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During VRARA’s SF chapter launch, author and visionary Shel Israel discussed how younger generations are shaping technology and business, as both consumers and innovators.
Then at last month’s NYC chapter launch, we got to see this principle demonstrated in the flesh. 12-year old Asher Weintraub provided a VR crash course and glimpse into his own work.
“I’ve been interested in VR ever since Palmer Luckey put the Oculus Rift on Kickstarter in 2012,” he said. “I didn’t have one until a couple months ago, and I started developing demos.”
As an Oculus developer, he’s looking at film and gaming applications. But echoing Robert Scoble, he’s also eyeing longer-term socially-valuable areas like travel and healthcare.
“In travel, people can preview a location before visiting it,” he said. “In medical visits, doctors will be able to look around in a 3D-scan of a patient to provide a more accurate diagnosis.”
For now, he’s focused on realistic movement in gaming, more seamless scene transitions (reducing nausea), and hands. The latter is the first thing people look for in VR, he asserts.
The video is embedded below if you feel like inspiration from a 12-year old. At the cusp of generation Z, he’s a glimpse into the VR/AR innovation the world will soon get to witness.
Meanwhile, remember this kid’s name.