Meet Omnipresenz: Your Human Avatar

Ever wanted to explore the world without actually having to go outdoors? Well soon you’ll be able to, according to the people behind a new crowdfunding campaign. Omnipresenz allows you to explore a place via an audio and video link from the head of another person – think of them as your human avatar.

The concept is simple – a guy walks around a city with a GoPro and an internet connection, you connect to them via your computer and tell them what to do and where to go. It may seem crazy, but that really is it.

With the system, a user pays their ‘avatar’ to do what they say and you get to experience it with them. The team behind it have built a special interface within which you issue your commands. It has been billed as “real-time crowdfunding” where people can build up cash by being asked to do things.

The concept has raised questions though about its practicality and of course about the ethics of paying to essentially control someone. But still, it’s an interesting concept. It will certainly be quite effective when they have a version to work with Oculus Rift, something the developers are planning. However, something like this may only be truly realised once the people can be replaced by telepresence robots.

What do you think – is it wrong to ‘control’ people like this, or is it a clever idea that is yet to be truly realised?

Source: Wired