Oculus Rift could bring people back from the dead with VR app

Home Top

show ad

Home Top

'I'm a woman': Tearful Bruce Jenner reveals he considered suicide while transitioning to his 'true self' in Diane Sawyer interview which will be his last as a man
Inside Bruce Jenner's new life as a woman: Reality star shows Diane Sawyer the little black dress in secret closet of women's clothing and reveals plans for 'glam room'
Kris Jenner DID know about Bruce Jenner's transition attempt during 1980s: Olympian confessed to wife because he could no longer hide his 36B breasts
$LOS ANGELES, CA ñ April 24, 2015: Bruce Jenner ñ The Inverview\nOlympian and reality-TV star Bruce Jenner shares and exclusive and wide-ranging conversation with Diane Sawyer.\nPhotograph:© ABC "Disclaimer: CM does not claim any Copyright or License in the attached material. Any downloading fees charged by CM are for its services only, and do not, nor are they intended to convey to the user any Copyright or License in the material. By publishing this material, The Daily Mail expressly agrees to indemnify and to hold CM harmless from any claims, demands or causes of action arising out of or connected in any way with user's publication of the material."\n$ 'Kim caught me in a dress... and Kendall and Kylie did too': Bruce Jenner reveals his children kept 'family secret' and shares touching story of how Kanye West help wife accept transition
Bruce's second wife tells how he thought about having a sex change in the 1980s
Furious Kris Jenner hits out at Diane Sawyer for claiming she did not provide a comment on Bruce - and insists he is her 'hero'
Husband and wife whose two dogs mauled father-of-three jogger to death as he begged for help could be freed from prison in just 19 MONTHS after reaching plea deal
The summer glow diet: Pioneering book by nutritionist the stars swear by reveals the simple steps to looking and feeling fab
Bruce Jenner reveals he is a Republican Christian who is 'not a fan' of Obama in interview announcing he is transitioning to a woman
Baltimore police admit Freddie Gray should have got medical attention before van ride - but commissioner won't resign over his death
NBC investigators look into Brian Williams interview on the Daily Show about his reporting from Arab Spring protests
University shuts down as hundreds gather in support of Playboy Air Force vet who was arrested for tackling flag tramplers
How being attractive can ruin your career: Good-looking men get less job offers because they intimidate bosses, says study
Now conspiracy theorists say there is a 'hidden army' on Mars: Absurd theory suggests a bunker, people and missiles can be seen on the red planet
Woman, 82, dies after 'sister and nephew failed to move her from her chair for six months'
Woman, 25, gave birth in office bathroom, cut the cord with cuticle scissors, then sealed the baby in a plastic bag... and hid it in her desk drawer
Charles' and Di's 'secret daughter': Wills and Harry have an IVF sister living in hiding according to outlandish story gripping U.S... So is there a single scrap of evidence?
Missouri Senator personal assistant arrested for 'trafficking meth and date rape drugs from China to exchange for sexual favors'
William and Kate's pre-baby shopping spree: Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spotted relaxing with some retail therapy in London before arrival of child number two
Eric Holder waves goodbye to the Justice Department after six years as America's attorney general
District Attorney demands investigation into allegations reserve deputy 'who shot and killed suspect with a gun instead of using his Taser' received preferential treatment from colleagues
The moment a hiker gets the shock of his life when the volcano he is filming erupts before his eyes
The baseball player who could be paid $70m to leave his team: After divorcing Real Housewife and drug relapse, Josh Hamilton risks being dropped by Los Angeles Angels
EXCLUSIVE: Now Ben Affleck's MOM reveals mistakes in documentary that censored star's family's slave-owning past as she says she did NOT take part in Freedom Summer or Freedom Rides

'Project Elysium' app creates a 'personalised afterlife experience'
It transforms a person's movement and memories into digital models
Some say this prevents people from moving on from losing a loved one
Project Elysium has been entered into the Oculus VR Jam 2015 contest

By Ellie Zolfagharifard For Dailymail.com

Published: 14:50 EST, 24 April 2015 | Updated: 19:48 EST, 24 April 2015

View
comments

Almost everyone longs to be reunited with deceased friends and family.

Now an app, dubbed 'Project Elysium', claims to do just that by creating a 'personalised afterlife experience' with loved ones who have passed.

The technology, which is still under development, could be a step towards uploading memories and personalities into computers, allowing people to live on in virtual reality.

Almost everyone longs to be reunited with deceased friends and family. Now an app dubbed 'Project Elysium' claims to do just that by creating a 'personalised afterlife experience' with loved ones who have passed. The app's developers have yet to reveal exactly how the technology will work

Created by Australia-based Paranormal Games, the app's developers have yet to reveal exactly how the technology will work.

What little we do know comes from their Twitter account, which features a screenshot showing someone being transformed into a 3D model.

An accompanying caption says: 'Modelling my bestie and business partner Nick into Project Elysium. Our first demo will be personal to Nick.'

Dr Albert Rizzo, director of medical virtual reality at the University of Southern California said he believes potential users would have to send pictures and video of the deceased to the developer.

What little we do know comes from their Twitter account, which features a screenshot showing someone being transformed into a 3D model. An accompanying caption says: 'Modelling my bestie and business partner Nick into Project Elysium. Our first demo will be personal to Nick'

But the company may also need to harvest even more data so that they can construct the person's personality, mannerisms and movements.

'If I knew I had an incurable disease, maybe I would do a full body scan and have a digital replica created,' Dr Rizzo told DailyMail.com.

'And I would sit down for 20 hours and have people ask me questions about my life and what I think about different things.'

He says this can all be programmed into virtual reality to create a living record of someone that people can interact with using VR headsets such as Oculus Rift.

But experts are divided over how this can impact a user's mental health.

Some argue that it can provide real comfort and support in times of grief, while others say it may prevent people from moving on from trauma.

COULD THIS CREEPY ROBOT BE THE ANSWER TO ETERNAL LIFE?

Bina48 is a robotic head that uses a 'Mind Clone' of the memories, belief and feelings of a real person

It may be possible to live forever by uploading your memories, thoughts and personality onto a computer within the next ten or twenty years, according to a leading pioneer of the technology.

The technology, which is similar to that seen in the film Transcendence starring Johnny Depp, is being developed by entrepreneur Martine Rothblatt.

She has already created a disturbingly realistic robotic 'clone' of her wife Bina that she hopes will be a prototype for the technology.

The robot apparently shares the ideas and personality of Bina by creating a database of her memories, beliefs and thoughts, along with information taken from social media interactions and blogs she shares.

This allows the robot, called Bina48, to express opinions and interact in conversations like a real, living person.

Mrs Rothblatt, 60, an internet radio entrepreneur who lives as a transgender woman, believes the these 'Mind Clones' could eventually be used to help provide social interactions for people living alone and even help recreate the personalities of people after they have died.

'I think helping people to confront difficult emotional challenges done in a safe environment is a positive thing,' said Dr Rizzo.

'When people avoid processing things, this is when it comes back and haunts them.'

'I don't think there is any disrespect to the dead to want to view them and interact with them,' he added.

Project Elysium has been entered into the upcoming Oculus VR Jam 2015 contest.

To be eligible for the jam's grand prize, the team have to showcase more screenshots by April 27, followed by video footage the week after.

The grand prize winner in this track will receive $100,000, with runner ups earning $50,000, $30,000 and $10,000 respectively.

'You can experience anything that's possible and anything that's impossible,' Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey told GamesBeat.

'It puts you into a difference space where there's almost no rules.'

Project Elysium has been entered into the upcoming Oculus VR Jam 2015. To be eligible for the jam's grand prize, it has to showcase more screenshots by April 27, followed by video footage the week after to be eligible for the jam's grand prize. Pictured on the right is an Oculus Rift virtual reality headset