In today’s seemingly disconnected society, the world of virtual reality is leading us toward more meaningful interactions. But how? Virtual reality pioneer and sculptor, Dr. Jacquelyn Morie, shares her perspective on how immersive virtual environments have the power to bring people together in unexpected ways. Whether its purpose is to facilitate engagement through fun activities or to promote mental or physical healing, find out how the emotional connections built along the way can create a lasting, positive impact.

Key Takeaways:

[1:22] 30 years ago, virtual spaces were ghost towns. But Dr. Jacquelyn Morie saw the potential for more in these early virtual worlds. Her aim was to turn virtual spaces into the immersive spaces that she envisioned for her artwork.

[4:06] The emotional element was missing from early virtual spaces, and by adding meaning to these spaces, users began to create a context and representation of the culture that will inhabit it. When designing spaces for combat veterans who were dealing with PTSD, Dr. Morie learned that the space needed to be conceived by the veterans themselves to represent their culture.

[6:49] How can virtual reality keep people connected to Earth and their loved ones from more than 200  million miles away? The NASA Hi Seas project aims to do just that for astronauts preparing to go to Mars.

[10:33] Floating down a virtual river with friends or building a house together just might be the ticket to weathering challenging times in the real world. Dr. Morie weighs in on the benefits of engaging as an avatar in a mindfulness training center for active-duty soldiers.

[12:52] VR can also be used as distraction therapy. Snow World provides an effective distraction for children who are receiving pain treatment, resulting in limited opioid use and fewer treatments needed over time.

[14:09] Scent is one of the harder VR elements to control, but it’s also one of the most powerful. Dr. Morie shares the scent experience that transported her back to her childhood and began her journey to harness the power of scent in VR.

[17:20] Accessing deep-seated memories might unlock the mysteries of the brain that science has yet to explain, but smart technologies are still incredibly infantile compared to what our ancient brains are capable of doing.

[18:25] Is it possible that VR might be able to help people through their end-of-life journey? Old people's homes are already utilizing Google Maps to take people back to their childhood homes in an attempt to help with their final transition.

[19:18] The lines between virtual and actual reality continue to blur, challenging developers like Dr. Morie to continue working on ‘the good stuff’ that comes with augmented reality- including virtual humans.

[21:50] Making choices is at the heart of the human experience, and while we don’t know the future, we can guess about its trajectory and decide who we want to be in the new future of VR.

Quotes:

[3:49] “I knew virtual reality could be really effective in a way that nobody was thinking, which was the emotional component.” - Dr. Morie

[13:28] “I would say the best use of VR over the last 20 years is for these medical therapies.” - Dr. Morie

[13:55] “We’ve seen so much success in what we can do with virtual reality because it does allow you to help someone change a point of view.” -Dr. Morie

[18:14] “We are just beginning to connect what VR can do to what our brain can do.” -Dr. Morie

[21:40] “By the end of this, it’s really going to be something where it’s all just choices that make the most sense for what you’re trying to do or learn or be at that point in your life.” -Dr. Morie

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Mentioned:

• James Dodkins
• Dr. Jacquelyn Morie