A woman with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was bedridden with a long illness.
And her dying wish was so out of reach – to see the Grand Canyon of the United States.
Is it really out of reach?
Obviously not!
Thanks to VR, the woman in her hospital bed can still experience the beauty of the Grand Canyon as if she were there.
Bring VR, Go Escape
The woman, Brenda Polson, suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for many years and was diagnosed with stage four, which will eventually lead to advanced COPD.
And she had only one wish that had not been fulfilled on the sickbed, and that was to see the Grand Canyon once.
Polson’s daughter Elizabeth said, “She’s always wanted to see it.”
And she, who has been in bed for a long time, is obviously unable to travel far in terms of energy or physical condition. At present, she is lying in a hospice bed all day long, unable to get off the ground.
We have heard many similar stories – the NBA basketball team signed a one-day contract with the child alone in order to help a child with leukemia realize his basketball dream; the football team let the terminally ill child take part in penalty kicks…
In all this, we witness the burning warmth in the hearts of individuals who have the power to help others.
Now, a company called Rendever has learned about Polson. The company’s community director, David Stoller, offered to help Polson realize this dream.
Founded in 2016, the company focuses on providing social experiences in VR.
Polson will definitely mention this company to everyone in the future. It was Rendever who made her see the magnificent Grand Canyon.
Stoller wrote in his autobiography, “I joined Rendever because I wanted to combine the most advanced technology with the aging industry. The elderly should also enjoy the charm of technology and do things they thought impossible before. . And VR technology is a key part.”
Once everything was in place, Rendever set about arranging Polson’s virtual “canyon tour.”
Polson told her daughter and son-in-law about the amazing journey.
She saw that the clouds in the sky became like fire under the reflection of the sunset, and the mountains and mountains reflected each other from far and near;
Tourists in groups of three or five climb up a certain mountain top and look down, and the river at the bottom of the valley zigzags and twists and turns;
The mountain peaks seem to have been finely carved, showing bright red light and shadow under the sunset.
Her daughter said afterwards, “Although I know that my mother just wore a VR headset and we were objectively in the same room, I knew we were going on an adventure together, enjoying the Grand Canyon together.”
She said her mother had the happiest time of her life.
Polson “walks” through the Grand Canyon while still telling jokes.
She was completely shocked. She looked here and there, and couldn’t get enough of it.
“And then we were teasing her on the side, look left! Look right! Then my mother would listen to us and look down at the bottom of the valley for a while, and a deer suddenly appeared, a strangely shaped piece of Stones or something, and of course the occasional creek.”
Who would have thought that so many scenery, in fact, only 5 minutes have passed.
Later, Rendever’s Stoller said, “We were also very moved to see that she really got what she wanted. I was even more convinced that everything Rendever did was meaningful.”
Fighting back tears in an interview, Elizabeth said, “This is the whole world to my mom. It’s the only thing we can do for her in her hospital bed.”
There is no doubt that this wonderful experience made Polson happier, and he was always smiling while lying on the hospital bed.
Not only because she finally saw the scenery of the Grand Canyon, but more importantly, her family was by her side.
finally see you
Coincidentally, VR is helping people realize some distant dreams.
In 2020, a mother from South Korea, Jang Ji-sung, once again saw her daughter, who has been dead for more than 3 years.
Ang Ji-sung originally had a lovely daughter, but his own daughter Nayeon died of terminally ill blood cancer 6 years ago at the age of 7.
She has been deeply guilty and reluctant, and wanted to see Nayeon again.
In order to help the mother and daughter reunite again, a VR studio in South Korea collected Nayeon’s appearance, appearance and voice, and spent 8 months making a VR game that belongs only to his mother, Jang Ji-sung.
The researchers also restored a virtual real scene based on a park that the mother and daughter had visited in real life, so that the two could meet again.
When Ji-sung put on the VR headset and saw his daughter, he burst into tears, tears streaming down one side of his cheeks.
The mother always wanted to hug Nayeon with her hands, and at the invitation of her daughter, they played together in the virtual park and spent a 3-year birthday with her.
The two sang the birthday song together, made a wish and blew out the candles together.
It is worth mentioning that Ji-sung can not only see Nayeon through the VR headset, but also touch her and even hear her real voice with the help of haptic gloves.
At the last parting moment, Nayeon gave her mother a flower, then lay down and said that she was tired and that she would always love her mother.
The two said goodbye to each other and Nayeon went to sleep.
The mother watched her transform into a beautiful white butterfly, circling around her several times until she disappeared.
Jang Ji-sung said in an interview,
“Maybe this is the real paradise, I met Nayeon and she called my mom with a smile. It was a short time, but it was a happy time and I think I have the dream I always wanted.”
There are many similar stories in the world.
temperature of the metaverse
It can be said that VR/AR is the threshold to enter the metaverse.
How far are they currently?
In addition to vision, in terms of hearing and touch, how long will it take to achieve the same real feeling as the real world?
Just like in “Ready Player One”, the male and female protagonists can feel each other’s temperature on the dance floor.
No matter which step it takes, at least for now, many big tech companies and researchers are working hard to do it.
Previously, Meta teamed up with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to develop a lightweight, touch-sensing robot “skin” that could give robots a sense of touch.
The quest for artificial skin is part of a broader robotics experiment in 2019 by Meta’s artificial intelligence division.
Can be used for virtual objects in the metaverse, giving us tactile sensations when interacting with them.
On the haptic side, Meta also revealed its secret seven-year-old project, the Aerodynamic Haptic Glove. This haptic glove can let you experience the real touch of grasping virtual objects through airbags.
For Meta, the glove, along with other wearable technologies, will lead us to a future of interaction in VR and AR.
In addition, what is even more incredible is that researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are still in the metaverse and reproduce the “kiss”.
Researchers have developed a hardware module on the Meta Quest 2 headset that allows users to experience the tactile sensations of drinking water, brushing teeth, and kissing in VR.
It is with the technology of VR that a 58-year-old terminally ill woman realizes her last wish to see the Grand Canyon before her death, and a Korean mother reunites with her daughter who passed away three years ago…
In fact, these tearful stories are not the only ones we have seen.
The temperature in the Metaverse, close your eyes and experience it~
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