Lifelike experience
Encyclopedia
Lifelike is an adjective that relates to anything that simulates real life
, in accordance with its laws. Its goal is to immerse individuals into what is called a lifelike experience. It gets as close as possible to real life behavior, appearance, senses, etc. therefore enabling its subject to experience what is happening as if it were real. In other words, simulating reality with its physical laws is the objective of lifelike experience.
was considered lifelike. Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci’s Mona Lisa
is famous for the ambiguity of the subject's expression, the monumentality of the composition, and the subtle modeling of forms and atmospheric illusionism which contributed to the continuing fascination of the work. A whole painting technique has been created pursuing the goal of the lifelike art form, called trompe-l'œil, involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects appear in three dimensions.
However, this perception was replaced by photographs and then by digital ones
that depict reality even further. Today, a digital picture is considered closer to lifelike if it is compared to a raw painting. It is the same pattern with video
s compared to motionless pictures and with 3D movies
compared to 2D films, etc. Each new medium or technology brings people closer to a truer lifelike experience.
There is only one thing which remains consistent – people must consider the experience suits real life laws. For example, to be absolutely lifelike, a digital guitar must behave the exact same way the real object does: if someone plays the E string with a plectrum on the fifth fret, it will produce an A note with a particular sound. This same action will produce a different sound with fingerstyle technique. If someone decides to burn the guitar, it will burn in a predictable way according to its materials, the environment, the combustible, etc.
Consequently, anything said to be lifelike has to comply with real life rules. It only conceptualizes real life to reproduce it, using laws of physics, chemistry, etc. to make it the experience lifelike. Another example would be a digital ball staying up in the air, floating. This would not be lifelike since it ignores gravity. Its movement needs to fit nature’s laws, thus falling on the ground and then bouncing in a specific direction, according to its initial place and forces applicable.
Going further would be adding every human sense: sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. Several works have been done (or are undergoing) to try to simulate each one. For example, haptic technology is trying to emulate physical contact by taking advantage of a user's sense of touch by applying force
s, vibration
s, and/or motions to the user.
, digital products have initially been thought of and developed to virtually prototype
expensive goods, thus modeling what could be the final physical product. This process allows creators to find beforehand what could be its design, engineering, regulatory or other issues. Architect
s can also use lifelike experience to prototype a building and its environment. For example they would use maps to represent a city to build, trying to maximize road traffic, thus avoiding traffic jam.
Today, very sophisticated software does this as accurately as possible. Whether they are in 3D, use augmented reality
or not, their purpose is to virtually model desired goods and then modify them to eventually reach the final version, hopefully problem-free.
Just like Serious Games
, this constitutes a “radical fictional work” - both consumers and companies can improve their experience using lifelike products. Companies can create products more efficiently. On the other hand, their consumers can try them out, without the geographical constraint of a real-life store, without being afraid of breaking the products, etc.
This gap between old and new lifelike products is based on virtual reality
, i.e. computer-simulated environments.
where a man builds an entire city for his dying loved one to enjoy, virtually.
Another example is the movie The Matrix
where most of the characters pass from the real world to The Matrix, a virtual one.
In these two examples, characters interact with objects, people and more generally a whole world which looks and acts real but is in fact virtual. They illustrate what is the goal of the lifelike concept – allowing people to enjoy reality with improved possibilities such as looking at a product from any perspective, testing its strength, checking whether it suits them or not, changing its color instantly, etc.
uses them to prepare their soldiers for different situations they may face. Even if today’s technology is still not powerful enough, most military personnel underline how useful it was to learn through lifelike experience software in addition to their classical training.
It can be seen in the James Bond Die Another Day
movie where the introduction scene is actually a virtual-reality-based lifelike experience training.
Real life
Real life is a term usually used to denote actual human life lived by real people in contrast with the lives of fictional or fantasy characters.-Usage online and in fiction:On the Internet, "real life" refers to life in the real world...
, in accordance with its laws. Its goal is to immerse individuals into what is called a lifelike experience. It gets as close as possible to real life behavior, appearance, senses, etc. therefore enabling its subject to experience what is happening as if it were real. In other words, simulating reality with its physical laws is the objective of lifelike experience.
Definition
Lifelike experience is an idea which has evolved since the time when a paintingPainting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
was considered lifelike. Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci’s Mona Lisa
Mona Lisa
Mona Lisa is a portrait by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It is a painting in oil on a poplar panel, completed circa 1503–1519...
is famous for the ambiguity of the subject's expression, the monumentality of the composition, and the subtle modeling of forms and atmospheric illusionism which contributed to the continuing fascination of the work. A whole painting technique has been created pursuing the goal of the lifelike art form, called trompe-l'œil, involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects appear in three dimensions.
However, this perception was replaced by photographs and then by digital ones
Digital photography
Digital photography is a form of photography that uses an array of light sensitive sensors to capture the image focused by the lens, as opposed to an exposure on light sensitive film...
that depict reality even further. Today, a digital picture is considered closer to lifelike if it is compared to a raw painting. It is the same pattern with video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
s compared to motionless pictures and with 3D movies
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
compared to 2D films, etc. Each new medium or technology brings people closer to a truer lifelike experience.
There is only one thing which remains consistent – people must consider the experience suits real life laws. For example, to be absolutely lifelike, a digital guitar must behave the exact same way the real object does: if someone plays the E string with a plectrum on the fifth fret, it will produce an A note with a particular sound. This same action will produce a different sound with fingerstyle technique. If someone decides to burn the guitar, it will burn in a predictable way according to its materials, the environment, the combustible, etc.
Consequently, anything said to be lifelike has to comply with real life rules. It only conceptualizes real life to reproduce it, using laws of physics, chemistry, etc. to make it the experience lifelike. Another example would be a digital ball staying up in the air, floating. This would not be lifelike since it ignores gravity. Its movement needs to fit nature’s laws, thus falling on the ground and then bouncing in a specific direction, according to its initial place and forces applicable.
Going further would be adding every human sense: sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. Several works have been done (or are undergoing) to try to simulate each one. For example, haptic technology is trying to emulate physical contact by taking advantage of a user's sense of touch by applying force
Force
In physics, a force is any influence that causes an object to undergo a change in speed, a change in direction, or a change in shape. In other words, a force is that which can cause an object with mass to change its velocity , i.e., to accelerate, or which can cause a flexible object to deform...
s, vibration
Vibration
Vibration refers to mechanical oscillations about an equilibrium point. The oscillations may be periodic such as the motion of a pendulum or random such as the movement of a tire on a gravel road.Vibration is occasionally "desirable"...
s, and/or motions to the user.
Development
Although almost anything can be considered as lifelike according to people’s perceptionPerception
Perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of the environment by organizing and interpreting sensory information. All perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from physical stimulation of the sense organs...
, digital products have initially been thought of and developed to virtually prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
expensive goods, thus modeling what could be the final physical product. This process allows creators to find beforehand what could be its design, engineering, regulatory or other issues. Architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
s can also use lifelike experience to prototype a building and its environment. For example they would use maps to represent a city to build, trying to maximize road traffic, thus avoiding traffic jam.
Today, very sophisticated software does this as accurately as possible. Whether they are in 3D, use augmented reality
Augmented reality
Augmented reality is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is...
or not, their purpose is to virtually model desired goods and then modify them to eventually reach the final version, hopefully problem-free.
Just like Serious Games
Serious game
A serious game is a game designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. The "serious" adjective is generally prepended to refer to products used by industries like defense, education, scientific exploration, health care, emergency management, city planning, engineering, religion,...
, this constitutes a “radical fictional work” - both consumers and companies can improve their experience using lifelike products. Companies can create products more efficiently. On the other hand, their consumers can try them out, without the geographical constraint of a real-life store, without being afraid of breaking the products, etc.
This gap between old and new lifelike products is based on virtual reality
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
, i.e. computer-simulated environments.
Movies
As for today, the best example of a lifelike experience remains the short film World BuilderWorld Builder (film)
World Builder is a 2007 short sci-fi film by Bruce Branit. The entire film is computer generated.-Plot:The film begins with the words "Program Start." In a green room, a young man is lying on his back and looking at holographic pictures of himself and a young women, presumably his girlfriend...
where a man builds an entire city for his dying loved one to enjoy, virtually.
Another example is the movie The Matrix
The Matrix (franchise)
The Matrix is a science fiction action franchise created by Andy and Larry Wachowski and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The series began with the 1999 film The Matrix and later spawned two sequels; The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, both released in 2003, thus forming a trilogy...
where most of the characters pass from the real world to The Matrix, a virtual one.
In these two examples, characters interact with objects, people and more generally a whole world which looks and acts real but is in fact virtual. They illustrate what is the goal of the lifelike concept – allowing people to enjoy reality with improved possibilities such as looking at a product from any perspective, testing its strength, checking whether it suits them or not, changing its color instantly, etc.
Military applications
As video games have grown in popularity during the last two decades, the armyDefence Centre of Training Support
The Defence Centre of Training Support is a United Kingdom MOD unit headquartered at Kermode Hall at RAF Halton near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England.-History:...
uses them to prepare their soldiers for different situations they may face. Even if today’s technology is still not powerful enough, most military personnel underline how useful it was to learn through lifelike experience software in addition to their classical training.
It can be seen in the James Bond Die Another Day
Die Another Day
Die Another Day is the 20th spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth and last film to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond; it is also the last Bond film of the original timeline with the series being rebooted with Casino Royale...
movie where the introduction scene is actually a virtual-reality-based lifelike experience training.