THE AVATAR XPRIZE NEXT DOOR

image via www.xprize.org

Winners of Avatar Xprize: You, an Avatar, or both?

BoomerPdx Insider Andy Collen of Happy Trials Animation broke the Avatar Xprize news.

From Andy’s linkedin post, “The Future Is Avatars:”

Just this month I have had the privilege of working on Avatar XPRIZE, innovation designed to unite science, technology and entertainment for the greater good.

On this blog we like science, technology and entertainment, separate or together.

We also like the ‘greater good.’

What’s better than the greater good?

Generational reference as a historical guidepost helps everyone keep their place.

The XGen started the gaming interface world and now Y, Millennial, and the new Z generations have pulled it into a world of reality.  

Baby Boomers had games, too. Life, Monopoly, Chutes and Ladders, helped us learn our way in the world.

(Is it better to have more lower and medium price properties, or aim high for Park Place and Boardwalk?)

Video games in 2016 aren’t the same.

Best-Selling Games in the US for June 2016

1. Overwatch (does not include PC Battle.net sales)
2. Grand Theft Auto V
3. Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens
4. Doom (does not include digital sales)
5. Mirror’s Edge Catalyst
6. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (does not include digital sales)
7. NBA 2K16
8. Call of Duty: Black Ops III
9. Destiny: The Taken King
10. Minecraft (does not include digital sales)

Andy gets it right with, “As the Real World collides with Virtual Reality, we are clearly headed into unknown territory.”

Visioneer and chief Dr. Harry Kloor invited us to work with his XPRIZE team to generate visual communication for his competition presentation. Dr. Kloor believes human skills are the key to solving the world’s problems. He proposes building a means for humans to interface with Avatars — to port into empty Avatars any where in the world, anytime. Unite Reality and Virtual Reality (VR) at will. What is this new Reality with Avatars and what does it mean for science, industry and the general public?

Good question, right? Would you rather have a self driving car, or one driven by an Avatar? Ride in an automated airplane, or one piloted by an avatar?

In this instance, the term Avatar is not talking about the little placeholder picture representing you on Twitter or Facebook. This Avatar would be a Reality — something once depicted in movies like Avatar, AI or Bladerunner but with humans at the helm. This is an entirely new movement via XPRIZE — a world changing solution to unite us with our dreams, desires and responsibilities.

If the airline industry moved on to avatar pilots, wouldn’t you want Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger at the controls? His words: “The facts tell us what to do and how to do it, but it is our humanity which tells us that we must do something and why we must do it.”

It’s a shared humanity that drives people like Dr. Kloor to find ways to help others.

From Andy:

Avatars designed to handle deep sea underwater pressure could now be controlled by a person sitting at home in Gary, Indiana. A world where your skill and knowledge behind the controls is what you are hired for. Doctors from many countries could immediately respond and help victims from catastrophes in another simply by accessing available Avatars at-the-ready.

Does it seem too futuristic, too fantasy, to put on the gear for Avatar action in your Portland living room, and show up in Haiti, in Syria, in any place of dire need?

When you mix gaming interface, VR worlds and broadband WiFi with robot technology, you end up with a New Reality.  

Can you expect an Avatar Xprize winner to move in next door? Weirder things happen.

What if a high powered, jet setting, dynamo wants a little down time, some ‘normal life’ time?

When that happens, expect to see that Avatar Xprize winner taking out the garbage, mowing the yard, doing laundry, you know, normal stuff the big guys hire out.

Be friendly, be a good neighbor, when they come over to borrow your blower.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5qpamZ_MqM