Bed feeling a little empty? How about a virtual girlfriend?

NYU student Drew Barrows recently unveiled a new invention he devised to combat the loneliness he'd been feeling as of late. Called INBED, he brought his idea out at the Interactive Telecommunications Program Spring Show at the Tisch School of the Arts.

A few excerpts on how it works:

"INBED, an “infrared-sensitive” light projected virtual girlfriend"

"So what is it exactly? It’s a single mattress with an attractive brunette who is perfectly quiet. So far sounds like a good girlfriend! Once you sit or lie down on the mattress, she will respond to your every move."

"New York Magazine explains, “Lie on your back, she snuggles up right next to you in a log position. Curl up in the fetal position, she spoons. The only hitch: She’s 2-D."

Odd? No doubt. But I imagine there's a market of lonely guys out there who might get down with something like this. Even though its not real, its the idea itself that I think could find it some success- someone waiting for you to come to bed. It's a comforting thought and helps in part to meet our needs for deep emotional connections with other people. And while this invention can't (nor does its inventor want) to replace the actual thing, the mind has a funny way of believing and seeing what it wants. I bet that if you were that lonely, even the appearance of someone waiting for you could be a soothing thought.

via TrendHunter

Virtuality: iPhone In 3D

Been a while since I posted about Virtuality. In addition to the fact that Second Life kills my laptop and slows it to a grinding halt, I've also been waiting to see where the virtual trend went- what would be the next evolution using virtual worlds as a jump off point, how it might go more mainstream, particularly how it might remove the experience from being tethered to a computer...

While buzzing through the RSS feeds this morning, I came across this over at Virtual World News. BOXfab is a start up that designs products that enhance existing technologies (that's probably simplifying it way too much, but you get the idea). Their first product (as far as I can tell from their website) is a virtual reality headset for the iPhone. Basically, it turns the iPhone screen and display into a 3D, heads up display. The user puts on a special headset and is ready for a fully immersed experience.


From the site:

"A Virtual Reality display device which uses the iPhone as the viewing plate so that it becomes a wearable virtual headset simply by clipping on a special attachment. The device can network with other uses for shared virtual experiences and uses the tilt sensor of the iPhone plus a proprietary left-right tracker to provide a truly immersive experience.

"Special close-view depixelization flat optics turn the iPhone screen into a 3 dimensional window into another world. The under $200.00 design provides the functionality of devices costing thousands of dollars more. Three versions: A. Hand-Held. B. Wearable. C. Deskmount."

Bringing virtual reality to the iPhone could turn out to be a big move and a significant evolution of the trend. Sure, wearing the headset could be a little clunky and odd to wear in public. But I respect the push to take the idea that is at the core of virtual worlds- bringing a visual, 3D component to the social experiences we have online- in a new direction. And, as they point out over at VWN, this device may not be the answer or necessarily the future, but it gives us a glimpse into some possibilities.