Zima Red ep 138: Ben Desai - The Future of Augmented & Virtual Reality
Primer: Ben Desai has front row seats to augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies. What’s the state of AR and VR technologies today? What cool stuff has been invented? What are the use cases? Let’s find out in this episode of Zima Red.
Background
Started as a graphic designer
Did a Masters for Media Design
Worked on AR apps for Google Glass
Started creating filters for social media using Facebook's Spark AR
Why Is Google Glass Not AR?
It was more like notifications in front of you instead of actual AR
Google Glass is more of a wearable tech
Defining AR And VR
AR augments the natural world you see
VR involves putting on a headset, being in a completely different separate space that has no connection to reality
Getting Started With AR
Found it magical
“Like if you grew up playing Pokemon or YuGiOh cards, and they throw them down, these holograms come out, seemingly into real life. That was all of a sudden possible.”
- Ben Desai
One of the first few people who got access to Facebook AR
Believes that it is the technology of the future
Thinks that AR will be experienced through glasses or contacts
Will AR Glasses Replace Phones?
Don’t think phones will fully go away
Phones may end up as intermediary devices that powers up the glasses
Getting Early Access To AR Tech
While working at a social media company, he was always checking out what’s new
When he first knew of the AR beta program, he signed up for it
Could point to the work that he has done in the past, helping him to gain access
Mass Adoption Of AR And VR
Hopeful that the Apple glasses will be done correctly
Once they are out, developers will start developing and creating on it
Thinks that it will be mixed reality (both AR and VR)
Will People Use AR Or VR More?
VR, as it is free from the distractions of the environment
With VR, people are able to manipulate the objects with just their hands, making it user friendly
What Is He Building?
Doing 3D work — could be a filter or stuff that goes into a Metaverse
Have a VR group that meets every 2 weeks
Uses Gravity Sketch, a completely free tool
What Is The Metaverse?
When Zuckerberg started talking about the metaverse, he had a vision of what it would be in 10 years
Zuckerberg’s vision aligned with what he has experienced
Most platforms who called themselves Metaverse were not even VR accessible
The Metaverse involves creating a tighter, easier to use, and more comfortable connection between our whole digital lives and digital possibilities and the real world
AR Use Cases
Current use cases include filters
Replacing user manuals with AR
VR Use Cases
Love working in 3D in VR and meeting people in VR
“And in VR, we can literally build stuff together. You can be working on a giant mechanical creature and you could be working on the face, I could be working on the feet. It's just a really satisfying way to work together and work super quickly.”
- Ben Desai
Excited about the realism that’s coming to VR (e.g. feeling bodily sensation, heat, etc.)
AR/VR And Remote Work
Working remotely is useful. Can imagine putting VR headsets in the office
It also depends on the type of job
Interaction With Nature In VR
One of his early VR experiences was walking on a shipwreck at the bottom of the ocean
Knew about three others who jumped backwards when a whale’s tail came down on them
People are having the exact same reactions in VR as if it is really happening in real life
Craziest Thing He Has Seen
There’s a company called Perceptus, that specialises in bringing AI contextual scene understanding into tablets and phones
Have seen near real-time uses of AI to replace things in videos
The tech was revealed last year in January
Thoughts On AI And Its Impact On XR
There was a viral TikTok filter that uses ultraviolet (UV)
This scared him as he made filters. He does not need to physically do anything as it’s just code
Made him think 2 steps ahead — Using AI as reference or to prototype an idea
On Games
When Unreal Engine 5 came out, a team of one can create a game that looks like a Triple A game
With AI, people can sit there and use it to do so many different things
Impact Of AI On The Job Market
It freaks him out a little bit
Think that real handcrafted things will increase in value (e.g. art, furniture, etc.)
AI Content
There are AI influencers that have tons of followers
This will continue to happen as businesses want full control over their talent
The rights will be collected from the current stars
Bullish And Bearish On?
Bearish
The term Metaverse
Bullish
All his interests, personal life, and work aligns in the same direction
Best Advice He Received
To do things consistently
Getting into something and starting right away instead of putting it off till tomorrow
What Motivates Him?
Curiosity
All information presented above is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice. Summaries are prepared by The Reading Ape. While reasonable efforts are made to provide accurate content, any errors in interpreting and summarizing the source material are ours alone. We disclaim any liability associated with the use of our content.