Ready Player... You? Welcome to the Virtual Reality revolution

Virtual reality –  just another bone of contention between screen-addicted adolescents and their frazzled parents? Or can the inherent characteristics of VR, communicating at a distance but in a space that feels intimate, be harnessed to really revolutionise the way we interact? Can avatars, digital representations of ourselves, foster empathy or are they yet another medium providing a cloak of anonymity that can be abused? And are deep fakes about to go 3D? Dr Salvador Alvidrez, Marie Curie Research Fellow at Queen’s University Belfast is interested in the socio-psychological effects of communication technologies. He is looking at VR and its role in tackling prejudice. Can we use VR to walk around in someone else’s shoes? Fancy a digital twin? Dr Verónica Orvalho’s company Didmo has patented technology to generate digital humans. Her inventions have been used by Microsoft, Universal and Sony and others. But how can the general public make the most of VR? I2CAT is making the tech cheaper and more immersive. Sergi Ferandez explains how. For more info on the projects featured, visit: https://europa.eu/!YtfHQf

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