Virtual reality used to transfer men's minds into a woman's body

Researchers projected men's sense of self into a virtual reality woman, changing the way they behaved and thought

Men who took part in the virtual reality experiment said it felt as if they occupied the woman's body. They even flinched when she was slapped.

Hmm... must be pretty realistic then I guess?

Scientists have transferred men's minds into a virtual woman's body in an experiment that could enlighten the prejudiced and shed light on how humans distinguish themselves from others.

In a study at Barcelona University, men donned a virtual reality (VR) headset that allowed them to see and hear the world as a female character. When they looked down they could even see their new body and clothes.

The "body-swapping" effect was so convincing that the men's sense of self was transferred into the virtual woman, causing them to react reflexively to events in the virtual world in which they were immersed.

Men who took part in the experiment reported feeling as though they occupied the woman's body and even gasped and flinched when she was slapped by another character in the virtual world.

"This work opens up another avenue for virtual reality, which is not just to transform your sense of place, but also your sense of self," said Mel Slater, a virtual reality researcher at the Catalan Institute of Research and Advanced Studies and University College London. "There isn't any other technology that allows you to look down and see another body that isn't yours and give you the illusion that it is," he said.

Read the full article here

I don't know if I'd really want to look down and see another body that's not mine and have some illusion making me think it actually is mine... especially if it's of the opposite sex. Don't get me wrong, I'm not insecure about my body or my sexuality, but having the sense that I've switched into the body of the opposite sex would be a bit odd to say the least, wouldn't you say?

I'm thinking this could have some possible positive benefits though. I'm wondering if maybe someone who hasn't been able to walk would be able to put this virtual reality tech on and actually feel like they are standing once again, or maybe eventually having the tech advanced enough to feel like they're walking if sensors are used to make the muscles in the body react to movement. But that's not what they're using it for currently so I don't know.

Either way, interesting technology.

so, if i flinch due to a surprising ambush in Half Life, i swapped my body for Gordon Freeman's?

reacting to a stimulus is natural and the sensation of being slapped isn't very gender specific is it? iow, what's the fuss about?

I'd find that rather fun to try. I have no problem being a "virtual women." Lawl.

I'm not a women so it would be a fun experience, I mean I'm a man and I enjoy being one and can be one when ever I please

So, why not play around as a girl for awhile

I'm open minded and comfortable enough with the idea

reply to post by Scarcer

I'm open minded and comfortable enough with the idea

For sure, and why even stop at humans? You can be anything you want in virtual reality...this still seems like its a long way off the real thing though...

[edit on 18/5/10 by CHA0S]

Every time I see an article about VR something or other, they always show someone strapped into a big set of goggles...who cares!!! The only thing that really matters is what the VR graphics look like, how immersive it is. We all know what some dude in VR goggles looks like, that's completely uninteresting. The only thing that matters is how realistic the alternate world actually is.

reply to post by highlyoriginal


Some similar research you might enjoy .

This features Professor Marcus du Sautoy from a BBC documentary called The Secret You.

In this clip they experiment with out of body experiences in an attempt to locate the `true self`. Virtual reality technology is also employed here .



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Another fascinating related experiment ..... considerably lo -tech.



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Thanks for posting this article : highlyoriginal

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Originally posted by CHA0S
reply to post by Scarcer

 

I'm open minded and comfortable enough with the idea

For sure, and why even stop at humans? You can be anything you want in virtual reality...this still seems like its a long way off the real thing though...

[edit on 18/5/10 by CHA0S]

Right! I wanna try being a bird. Flying would be awesome. Oh wait... then I might get shot by a hunter

just no pigeons, ducks, geese or pheasants

reply to post by Long Lance


Jeah I was thinking the same thing.

What does it matter if the personage was female or not?

this is pretty amazing. It reminds me of Otherland by Tad Williams.

Thanks for the post!

reply to post by highlyoriginal


wow! I guess I get to be superman in superman 10 the movie

Originally posted by CHA0S
...this still seems like its a long way off the real thing though...
[edit on 18/5/10 by CHA0S]

Ideally, VR should be something like how it was portrayed in the tv series "Caprica", where it was completely indistinguishable from reality.

I got the impression it worked by putting the player in something like a computer-controlled lucid dream state.

We're still quite away from that level of immersion though.

reply to post by Junkheap

Ideally, VR should be something like how it was portrayed in the tv series "Caprica", where it was completely indistinguishable from reality.

I don't think I've seen the series. But have you ever seen Ghost in the Shell? It's an anime series. The first movie was the best IMO.

The perfect type of virtual reality is where we can intercept the electrical signals being transmitted by all our different sensory intake equipment. We then replace the signals with anything we want, we can totally alter the reality they experience to any degree imaginable, and it would seem 100%, flawlessly genuine. Because you aren't trying to use cheap tricks, you're actually sending artificial signals to the brain - and think about it, the entire reality you experience at this moment, was generated by electrical signals which were sent to your brain, and then interpreted by your brain. So whilst it would all seem completely realistic, your body wouldn't move at all, because any signals which your brain sends to parts of your body would be intercepted, and used to determine what you do in the virtual reality.

I was watching a documentary once that theorized nanobots would be able to accomplish this. By embedding, and extending onto the neural networks of the brain, using artificial nanobot networks. In simple terms, embedding nanobot supercomputers into your brain. But the absolutely magnificent thing about nanobots, is that they can actively and dynamically rearrange themselves. That gives us a real advantage. For instance, if the engineers released a hardware update for a certain nanobot structure, the change can instantly be applied without having to open up your head and put the new hardware in.

[edit on 18/5/10 by CHA0S]

I got as far as flinching when woman was slapped... could they do their test any other way or was it an excuse to slap a #

Originally posted by CHA0S

You can be anything you want in virtual reality...this still seems like its a long way off the real thing though...

I had to laugh at this, "real thing?" Virtural reality will never be the real thing. That is why it's called virtual reality!

I can't wait to try this out. Being able to feel what it would be like to be another person, or creature, could possibly help people feel more compassion, outside of being a heck of a lot of fun!

reply to post by highlyoriginal


The true test of the veracity of the experiment would be if the men had an overwhelming urge to talk to each other about how they felt about the experiment for the rest of the day. I love women because they are different. I don't want to know how they think, or why they do what they do. It would strip away the mystery. What a bummer that would be. Plus as soon as men figured out what was going on women would change the rules anyway.

reply to post by highlyoriginal


I would like this even better if the men
had to go through pregnancy and delivery!

reply to post by Blanca Rose


I meant "real" virtual reality technology...as I discuss in my above post, which you'll see if you just scroll up a little bit.

vr will certainly become more engrossing to the player, allowing oneself to see through the game bodies first hand perpective as well as being coupled with the ability of movement and other senses that could be encountered throughout that game making them ever more realistic.

great to see where they will lead to for future use.

Originally posted by highlyoriginal
I don't know if I'd really want to look down and see another body that's not mine and have some illusion making me think it actually is mine... especially if it's of the opposite sex.

What do you think it is like going through life like that naturally? Male body, female brain, femme spirit, and I don't mean being a homosexual. Finally, there is scientific proof about this phenomena. Is it worth living life like this backwords?

Sacrifice or Transcend? Male body, female brain, need advice

Maybe as more proof exists then there will be a cure besides to hope for life after death. Ungodly surgery and transexualism isn't an answer. The virtual reality experience noted by the article can just prove the psychological effects -- various.

Originally posted by Blanca Rose
I had to laugh at this, "real thing?" Virtural reality will never be the real thing. That is why it's called virtual reality!

You obviously misunderstand what virtual means. It doesn't mean "fake" like you think. You can play your 3D video games, and you can reach out in front of you and touch a screen of various colors being changed in front of your eyes. It's all real. Even as the technology advances, it's still real but it may not look like a harmless monitor.

Originally posted by CHA0S
I was watching a documentary once that theorized nanobots would be able to accomplish this. By embedding, and extending onto the neural networks of the brain, using artificial nanobot networks. In simple terms, embedding nanobot supercomputers into your brain. But the absolutely magnificent thing about nanobots, is that they can actively and dynamically rearrange themselves. That gives us a real advantage. For instance, if the engineers released a hardware update for a certain nanobot structure, the change can instantly be applied without having to open up your head and put the new hardware in.

Doesn't that give a whole new look at hallucination? Read the questions in my other thread:

Nanobots: mystical, yet a drug?

Instead of a keyboard and joystick or some weird headset and goggles, you just take a pill of nanobots and they overcome your senses.

Then maybe they'll eventually crawl back out onto the ground near you and transform to like a coin slot... where you deposit money for another play on the jukebox... or junkybox. But... seriously...

If nanobots could be used to fix someone's chromosomes, it might be worth it. Intersexuals would finally find relief.