*Professor and Chair, Department of Media Arts, Design, and Technology, California State University, Chico (Chico, California)
Introduction
Every two years, the editors of this book struggle to decide which chapters to include. There are always more options than there is space because new communication technologies develop almost daily. This chapter outlines some of these technologies deemed important, but not ready for a full chapter. The 16th edition of this book may cover these technologies in full chapters just as digital signage was once featured in an “Other New Technologies” chapter. Among the choices, four technologies stand out as exemplars of the newest technologies: virtual, augmented, and mixed reality; drones; the sharing economy; and m-commerce/virtual currency. Interestingly, both virtual and augmented reality and mobile commerce were chapters in past editions. What’s old is new again!
Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality
Imagine being transported to a jungle on the other side of the world, seeing clothing on your body in the dressing room without having to change, or seeing a digital firefly land on your finger. These are all possible with virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR). Lower costs and advances in digital content production are bringing these technologies to the masses. What used to be something experienced at amusement parks and research labs is now available for purchase on Amazon.
So what are the differences between VR, AR and MR? Peter Rubin (2016) provides a simple comparison “In virtual reality, everything is make-believe. In augmented reality, there are virtual objects overlaid on top of real objects, but they’re just little suspended movies—you can’t interact. Once you can interact with those not-really-there objects, that’s the realm of mixed reality.”
With all of these technologies users must wear some kind of head mounted display. For those applications with audio, headphones provide audio, often presented in 360 degrees to better simulate “reality.”
VR is experiencing new excitement around gaming and entertainment. Popular headsets include Fa-cebook’s Oculus Rift, Samsung’s Gear VR (which uses Oculus technology), Sony PlayStation VR, and Google Cardboard. Samsung’s headset works in conjunction with their Galaxy S7/S7 edge smartphone. Google Cardboard also works with a smartphone.
The level of immersion afforded by the headsets varies—from providing a 360-degree video experience to allowing use of movement and tracked hand movements. Remotes and controllers add to the VR experience. For example, Oculus Rift has the Rift Remote, allowing the user to control menus and volume remotely instead of touching the headset. Xbox One controllers work with the games on Rift. A sensor is available to allow for user movement tracking. Finally, there is Oculus Touch, which uses hand held trackable controllers that the users can see within the VR world (Rift, 2016). Figure 24.1 shows the Rift and Figure 24.2 shows the Samsung Gear VR.
The prices vary from $599 for the Rift (includes everything but the Touch), to $99 for the Samsung Gear VR (Rift, 2016). Google’s Cardboard is the most affordable costing only $15 for the low end foldable viewer (actually made of cardboard) to the $120 VR ONE GX from Zeiss (Get Cardboard, 2016). Content connects to the headset and peripherals through smartphone apps and PCs. Users of the Rift can even purchase Oculus Ready PCs, already outfitted with the hardware and software.
Oculus Rift
Source: Oculus
Samsung Gear VR
Source: Samsung
VR content for these headsets consists primarily of games and videos. There is even a VR film festival, Kaleidoscope VR (See Figure 24.3). To create video for VR, 360 cameras and rigs are used. For example, Nokia has the Ozo VR camera that records 360 video and sound (Ozo, 2016). Other rigs allow for 8 or 16 GoPro cameras to capture video. The video is then put through stitching software to combine the video from multiple cameras into one 360 video.
Kaleidoscope VR
Source: J. H. Meadows
AR technology has been around for a while now, but with the growth of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, it is poised to take off. Much like VR, AR is used for gaming. AR also has some practical applications. For example, a user could use AR to see how a new piece of furniture would look in a room. Firefighters could see the layout of a space while fighting a fire. Eric Johnson (2015) of re/code notes that utility is the key word to associate with AR. Its applications are useful and thus far not as consumer driven as VR and MR. For example, NASA scientists are using AR to explore the surface of Mars to better prepare for possible Mars exploration (Chow, 2016).
One major new development in AR is Samsung’s patent for smart contact lenses, awarded in 2016. The lenses have a camera, movement sensors, display unit, and a transmitter, enabling AR with no bulky head gear! Google and Sony are also working on smart contact lenses (Van Boom, 2016).
Perhaps the least known of these realities is mixed reality, which may have the greatest potential for personal and business use. Mixed reality allows the user to see and interact with digital arifacts that overlay real life. For example, the user can interact with a whale that breaches through the living room floor or hold a tiny elephant in his or her hand. These applications are possible right now with Magic Leap’s MR technology. Their MR uses what they call a “Dynamic Digitized Lightfield Signal” to allow developers to create “images indistinguishable from real objects… and place those images seamless into the real world.” (Magic Leap, 2016). (See Figure 24.4.) Magic Leap’s technology isn’t available yet but other MR systems are. Canon’s system is known as MREAL. Marketed to enterprise applications, MREAL is being used for manufacturing, education, and high risk training. With the technology, manufacturers can see and interact with concepts before they are made. MREAL works with a variety of 3D computer assisted design (CAD) systems (MREAL, 2016). Microsoft has a competitive system known as the HoloLens system. Users wear a head mounted display and can interact with holograms. Voice and gesture can be used to interact with the hologram. A development edition of Hololens is available in 2016 for $3,000 (HoloLens, 2016).
Magic Leap
Source: Magic Leap
Drones
Once limited to military use, drones have taken off (pardon the pun). Drones are basically aircraft that are remotely piloted and can be any size from a huge plane to a tiny aircraft designed to hold a GoPro. What’s great about drones is that they can go where people can’t go—either because the environment is too dangerous, such as a wildfire or toxic spill, or because the target is out of reach, perhaps above the tree line or over the water. This section deals primarily with small drones used by consumers and business—small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These are also known as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).
Used often in business sectors such as agriculture, public safety, and media, drones are popular amongst hobbyists. The Federal Aviation Administration estimates there will be 30,000 private drones by 2030 (Carter, 2015).
Recreational drones for photography and hobbies sell from about $20 for a mini drone to well over $2000 for a fully equipped, 4K photography drone.
Policy and legal issues surround the use of drones. The Federal Aviation Administration regulates drone use in the United States. All drones that weigh more than .55 pounds must be registered at reg-istermyuas.faa.gov. Failure to register means users are subject to civil and criminal penalties. In addition, commercial use of drones has further registration and approval paperwork and rules (Federal Aviation Administration, 2016).
Both hobbyists and professional drone operators must follow a long list of regulations including how to label the drone and where it can and cannot be flown. For example, recreational users cannot fly a drone above 400 feet or within 25 feet of people (Know Before You Fly, 2015). Some believe that drone regulations are hurting the development of drones and drone services. Amazon tested the idea of using drones for package delivery but the service is basically impossible with the line of sight rule (Mansell, 2016).
Privacy and safety are two major concerns with drones. Recreational drone users have been caught spying on neighbors and peeping into windows. One Kentucky man shot down a drone hovering in his backyard, and it has become almost commonplace for homeowners to knock down offending drones. But do Americans have the right to these defenses? No, they don’t. It’s actually illegal to shoot down a drone, even if it is hovering over your property (Schneier, 2015).
As unethical as it is to spy on your neighbor, interfering with public safety and airports/airplanes is just dangerous. For example, a firefighting aircraft was unable to respond to a highway fire in California because of five drones using the same airspace. Drones have interfered with DC-10 air tankers fighting fires (McGreevy, 2015). Drones also had more than 700 near misses with aircraft in 2015, and the Department of Homeland Security reported that there have been more than 500 incidents since 2012 when drones have flown over or near sensitive areas (Whitlock, 2015). The reaction is predictable: we should expect further regulation of drones as usage spreads.
The Sharing Economy
Benita Matofska (2016) of The People Who Share defines the sharing economy as “a socio-economic ecosystem built around the sharing of human, physical and intellectual resources. It includes the shared creation, production, distribution, trade and consumption of goods and services by different people and organizations.” Sharing in this case doesn’t mean there isn’t money exchanged, but rather that shared resources or assets are used. Most of us know the sharing economy through services such as Uber, Airbnb, and Dogvacay.
The result is the emergence of disruptive innovations (Christensen, 1997) allowing users to get rides (Uber) instead of using a taxi, vacation rentals (Airbnb) instead of booking a hotel, and petsitters (Dogvacay) instead of using a kennel, using apps and a mobile device that connects them to people offering the service. Often the services are less expensive and more convenient than the traditional alternatives. The service makes its money by taking a cut of the payment.
The growth in these services has led to the sharing economy and what is called Gig Culture. There is now a whole segment of the population that makes a living (or not) driving for Uber, renting out their apartment, running errands, etc., transaction by transaction. This type of contingent employment has resulted in new employment opportunities for many, but also has garnered concern that these employees are disadvantaged by not having permanent employment with the associated benefits. On the other hand, benefits for those workers include flexibility and independence, but those benefits can come at the cost of low pay and security. Hall & Krueger (2015) note in a study of Uber services “the availability of modern technology, like the Uber app, provides many advantages and lower prices for consumers compared with the traditional taxi cab dispatch system, and this has boosted demand for ride services, which, in turn, has increased total demand for workers with the requisite skills to work as for-hire drivers, potentially raising earnings for all workers with such skills.”
Sharing has always been a part of commerce but the Internet, cellular networks, and apps make it much easier. An increasingly popular application is crowd-funding. Sites such as Gofundme, Indiegogo, and Kickstarter allow individuals and groups to raise money for a variety of projects and goals. Gofundme is used for personal fundraising, such as raising money for medical expenses, funerals, and travel. Kickstarter, on the other hand, does not allow personal fundraising. The service is designed for artists, filmmakers, designers, and others to raise money for specific projects. Several high impact technologies got their start as Kickstarter campaigns including the Oculus Rift discussed earlier in the chapter and the Pebble Smartwatch. Most crowd-funding sites charge a 5% fee from the money raised. Usually the campaign has a goal including time and money. If the goal isn’t reached within the time, the funds are returned. Campaigners usually offer incentives to those who give such as experiences, tickets, the project item, and other types of swag.
The sharing economic has brought with it some unanticipated impacts. For example, ride sharing services like Uber and Lift have faced strong opposition from the Taxi industry. Cities like Rochester, NY and Miami prohibit Uber although they are both considering legislative changes to allow the service in 2016 (Hanks, 2016). In May 2016, Austin, Texas voters decided that Uber and Lyft drivers have to be fingerprinted and go through an FBI background check, causing both services to leave the city. Uber and Lyft drivers in New York City and Houston are fingerprinted (Vock, 2016).
Likewise, home sharing services like Airbnb are facing opposition from the hotel industry as well as residential communities who don’t want an influx of tourists.
Mobile Commerce and Virtual Currency
Most everyone has heard of e-commerce, defined as “a transaction over a computer mediated network that involves the transfer of ownership or rights to use goods or services (Brown, 2008, p. 294).” You can think of mobile commerce (m-commerce) as a subset of e-commerce. Instead of using a computer, a mobile device is used to purchase goods or services. The Mobile Marketing Association defines e-commerce as “the one or two-way exchange of value facilitated by a mobile consumer electronic device (e.g. mobile handset) which is enabled by wireless technologies and communication networks.” (MMA, 2016). There are three basic subsets of mobile commerce: mobile banking, apps to purchase goods and services, and mobile wallets. Mobile commerce offers the user time-critical transactions regardless of location. For example, if you need to book a hotel room while you are on a bus, you can do it with the hotels.com app.
Mobile banking is very convenient for users. About 46% of mobile phone owners used mobile banking services in 2015 (Statista, 2016). Using secure encrypted networks, users can manage bank accounts using a smart phone or tablet. These apps also allow the transfer of money. For example, a person can take a picture of a check and deposit that check using a smartphone.
Many e-commerce sites now have a mobile app for customers to use on tablets and smartphones. The apps are designed to give the best user experience on a smaller screen and are readily available at the Apple App store and Google Play.
Mobile wallet technology has been struggling to get a foothold in the market for some time. This service uses a short range wireless network technology called Near Field Communication (NFC). Using a NFC enabled smart phone, users can tap their phone on a payment terminal. Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay are examples of this technology. Apple Pay was available beginning with the iPhone 6 and 6 plus. Samsung Pay works with the Galaxy S7 and S6 series as well as the Galaxy Note. Samsung Pay also works with magnetic stripe terminals, unlike Apple Pay or Android Pay. The system uses magnetic secure transmission (MST) for this action and the technology was made by LoopPay, which Samsung acquired in 2015 (Savvides, 2016). With these wallets, users connect the wallet with their bank account or a credit card account. See Figure 24.5 for an example of Apple Pay.
The next generation in e-commerce may be virtual currency, defined by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as “a digital representation of value that can be digitally traded and functions as (1) a medium of exchange; and/or (2) a unit of account; and/or (3) a store of value, but does not have legal tender status in any jurisdiction. It… fulfills the above functions only by agreement within the community of users of the virtual currency (FAFT, 2014). Virtual currency is different from fiat currency (such as the US $) and e-money (a digital representation of fiat currency). There is also the term digital currency, which is either virtual currency or e-money. The most common virtual currency used as of 2016 is Bitcoin.
Apple Pay
Source
Conclusion
This chapter briefly reviewed four of the communication technologies that we didn’t get to fully cover in this edition. We’re hoping that your studies will introduce you to others. By the time the 16th edition of this book is published in 2018, there will be new communication technologies that haven’t even been developed at the time this book was published in mid-2016.
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