Avatar Machine Applications
Owens' fascination regarding the boundaries between virtual and physical environments was instrumental in his design of the Avatar Machine. Much of his research focuses on how people behave differently within a virtual space from how they do in real life. The Avatar Machine blurs the lines between the digital and physical worlds, particularly for people who are familiar with third-person video games.
 Owens' costume, reminiscent of the MMORPG "World of Warcraft," might inspire human behavior studies or become the next big thing in high-tech toys. |
Sociologists and psychologists might find the Avatar Machine useful when studying human behavior. Owens theorizes that people might feel a diminished sense of social responsibility when wearing the Avatar Machine. He believes users might also feel a sense of invincibility when viewing themselves from a third-person perspective. Through the Avatar Machine, users might experience a sense of disconnection from their physical presence.
Out of Body, Back in Five Minutes Scientists are using techniques similar to the Avatar Machine to induce out-of-body experiences in normal, healthy subjects. At Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale, an education, research and technology institution in Lausanne, Switzerland, scientists used virtual reality gear
to give people the sensation of being in another body. In one version
of the experiment, each subject entered a room and put on a pair of
virtual reality goggles. A camera
behind the subject projected a virtual image of the person as if he or
she were standing six feet in front of him or herself. A scientist
would gently touch the subject using a stick while the subject viewed a
video feed of a virtual stick stroking the illusory image of his or her
body. Many subjects reported a sense of being inside the illusory
bodies several feet away. Similar experiments have shown that when
different sensory data -- like sight and touch -- don't match up, the
sense of being within a physical body can disappear [source: New York Times]. |
Owens thinks that the disconnected feeling users experience could lead to interesting behaviors, many of which are rare in real life but common in the world of video games. Users might become less self-conscious and behave in ways they normally wouldn't in public. This behavior could range from dancing and striking silly poses to acting like a bully toward other people.
Another application for the Avatar Machine is as a form of entertainment. The Avatar Machine has the potential to become a high-tech game or toy. When users tested the Avatar machine, Owens observed that they seemed to enjoy possessing the physical characteristics and traits of a creature much larger and more powerful than themselves. He also saw that many of them had fun observing the reactions of passers-by. It's not hard to imagine the Avatar Machine becoming a curiosity at a high-tech amusement park.
To learn more about the Avatar Machine and related subjects, follow the links on the next page.
