DIGITAL MAYA BAZAAR!

It is just over 60 years this month, since that epic Telugu and Tamil film, Maya Bazaar starring N.T. Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Gemini Ganesh and Savitri was released. In its use of the special effects in that era to create a mythological fantasy world, the film was a path breaker. As a child I watched wide-eyed as S.V. Ranga Rao playing Gatotkacha, grew in size to swallow the stream of laddoos in the song Vivaha Bhojanambu. It was a stunning precursor to future developments in creating a fantasy world. Yesterday: Movie Maya. Today: Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR).

While VR is a computer imulated reality that replaces the real world, AR augments the real world with computer-generated graphics, video and sound. One is all virtual, the other is real with some virtual add-ons. Just as we thought we had all that figured out, they have coined another buzz word, Mixed Reality, for what is a mix of VR and AR, also known as hybrid reality, where the real and virtual worlds morph to create a whole new environment.

This is not all fun-n-games, but serious science. Indian players like Navi Mumbaibased D-Ammo Imagineering have been in the forefront of these new technologies, crafting VR sequences for global games like Assassins Creed Indian movies like Phillauri. “MR is a generation ahead of early VR efforts”, says DAmmo co-founder Indraneel Guha, “It will bring a new level of immersive experiences to consumers and professional users alike.”

At the Computex show in Taipei, Taiwan last week, Microsoft unveiled the first MR headsets made to design by Acer, Dell, Asus and others. These will be available to developers by August. The Acer headset and motion controller kit costs $399 (`26,000) and works with Windows 10. And at its World Wide Developer Conference in San Jose, California, last week, Apple entered the MR arena after avoiding the headset route. Instead it plans to use its huge installed base of iPhones and iPads overlaid with AR software called ARKit. Which approach will survive the shakeout? We don’t know yet, the consumers will decide.

Microsoft unveiled the first MR headsets made to design by Acer, Dell, Asus and others. These will be available to developers by August