Photo: gilaxia (Getty)
So you just looked out your window and realized that it’s snowing, and because of that you just want to stay in bed and do nothing. But you also realized you have a work meeting you have to attend. Not to worry! The ‘Human Uber’ is here to help!
While Human Uber sounds pretty fancy, in reality it’s not. At the MIT Tech Review’s EmTech conference in Asia this week, folks in attendance got to see what a Human Uber really looks like. And all they saw is someone with a screen strapped to their face, a screen that has another person on it. All this done so one person can “fill in” for another person. I think it’s better if you see for yourself:
“Human Uber,” developed in Japan, provides a way to attend events remotely using another person’s body. “It’s surprisingly natural” says its inventor, Jin Rekimoto of Sony #emtechasia pic.twitter.com/WZHPVcZ6M0
— will knight (@willknight) January 30, 2018
Yes, this is a real thing. Jun Rekimoto, who is a Japanese AR/VR researcher affiliated with Sony, was at EmTech to reveal the Human Uber. But how does this all work? Well according to NY Mag, this technology is known as ChameleonMask, and it “uses a real human as a surrogate for another remote user. To do this, a surrogate user wears a mask-shaped display that shows a remote user’s live face, and a voice channel transmits a remote user’s voice.”
@rkmt giving the #emtechasia audience a peek into the emerging immersive technologies his lab is developing #AR #VR #immersivemedia pic.twitter.com/iQzAc4lys9
— EmTech Asia (@EmTechAsia) January 30, 2018
Wouldn’t it be easier for that person just to call on Skype and for another person to hold the laptop over their face? Well, here are some places you can use your Human Uber for:
To visit your parents.
At the DMV.
To break up with your partner.
At work.
At your nephew’s school play.
And there’s many more places of course. What would you use it for?
