Virtual Reality Gets Real 虛擬現實：奇妙新世界

Maria+Konnikova++譯+楊銳

虛擬現實（virtual reality，簡稱VR）對很多人來說還是個虛無縹緲的概念。但在2016年1月的國際消費類電子產品展覽會上，一系列炫酷的VR產品吸引了人們的眼球。盡管VR技術的發展仍不夠成熟，但它已開始在教育、娛樂、考古、醫療等領域應用。說不準哪一天，虛擬現實就會走進你我的生活，創造出一個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，計算機圖形學先驅伊凡·薩瑟蘭在技術人員參加的一個國際會議上發表演講，演講的主題是虛擬現實。他告訴聽眾，最終的虛擬現實展現出的將是“一個房間，房內物質的存在皆由電腦控制。房間里展示的椅子足夠結實，可以坐上去；手銬可以限制人的自由；子彈也可以致命。只要加以適當的編程，這樣的展示真的可以成為愛麗絲漫游的奇境”。

虛擬現實在過去幾年迅速發展——備受期待的Oculus Rift頭戴式顯示器預計2016年可上市。但是這項技術還很新，薩瑟蘭的設想似乎并沒有更接近實際的現實。“眼下，就像你剛剛擁有手機一樣，許多焦點還聚集在最基本的東西上。”另一款顯示器Project Morpheus的一位首席研發工程師理查德·馬克思跟我說道。我最近和科學家、心理學家、工程師、研發人員都有過交流，探討這個新興領域的發展前景。這一領域最終將帶我們走向何方？那會是我們想去的地方嗎？

處處可虛擬

在最近的一次谷歌Cardboard演示會上，我發現自己一會兒登上亂石嶙峋的山頂，一會兒身處馬圈，旁邊就是一匹馬兒在噴鼻喘氣，一會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，是因為展示在我們眼前的景象在跟蹤我們頭部的動作，此時我們的大腦就很容易被騙。“我們有爬蟲腦的本能，這種本能做出反應，就好像這些是真的一樣：不要邁下那個懸崖，”斯坦福大學創辦虛擬人類互動實驗室的主任杰里米·拜倫森對我說道，“大腦還沒進化到能告訴你這不是真的。”

對虛擬現實的亢奮情緒大多來自游戲圈。誰不想徹底體驗一個游戲呢？但游戲僅僅是開始。布朗大學可視化研究實驗室的主任戴維·萊德勞告訴我，他的團隊已經再現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現的各種文物間的關系，之前人們對這些文物間的關系并不清楚。谷歌正在測試Expeditions項目，該項目可將學生送入大堡礁之類的情境中。學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職業訓練。戴上一副眼鏡，神經外科醫生就可以在手術前探索大腦結構了。另一種可能：想象一下，你無法參加家庭聚會。只要有一副眼鏡，你就可以身臨其境。參加聚會的每個人都戴著眼鏡，這些眼鏡使場景顯得好像你也出席了一樣。整件事都會被錄下來，這樣你不管什么時候想看都可以回放。

透過他人的眼睛看世界

在斯坦福大學的實驗室里，拜倫森研究虛擬現實如何改變行為。他發現，如果你的虛擬化身的身高比你在現實生活中的身高要高，你會變得更自信；如果你有一個特別迷人的虛擬化身，你會變得更友好。這些變化甚至在你離開虛擬世界之后仍會持續。

不久，虛擬化身會變得更令人信服。多數商業虛擬現實系統捕捉到的僅僅是你頭部和手的動作。然而，2013年，蘋果公司收購了PrimeSense。這是一家以色列公司，其所開發的技術可通過紅外傳感器和特殊的微型芯片來追蹤你全身的動作。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動眼珠，你的虛擬化身也會這么做。

事實已經證明，虛擬現實對于治療恐懼癥和創傷后壓力心理障礙癥很有用，比如可以通過模擬站在陽臺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為，虛擬現實還可以用來建立共鳴。如果你可以走進紀錄片而不僅僅是在熒屏上觀看，幾乎是完全進入別人的角色，那會怎么樣？《錫德拉灣上的云》就是一部以此為目標的虛擬現實電影，它關注的是約旦一處敘利亞難民營中一個12歲的姑娘。你要是能夠實時做一些相似的事情會怎么樣？“隨著浸入式敘事的發展，這種敘事可以與Periscope及Meerkat等技術結合起來，屆時你實際上就可以通過任何人的眼睛來看世界了。”谷歌虛擬現實項目的主管克萊·巴沃爾告訴我。

調動你所有的感官

谷歌最近收購了Thrive Audio，一家專門致力于空間音頻技術的公司。空間音頻能讓你的耳朵覺察出聲音是從哪個特定的地方發出來的。一個虛擬瀑布，你越是靠近它，聽到的聲音就越大。你聽到身后有什么東西，一轉身，看見一只鹿在靠近。這種音頻有三維立體效果，真實地環繞著你。嗅覺也可以成為虛擬體驗的一部分。一家名叫Feelreal的公司研發出一種可以釋放氣味的面具，比如火的味道或海洋的味道，使你在頭戴式設備中看到的景象更逼真。與此緊密相關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一種電極，放在舌頭上時會模擬出基本的味道，比如甜、咸、苦和酸。

那觸覺呢？我們會不會有一天發現，當我們把手指浸入虛擬的水中時真的會有濕潤的感覺？戴維·萊德勞認為，解決這一被稱作觸覺學問題的挑戰，是虛擬現實研究的最高理想。但這并不意味著這一挑戰不可逾越。“我有信心，我們能在有生之年做到這一點，”Oculus公司的創始人帕爾默·勒基對我說，“沒有什么基本的物理定律會阻礙我們建立近乎完美的東西。”

一個《神經漫游者》的未來？

杰里米·拜倫森從事虛擬現實研究，部分原因是受了小說《神經漫游者》的激勵。這部于1984年出版的小說描繪了一個未來世界，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，或許那就是虛擬現實發展的方向。他想象50年或100年后我們或許可以研發出一種能直接接入神經系統、連接人腦與機器的接口。

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

參與Expeditions項目的學生在體驗谷歌Cardboard

1. Oculus Rift headset：Oculus公司推出的一款為電子游戲設計的頭戴式虛擬現實顯示器

2. Project Morpheus：索尼公司發布的PlayStation游戲機專用的頭戴式虛擬現實顯示器

3. Google Cardboard：一款能自行組裝的虛擬現實眼鏡，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。根據美國神經學家保羅·麥克林提出的“三重腦”理論，人腦可分為爬蟲腦、哺乳腦和皮質腦三部分。其中，爬蟲腦主要負責判定周遭環境是否安全并做出應激反應。

7. Expeditions：谷歌面向教育機構推出的免費虛擬現實體驗服務

8. infrared [??nfr??red] adj. 紅外線的

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

10. Clouds Over Sidra：《錫德拉灣上的云》，世界首部虛擬現實紀錄片

11. Periscope：一款流媒體直播應用

12. Meerkat：一款視頻直播應用

13. haptics [?h?pt?ks] n. [復]觸覺學

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：《神經漫游者》，第一部同時獲得雨果獎、星云獎與菲利普·狄克獎這三項科幻小說大獎的著作

16. jack in：連接

17. prosaic [pr???ze??k] adj. 平淡無奇的

18. Singularity：“奇點”理論。該理論認為人工智能發展到某個關鍵的轉折點時會完全超越人類智能。屆時，人類（身體、頭腦、文明）將發生徹底且不可逆轉的改變。