blooloop: I’ve been a bit quiet during this period of social distancing. I’ve been thinking of how AV will endure after the threat of COVID-19 has passed. It’s made me reflect on a few things in terms of how we approach AV, and how some of us in the industry have been truly preparing for this for some time now.
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One thing is abundantly clear about this pandemic: we cannot return to what we thought was "normal". This article specifically tackles how the AV industry could play a role in the new normal, and they provide some interesting insights. First of all, across all industries we have to limit the shared surfaces we touch. This is discussed thoroughly in the article when it comes to VR headsets and, in particular, touch screen monitors. I think the world of touch screen menus is going to disappear after this pandemic (or at least I think they should). First of all, the lengths that people will go to just not talk to a server is beyond me, but I think we will be seeing more in-person ordering at these places that have screens. However, I have had the PRIVILEGE of living near Wawa stores, and have grown accustom to using the app to do my ordering. This completely eliminates the problem, and in the IoT world we are developing it is certainly not a unreal scenario to switch to. Overall, we will need to do better about the shared surfaces we come in contact with, but AV and other tech can help.
This article poses interesting issues. As someone who has participated in interactive experiences and questioned the cleanliness of things like foam-rimmed VR goggles that are wiped down with Lysol (though they did not inject participants with this disenfectant for some strange reason...) or touch screens that have seen many a hand. I wonder if there will be a shift, as discussed in this article, when it comes to interactive artistic experiences. Will artists be more inclined to develop experiences that rely on contactless technology? Some examples that they mentioned of this are the mapping techniques or using infra red technology to ensure that participants are not coming into contact with any surfaces that others have came into contact with. This also makes me wonder about things like playgrouds at places like McDondald's. People already knew that they were infested with germs but I wonder if people will approach interactive communal experiences more cautiously when things being to see some semblance of normalcy.
People keep mentioning ‘the new normal’ and how this pandemic may fundamentally change some things about our lives moving forward. I think this article was an interesting look at how this may be the catalyst that forces us to start moving into a more contactless society, not necessarily with each other but with the everyday objects around us, and particularly in the field of entertainment. People may be willing to risk their lives touching a grocery cart handle, but that doesn’t necessarily also apply for interactive entertainment experiences, which are simply not on the same level of necessity. Technology is going to be really pivotal in this societal change, if it does happen - fewer communal touch screens, possibly, and maybe more things designed around contact only with your phone and other pieces of personal technology that then interface with others. It will be interesting to look at society a few years from now and catalogue any changes to how we live our lives that may have occurred, assuming we’re allowed outside by then.
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