Benjamin Briggs: I see you have some notes; is there anything specific that you would like the audience and the listeners to know?
Patrick Campaign: Sure. I want to explain that there is actually three different forms of reality. Not jumping into theoretical physics here, but how we perceive things. There is augmented reality, holographic reality, and virtual reality.
Smart glasses pertain to the first two. Augmented reality is what’s called gameification of your natural surroundings. So, instead of just seeing a cup on a table, for instance, augmented reality kind of like in a video game, you see the cup on the table it brings up a little drawbar explaining what it is, calorie content, just extra details that you wouldn’t see in normal life.
Uh, next one is hybrid reality or holographic reality where you’re in your natural surroundings but you have artificial constructs within it. So think of it like the Holodeck on Star Trek. You’re still able to walk around, you’re still able to interact and touch stuff, but instead of it looking like a flat wall, it now has a painting on it that you wanted to choose which you can just slide around and choose with.
Benjamin Briggs: They actually did a few concerts with holographic recently deceased rappers that performed as a hologram. I don’t know if you had a chance to see that but you might be impressed with it.
Patrick Campaign: Well, there’s actually a really good App with one appearing like you’re with Paul McCartney on stage. We can talk about specific programs like that too, but that actually jumps into virtual reality as well where there’s artificial constructs and artificial surroundings. You put on these type of glasses, and instead of being in a room you’re now feeling like that you’re in this giant tropical paradise with no walls to knock down and surround you with. Now if you try getting up and walk around, you’re going to run into walls. That’s the biggest problem that they’re having with virtual reality, but really one of the most exciting parts, and that’s what Oculus Rift is aiming for.
Benjamin Briggs: Um huh, we’re going to have to create a Holodeck.
Patrick Campaign: They’re trying really hard.
Benjamin Briggs: I know they are. It’s going to happen too.
Patrick Campaign: Oh yeah. There’s already one particular virtual reality pair of glasses which they give you little sensor placers you’re supposed to put in the room that you want to turn into a Holodeck so you that you can then interact in it.
Benjamin Briggs: And, and I don’t see that we’re going to be too much longer because we’re all actually walking around with Tricorders now.
Patrick Campaign: Um huh, very true!
Benjamin Briggs: Yeah! Well, everyone has a Tricorder. You phone monitors your health. You can get information. You can get diagnosis. Yeah, I’m pretty impressed with today’s technology.
Benjamin Briggs: What is your vision of the future for all this technology that we’re talking about today?
Patrick Campaign: My vision would be eventual integration with technology. We’re no longer utilizing equipment as pieces of equipment that to be used for work, they are now becoming a part of you. You kind of see it with the younger generation. A lot of Millennials these days cannot live without their cell phone. They’re still utilizing it as a piece of equipment but now it’s become a part of themselves. It has now become a part of their entity and you feel a little strange without it there for a while.
Benjamin Briggs: Well, all you got to do is leave it at the house without it. You will turn around and you will go get your cell phone. I did it yesterday. It’s like the lifeline. Like you said no longer just a piece of equipment but is integrated into our very being.
Patrick Campaign: And, all this equipment in the end is to make life simpler. That’s what technology is supposed to be; to make life easier.
Benjamin Briggs: Which actually at times makes it more difficult.
Patrick Campaign: Especially, when you have to reformat. Aaah!
Benjamin Briggs: You can’t get the programs to work because the legacy program is not working, or the plug-ins.
Patrick Campaign:Oh yes, oh yes.
Benjamin Briggs: Dr. Campaign, I understand that you have an upcoming event. Would you like to share with the audience about that?
Patrick Campaign: Sure. Due to the higher requests from a couple of presentations I did before, I’ve been planning on doing a free public presentation about theatrical contact lenses. They’re these little lenses that you wear for Halloween costumes or for theatre. It’s going to be held over at the Mountain View Library here in Anchorage on May 27. It’s going to start at 4:30 in the afternoon. So that’s on Friday.
Benjamin Briggs: How does a person contact Dr. Campaign concerning any of the 3 things that we spoke about today in this interview?
Patrick Campaign: Well when it comes to mobile optometry, I actually cater to other optometrists to help out with modernizing their practices and helping out with patients. They can actually attempt to find me on the Alaska Optometric Association website, or search my personal name “Patrick Campaign” on Facebook. That’s a great way to keep a hold of me in that business.
