Avatar Machine: Reality in the Third-Person

Before you start looking at these and thinking someone has put together a full virtual reality suit, you should know that the helmet that guy is wearing is actually displaying just what’s in front of him. The twist is that he can see himself as well. That little device floating above him is actually a wide-angle pinhole camera held up by a tripod, so that it can record and transmit an image of the wearer from the back. The creator, Marc Owens, admits that the inspiration for this project — as well as the costume’s design — came from World of Warcraft. He says the system was intended to give users a sense of invincibility so they might mimic behavior usually reserved for the online world. Two minutes later, the person wearing the costume knocked a bystander to the ground, stole his cane, and then proceeded to “mine” a nearby rock for “gold.” Okay, not really, but that’s what I imagined would happen.

This is kind of a cool device, but I can’t think of any practical use for it though. Unless you have an obsessive fear that there’s a small person clinging to your back that you can’t reach. Hey, don’t laugh. There’s nothing funny about alittleguyonmybackaphobia.