Wearables that augment reality are creating a whole new range of promising experiences for worship and learning. By Peter Gould.
As I type this, I’m high above Earth, flying from one corner of the planet to another in a real plane. No big deal. Earlier this week however, I enjoyed an interstellar Virtual Reality (VR) journey wearing my new Oculus Rift DK2 headset device. My brain was so convinced and immersed in the experience, it was forcing my head to react quickly to avoid colliding with virtual asteroids coming my way, and had me gripping my chair as we zipped about the universe.
Although still largely a novelty today, this experience offers a taste of what will come to living rooms, classrooms and boardrooms within a few years, with big names like Sony and Samsung having announced similar VR headset devices. At the same time, we have Google making headlines with its Glass Augmented Reality (AR) device, Apple’s impending iWatch announcement, and a tidal wave of wearable devices arriving on the market.
As someone who has been actively following and experimenting with AR, VR and wearables for over a decade, I feel optimistic about these technologies. I’m truly excited and passionate about exploring how we can use these technologies for highly beneficial, positive, educational experiences.
Inevitably, many of them will end up being more time-wasting digital distractions and indulgent entertainment, but think of the potential for good. I remember helping design one of the first Qur’an and Islam-related apps for iPad. Just four years later, digital tablets and phones are one of the most common ways Muslims read the Qur’an.
As my plane prepares to land, I’m reflecting upon how air travel was once considered an outrageous novelty just a couple of generations ago. Could we dare imagine what our virtual and digital experiences will be like in 10, 20, 50 years from now?
Think: could we use Google Glass as a “hands-free” prayer app? Could we use VR headsets to revisit ancient Baghdad, join study circles in Al Andalus, meet our global friends for dhikr in a re-created virtual Medina, let our youngsters ascend into the stars on a virtual buraq and watch in awe as stars around them form ayat as they learn Qur’an? Insha’Allah if we dream big with good intentions, the possibilities are virtually endless.
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