Virtual Reality Gets Real 虚拟现实：奇妙新世界

Maria+Konnikova++译+杨锐

虚拟现实（virtual reality，简称VR）对很多人来说还是个虚无缥缈的概念。但在2016年1月的国际消费类电子产品展览会上，一系列炫酷的VR产品吸引了人们的眼球。尽管VR技术的发展仍不够成熟，但它已开始在教育、娱乐、考古、医疗等领域应用。说不准哪一天，虚拟现实就会走进你我的生活，创造出一个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，计算机图形学先驱伊凡·萨瑟兰在技术人员参加的一个国际会议上发表演讲，演讲的主题是虚拟现实。他告诉听众，最终的虚拟现实展现出的将是“一个房间，房内物质的存在皆由电脑控制。房间里展示的椅子足够结实，可以坐上去；手铐可以限制人的自由；子弹也可以致命。只要加以适当的编程，这样的展示真的可以成为爱丽丝漫游的奇境”。

虚拟现实在过去几年迅速发展——备受期待的Oculus Rift头戴式显示器预计2016年可上市。但是这项技术还很新，萨瑟兰的设想似乎并没有更接近实际的现实。“眼下，就像你刚刚拥有手机一样，许多焦点还聚集在最基本的东西上。”另一款显示器Project Morpheus的一位首席研发工程师理查德·马克思跟我说道。我最近和科学家、心理学家、工程师、研发人员都有过交流，探讨这个新兴领域的发展前景。这一领域最终将带我们走向何方？那会是我们想去的地方吗？

处处可虚拟

在最近的一次谷歌Cardboard演示会上，我发现自己一会儿登上乱石嶙峋的山顶，一会儿身处马圈，旁边就是一匹马儿在喷鼻喘气，一会儿又乘着贡多拉驶向山顶，坐在贡多拉里，我感到阵阵眩晕。专家们说，我们之所以有这种反应，是因为展示在我们眼前的景象在跟踪我们头部的动作，此时我们的大脑就很容易被骗。“我们有爬虫脑的本能，这种本能做出反应，就好像这些是真的一样：不要迈下那个悬崖，”斯坦福大学创办虚拟人类互动实验室的主任杰里米·拜伦森对我说道，“大脑还没进化到能告诉你这不是真的。”

对虚拟现实的亢奋情绪大多来自游戏圈。谁不想彻底体验一个游戏呢？但游戏仅仅是开始。布朗大学可视化研究实验室的主任戴维·莱德劳告诉我，他的团队已经再现了约旦佩特拉城一处神庙的遗址，可以帮助研究者们厘清在遗址里发现的各种文物间的关系，之前人们对这些文物间的关系并不清楚。谷歌正在测试Expeditions项目，该项目可将学生送入大堡礁之类的情境中。学生们能在那儿虚拟戴水肺潜水，这是海洋生物和海洋酸化课的一部分。类似的方法也许能用于加强职业训练。戴上一副眼镜，神经外科医生就可以在手术前探索大脑结构了。另一种可能：想象一下，你无法参加家庭聚会。只要有一副眼镜，你就可以身临其境。参加聚会的每个人都戴着眼镜，这些眼镜使场景显得好像你也出席了一样。整件事都会被录下来，这样你不管什么时候想看都可以回放。

透过他人的眼睛看世界

在斯坦福大学的实验室里，拜伦森研究虚拟现实如何改变行为。他发现，如果你的虚拟化身的身高比你在现实生活中的身高要高，你会变得更自信；如果你有一个特别迷人的虚拟化身，你会变得更友好。这些变化甚至在你离开虚拟世界之后仍会持续。

不久，虚拟化身会变得更令人信服。多数商业虚拟现实系统捕捉到的仅仅是你头部和手的动作。然而，2013年，苹果公司收购了PrimeSense。这是一家以色列公司，其所开发的技术可通过红外传感器和特殊的微型芯片来追踪你全身的动作。一家名为Faceshift的公司正致力于捕捉面部表情，这样你如果微笑或者转动眼珠，你的虚拟化身也会这么做。

事实已经证明，虚拟现实对于治疗恐惧症和创伤后压力心理障碍症很有用，比如可以通过模拟站在阳台上或走过大桥来帮人们克服恐高症。拜伦森和其他一些人认为，虚拟现实还可以用来建立共鸣。如果你可以走进纪录片而不仅仅是在荧屏上观看，几乎是完全进入别人的角色，那会怎么样？《锡德拉湾上的云》就是一部以此为目标的虚拟现实电影，它关注的是约旦一处叙利亚难民营中一个12岁的姑娘。你要是能够实时做一些相似的事情会怎么样？“随着浸入式叙事的发展，这种叙事可以与Periscope及Meerkat等技术结合起来，届时你实际上就可以通过任何人的眼睛来看世界了。”谷歌虚拟现实项目的主管克莱·巴沃尔告诉我。

调动你所有的感官

谷歌最近收购了Thrive Audio，一家专门致力于空间音频技术的公司。空间音频能让你的耳朵觉察出声音是从哪个特定的地方发出来的。一个虚拟瀑布，你越是靠近它，听到的声音就越大。你听到身后有什么东西，一转身，看见一只鹿在靠近。这种音频有三维立体效果，真实地环绕着你。嗅觉也可以成为虚拟体验的一部分。一家名叫Feelreal的公司研发出一种可以释放气味的面具，比如火的味道或海洋的味道，使你在头戴式设备中看到的景象更逼真。与此紧密相关的是你能品尝到所见物体的味道。新加坡的研究者们正在研发一种电极，放在舌头上时会模拟出基本的味道，比如甜、咸、苦和酸。

那触觉呢？我们会不会有一天发现，当我们把手指浸入虚拟的水中时真的会有湿润的感觉？戴维·莱德劳认为，解决这一被称作触觉学问题的挑战，是虚拟现实研究的最高理想。但这并不意味着这一挑战不可逾越。“我有信心，我们能在有生之年做到这一点，”Oculus公司的创始人帕尔默·勒基对我说，“没有什么基本的物理定律会阻碍我们建立近乎完美的东西。”

一个《神经漫游者》的未来？

杰里米·拜伦森从事虚拟现实研究，部分原因是受了小说《神经漫游者》的激励。这部于1984年出版的小说描绘了一个未来世界，那里的人们可以直接将自己的大脑与虚拟世界“连接”起来。拜伦森猜测，或许那就是虚拟现实发展的方向。他想象50年或100年后我们或许可以研发出一种能直接接入神经系统、连接人脑与机器的接口。

也许届时我们会发现，我们不是“连接”一小会儿然后停止，而是能像爱丽丝一样完全进入一个奇境。在那儿，这个乏味世界的定律（引力、衰老）都不再适用。那时，虚拟现实可能会变得与谷歌工程师、未来学家雷·库兹维尔等人描述的“奇点”相似：我们的思想从身体中分离出来，然后上传到数字世界，即便在我们的肉体衰老、死亡之后，我们的思想仍然继续存在。就像爱丽丝的奇境那样，这一设想既令人着迷又令人恐惧。

参与Expeditions项目的学生在体验谷歌Cardboard

1. Oculus Rift headset：Oculus公司推出的一款为电子游戏设计的头戴式虚拟现实显示器

2. Project Morpheus：索尼公司发布的PlayStation游戏机专用的头戴式虚拟现实显示器

3. Google Cardboard：一款能自行组装的虚拟现实眼镜，形似纸盒。

4. gondola [?ɡ?nd?l?] n. 凤尾船（尤指意大利威尼斯的一种两头翘起的平底船，又称“贡多拉”）

5. vertigo [?v??（r）t?ɡ??] n. 眩晕

6. reptilian instinct：此处指人脑的爬虫脑本能。根据美国神经学家保罗·麦克林提出的“三重脑”理论，人脑可分为爬虫脑、哺乳脑和皮质脑三部分。其中，爬虫脑主要负责判定周遭环境是否安全并做出应激反应。

7. Expeditions：谷歌面向教育机构推出的免费虚拟现实体验服务

8. infrared [??nfr??red] adj. 红外线的

9. PTSD：创伤后压力心理障碍症（post-traumatic stress disorder）

10. Clouds Over Sidra：《锡德拉湾上的云》，世界首部虚拟现实纪录片

11. Periscope：一款流媒体直播应用

12. Meerkat：一款视频直播应用

13. haptics [?h?pt?ks] n. [复]触觉学

14. holy grail：圣杯（传说耶稣基督在最后的晚餐中使用的杯子）；极难找到（获得）之物

15. Neuromancer：《神经漫游者》，第一部同时获得雨果奖、星云奖与菲利普·狄克奖这三项科幻小说大奖的著作

16. jack in：连接

17. prosaic [pr???ze??k] adj. 平淡无奇的

18. Singularity：“奇点”理论。该理论认为人工智能发展到某个关键的转折点时会完全超越人类智能。届时，人类（身体、头脑、文明）将发生彻底且不可逆转的改变。