Do not be scared. I am only referring to utilising and interacting with your device using 3D and virtual reality. Most of you will have already been exposed to Windows 10, but how many of you have played around with the 3D Builder application included in this operating system? If not, do so, it is really interesting.
For a start, it allows you to load 2D images and have them rendered in 3D. You can look at this image from every angle, including below and above. You can edit it to your heart’s delight, move 3D components around, print it and even send it off to be printed in 3D –in combination with 3D printing that took the world by storm about two years back.
Try it now – it is fascinating. Do you remember the teenager who actually printed out a working plastic gun using this technology? This technology is also currently being used to create human prosthetics (eg: artificial limbs and the like) for medical use. Ad I have pointed out before, look out for 3D printing being used for, amongst other things food (such as pizza), mechanical parts and replacement items.
I have no doubt, in the next few years, which we will be able to download the copyright plans for an object we need for example: a phone cover, buy the appropriate components from a 3D printing shop and have our own item printed. Of course, there will be a cost, but it will be a fraction of what we pay now, considering the excise and shipping costs added on to any imports in Malawi.
I wonder if the day will come when we order our takeaway pizza from a machine, pay using our mobile or credit card, and have it printed and delivered in a few minutes? Now, that would be bizarre! Now here is the next step – and we all need to really take note of this. Next week, Windowws10 users will receive a free update called Windows 10 Creators Update. This will allow standard users, such as you and I to— for the first time, be able to interact with our devices and applications in 3D.
Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo will ship the world’s first Windows Mixed Reality-enabled headsets with the Creators Update, starting at just $299.00 later this year. These headsets will contain built-in sensors to enable inside-out, six-degrees of freedom, allowing free movement without the need for external markers or sensors in the wall. So, what is Mixed Reality? Wikipedia defines it as a situation where virtual and real worlds are merged. Users are able to interact in this world with both real and virtual objects and be able to better express their ideas and share their vision.
This 3D market is expected to grow by 62 percent in the next 3 years. Some earlier attempts at this have already been made, anyone remember Google Glass? The allowed users to interact with objects and the internet using natural voice commander remember redicting last year, the demise of the keyboard with voice activation, biometrics and mixed reality enabling direct interaction with devices. Throw into this mix the Internet of Things—and we have a very exciting time ahead of us. Imagine talking to our household appliances or home system? Or projecting a 3D image of a product idea we have virtually to someone on the other side of the world? Wow!
These new technologies should not in any way intimidate the average user. The ability to interact with the world of technology is getting easier day by day. The challenge for most of us is to unlearn old skills and retain an open mind to the new ways in which we can use technology. The benefits we will experience in the next few years will far outweigh any initial challenges that changes will bring.
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