Movies such as "The Hot Chick" starring Rob Schneider, "Face Off" starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, "Freaky Friday" starring Lindsay Lohan, and other body swap movies have always tickled the imagination of people. The "what if you can be here and I can be there?" question has been answered only in movies but a new experiment using the virtual reality headset Oculus Rift is now making it a reality.
As part of "The Machine to be Another" project of BeAnotherLab, the Gender Swap experiment allowed male participants to see things from the perspective of a female counterpart.
"In order to create the brain illusion we use the immersive Head Mounted Display Oculus Rift, and first-person cameras. To create this perception, both users have to synchronize their movements. If one does not correspond to the movement of the other, the embodiment experience does not work," the investigators wrote on MTBA blog. " It means that both users have to constantly agree on every movement they make. Through out this experiment, we aim to investigate issues like Gender Identity, Queer Theory, feminist technoscience, Intimacy and Mutual Respect."
According to them, the experiment uses the available technology as platform to explore embodiment experience.
During the act of gender swapping, one is designated as the user while the other acts as the performer. Through the displays of the Oculus Rift, the user sees the stream of video as if on the position of the performer.
The planned and synchronized movements trick the brain and somehow "places" the other person inside the other's body. The user will also be able to hear the thoughts of the performer fed through a headset to complete the experience of having someone speaking in your head. So, the actor during embodiment experiments calls the shots, shares stories, and interprets experiences and in effect teach people about opening up to understand things from different perspectives and contexts.
While the actions of the male and female participants are not perfectly synchronized, it is somehow a step closer to fulfill the vision of Marc Andreessen of investment firm Andreessen Horowitz on how the Oculus Rift will change its user's experiences.
"We believe Oculus will not only alter the gaming landscape but will redefine fundamental human experiences in areas like film, education, architecture, and design. Oculus is at the tip of the iceberg of its potential, and we're incredibly excited to help them change the world," said Andreessen, one of the board of directors of Oculus VR, in a statement in Dec.
Click on the video below and see the experiment in action [Warning: there is some form of nudity]:
