33 VR Profile
that it will become another media tech flash in the pan. “I think that’s a misinformed point of view,” counters Mikkelsen. “Firstly, 3D has been around since Victorian times and the technique hasn’t changed. And the technique we use for VR hasn’t changed since the 1850s. It might not be called VR in five or ten years from now, it may be called something dierent, but it’s using the exact same technique. “Looking at the ‘hype curve’, people have said VR is now in the ‘recovery phase’ after a post-hype crash, and that people are now making money out of it. I think everyone who jumped on the 3D bandwagon and chased that bubble learned a lot, and the result is there is a lot of high-quality VR.” Mikkelsen sees sports, documentary and marketing as being potential growth areas for VR, as well as immersive, choose-your- own-adventure storytelling. But VR may need to undergo some more evolution before the mainstream sees its value. “I’m not super-fond of wearing the headset. I’d like to see home entertainment
META D A woman enjoys a stereoscopic photo in this stereoscopic photo from 1901. 3D photos have been around since Victorian times
systems or cinemas. There’s a big 360 spherical projection theatre in South Korea at the Gwangju Science Museum that’s interesting. Maybe it will be a visor or glasses that you wear, but something that isn’t a heavy thing on your face. Remember though, when NASA was first
using VR, astronauts had to wear a laptop on their face. We have come a way already from wearing a laptop on your face to wearing a phone on your face. “VR does take a bit of commitment, but that can pay o. As soon as you’ve passed the threshold of putting a VR headset
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