Design

Who's in Charge of the Augmented City?

So far, major forays into our augmented world have been pretty harmless. But with technological advancements and unchecked intrusions by private companies, the future could be terrifying.

Chilean artist Sebastian Errazuriz vandalized Jeff Koons's virtual "Balloon Dog" last fall using virtual graffiti on his own app as part of a “stance against an imminent AR corporate invasion.”Sebastian Errazuriz

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By Jason Sayer

March 12, 2018 at 12:00 PM UTC

I’m sitting at New York University (NYU), in a Brooklyn Tandon School of Engineering building with wires sprawling across my body while I stare at a 98-inch TV screen. Glasses with inward-facing cameras are tracking my pupils; plaster wrapped around my finger is measuring my perspiration; cheek pads are monitoring whether or not I’m smiling; another device looks at my heart-rate; and an electroencephalogram (EEG) headset—a contraption with wet squidgy nodes on the end of prongs, similar to a head massager—monitors my brain activity. All while my face is being filmed.

The researchers want to quantifiably measure my response and stress levels to two slightly different virtual environments. On the screen I am looking at a basic scene created in Google SketchUp. Mock-ups of an existing NYU building are identical minus a couple of minor differences: one has wider windows and lighter wall colors. Within the two environments I have to navigate my way up a set of stairs onto a mezzanine level, open a door, switch on a thermostat, and return.