HN Explorer

12 comments

[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 32.7 ms ] thread
lwneal
You need a swivel chair and a one meter radius of empty space. You need to touch-type, and you can't use a mouse (you point your head instead). You have to learn a system of hand gestures. But if you can adapt to the constraints, a VR workstation allows you to bypass limits like Fitt's Law [1] so you can work "at the speed of thought". Just like vim or emacs, VR is slower and more difficult at first. But in the long run, using it provides an advantage, and so it will be used.

Will the future of VR productivity be open-source projects like SimulaVR? [2] Or will it all be part of Facebook's Metaverse? [3]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitts%27s_law

[2] https://github.com/SimulaVR/Simula

[3] https://tech.fb.com/connect-2021-our-vision-for-the-metavers...

beecafe
Can it really surpass Fitt's law? So far it seems like VR/AR UI designers take it into account
kanetw
You don't need to touch type, since AR passthrough is available. And a mouse is supported as well (probably the best method of pointer input; hands are too unreliable and tiring for continuous movements). Eye tracking might be a mouse alternative, though.
seanmcdirmid
> VR workstation allows you to bypass limits like Fitt's Law

How does VR allow one to bypass Fitt’s law? I find target acquisition even harder in 3D settings, which really is only compensated for by having very large targets in VR UIs.

mungoman2
I'm interested in this product, but won't participate in the Kickstarter raiser. Imo Kickstarter is not the right platform for expensive products like this one. The risk is all put on the buyer and the probability of it fizzling is just too great.
kanetw
What platform do you consider the right one?
mungoman2
Clumsy wording. What I meant more specifically is that I don't think crowdsourcing is the right model. This product is expensive and typical crowdsourcing places no obligation on the "seller" to actually deliver anything.
seanmcdirmid
Not to be confused with the programming language Simula 1, an important milestone in PL history that led to the birth of OO.
throw_away4256
also not to be confused with SimulAVR which is an older project I found searching for this one

https://www.nongnu.org/simulavr/

>The SimulAVR program is a simulator for the Atmel AVR family (now on Microchip) of microcontrollers.