Tele-Immersion, Virtual Reality, and the Coming of the Holodeck

One of the fascinating peeks at future technology on the TV show Star Trek was the holodeck. Characters on the show would use the holodeck to relax by having simulated adventures in virtual environments. If one wanted to pretend to be-say-a gun slinger in the Old West, all it would take would be to select the appropriate preprogrammed scenario, put on a costume, and spend an hour in Dodge City. One could also revisit some favorite place without leaving the ship, say a café in Paris or some spectacular view on some other planet

In more serious circumstances, the Star Trek characters used the holodeck to simulate dangerous situations, say a malfunction of the warp core, and arrive at solutions without actually having to experience the real thing. In one episode, the Enterprise crew used the holodeck to solve a murder case by simulating the events leading up to it.

Just as the communicator from Star Trek eventually became the cell phone, something like the holodeck is being developed by scientists and engineers in the current century. The new technology, called tele-immersion, will be used to facilitate business meetings between people separated by thousands of miles of distance. But, as the saying goes, the applications will be endless.

How Tele-Immersion Works

Videoconferencing is already commonly used in business. It uses internet telephone technology and video cameras to bring together people at widely dispersed places on video monitors to have meetings. But the ability of people to interact in these situations is limited.

Tele-immersion takes the concept of videoconferencing a step further. In the future, if you wanted to talk to-say-George in the New York office, you would command your computer to place the call. Suddenly one wall of your office would vanish and you would see George in his office in 3D as if the wall had suddenly become a window. George would be able to see you and your office in much the same way.