AirRes Mask wants to make the Metaverse a bit too realistic

We experience virtual reality through proxy using goggles, controllers and headsets. However, a new mask might give us the opportunity to experience a terrifying Metaverse experience firsthand.

Virtual, augmented reality and Virtual are meant to allow us to go to places we cannot physically access or to experience new things under the laws of Physics. The Metaverse is promising to provide many exciting experiences, including the ability to travel to Mars and not worry about breathing. At the same time, however, some people criticize these experiences as clearly fake and unbelievable because you can only see but not feel or smell the real thing. For better or worse, a team of researchers is trying to at least replicate how you breathe in virtual worlds, but it might make it feel too real to the point that our brains and bodies won’t be able to distinguish what is real and what isn’t.

Designers: Markus Tatzgern, Michael Domhardt, Martin Wolf, Michael Cenger, Gerlinde Emsenhuber, Radomir Dinic, Nathalie Gerner, Arnulf Hartl

Virtual Reality Hardware naturally begins with your eyes and ears. They are the most powerful and easiest senses to manipulate in order to induce a suspension or belief. It doesn’t matter how convincing the illusion may seem, the illusion crumbles when you try to interact and move with virtual reality. This happens by using controllers, while being completely still. Much of the R&D in the technologies that will power the so-called Metaverse revolve around navigation and interaction more believable, like with the use of gloves and walking machines. Very few address the believability of the sense of smell or, at the very least, the act of breathing.

Researchers from the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences in Austria are investigating that are of the virtual experience by creating a mask design to restrict airflow to control breathing resistance and, therefore, the wearer’s breathing capability. It almost looks like a dystopian gas mask, and it almost suggests the device’s serious and critical use. A final product would look more refined, presuming something like this would ever be made commercially in the first place.

The idea is almost simple when you first hear about it, and it’s about making the virtual experience more believable by tricking your body into thinking they’re dealing with real-world situations. Although it might smell different from a fire, the mask will regulate airflow and prevent you from experiencing the same difficulties in your breathing as if you were actually in the fire. The mask might trigger the brain’s fight-or flight response. This could make the experience more real, but not necessarily dangerous. However, it is best to ensure that the wearer can experience this level of stress.

Conversely, the person’s breathing could also be used as an additional way to control their virtual avatar, making their digital counterpart look as exhausted as they are in the real world. It can also open the doors to activities and games that would normally require you to blow air, like blowing out candles or blowing up balloons. The mask can also be used as a control and monitoring device for training simulations for firefighters and emergency personnel.

The same people that criticize virtual reality for being so obviously fake might also criticize this kind of invention for going overboard and making the experience too realistic. In a way, realism could actually remove some of the appeal of the Metaverse, particularly the ability to experience different places, worlds, and things without having to worry about hyperventilating. There will be certain experiences, such as horror movies or exercises, that can use these breathing controls, but the majority of people will prefer to live without them. Alternatively, such a mask can be more useful for medical applications, helping medical personnel diagnose a patient’s well-being through monitored and regulated breathing.