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Virtual worlds are real business: how gaming technology is changing the future
Gaming technologies have long ceased to be just entertainment. Today, they are becoming a powerful tool for transforming business, industry and learning. Troy Kirwin of a16z Games shares his big idea for 2025: interactive 3D and gaming technologies will go far beyond the entertainment industry and become the foundation of new digital processes.
If you think back to the development of the internet - first it was text, then images, video, and now the era of interactive 3D is coming. Games are complex virtual simulations that have been created for decades for fun, but more and more often we see these technologies being applied to real-world tasks: personnel training, training of autonomous systems, architectural visualization, and much more.
By: Cyril Pigore | Co-founder at GatherTeam.Online
If you think back to the development of the internet - first it was text, then images, video, and now the era of interactive 3D is coming. Games are complex virtual simulations that have been created for decades for fun, but more and more often we see these technologies being applied to real-world tasks: personnel training, training of autonomous systems, architectural visualization, and much more.
By: Cyril Pigore | Co-founder at GatherTeam.Online
From games to business: the journey of Nvidia and other leaders
Many people know Nvidia as the company that is setting trends in artificial intelligence and computing today. But few people remember that Nvidia was originally a gaming company, creating graphics cards for gamers. It was gaming technology that laid the foundation for the development of GPUs, which today are used in a variety of applications, from cryptocurrency mining to biological research.
Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, notes that revenue from the gaming segment has funded the research and development that has made today's breakthroughs possible. The gaming community, with its “hacker” mentality, has become a true forge for innovation, which then spreads to other industries.
Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, notes that revenue from the gaming segment has funded the research and development that has made today's breakthroughs possible. The gaming community, with its “hacker” mentality, has become a true forge for innovation, which then spreads to other industries.
Technology trends changing the world
Today, we can distinguish three key trends that drive the development of virtual technologies:
- Content creation. More than half of the costs in the gaming industry go into the creation of assets and art. In other areas that don't have in-house 3D artists, this is especially acute. But with the advent of AI to generate images, audio and 3D models, the process has become much easier and cheaper.
- 3D scanning and capturing the real world. Photogrammetry and 360-degree imagery used to be used, but they didn't allow for full interaction with the environment. New technologies such as Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF) and GAN Splatting make it possible to create photorealistic and lifelike 3D models in near real time.
- Devices and XR. The cost of VR/AR headsets is dropping and the quality is rising - lightweight glasses with gaze tracking and other innovations are emerging. This opens up new opportunities for learning, design, and training.
Applications in business and science
Companies like Anduril and Tesla are using game engines and AI for strategic simulations and autonomous systems. Virtual simulations allow for scalable learning, modeling rare and extreme situations that cannot be replicated in the real world, from extreme weather to human error.
Applied Intuition, for example, through its scalable simulations, is breaking new ground in training and testing autonomous systems, something that was previously unavailable.
Applied Intuition, for example, through its scalable simulations, is breaking new ground in training and testing autonomous systems, something that was previously unavailable.
Artificial Intelligence and new possibilities
In games, traditional NPCs (non-player characters) were programmed by scripts. Today, AI NPCs can independently perceive the environment, reason, plan and interact with each other. This enables multi-agent simulations for complex tasks ranging from pandemics to migrations.
Modern tools such as NVIDIA Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE), Inworld AI, and Unreal Engine 5 enable the creation of photorealistic and emotionally adaptive characters that make interactions as natural as possible.
Modern tools such as NVIDIA Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE), Inworld AI, and Unreal Engine 5 enable the creation of photorealistic and emotionally adaptive characters that make interactions as natural as possible.
Immersive VR experiences of the future
Neural interfaces allow virtual environments to be controlled by the power of thought - without controllers or movements. VR headsets already exist today with EEG sensors that read brain activity and translate it into commands.
Feedback is evolving towards haptic devices that create tactile sensations throughout the body - a dream for gamers and VR users.
Feedback is evolving towards haptic devices that create tactile sensations throughout the body - a dream for gamers and VR users.
Gaming technologies and virtual worlds are no longer just entertainment - they are becoming a real business and a transformational tool. Innovations born in gamification are finding application in education, industry, medicine and many other spheres.
Our world is on the threshold of a new era, where the boundaries between the virtual and the real are blurring and technology is opening up unprecedented opportunities for business and society.
Our world is on the threshold of a new era, where the boundaries between the virtual and the real are blurring and technology is opening up unprecedented opportunities for business and society.
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