brain's ability to recognize and react to a simulated environment as if it were real, often indicated by the activation of place cells. Consciousness, on the other hand, remains a more abstract concept with no clear scientific definition, making it distinct from the concept of awareness in VR.