By 2030, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg predicted, people would be able to "teleport" to places such as other people's homes and talk to them as if they were physically there, enabling in-person interactions to be replaced by a headset-based interactive interface.
Lesser Physical Travel
According to Zuckerberg in an interview with The Information, one result of this vision of the future could be a decline in business and leisure travel, which could help mitigate climate change.
"Cars, boats, and other vehicles will, of course, continue to exist. But the sooner we can teleport around, not only are we minimizing commutes and other things that are a pain for us individually, but I believe it is much healthier for humanity and the world as a whole, "According to Zuckerberg.
Pollution Caused by Travelling
Transportations are a substantial source of emissions, emitting large quantities of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and other pollutants. Transportation released more than half of the carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, as well as about a fifth of the hydrocarbons, into our atmosphere in 2013.
Pollutants in car exhaust have the potential to damage more than just your lungs. Indeed, tailpipe toxins are hazardous to one's health at all stages of life and can also result in early death.
Nearly half of the United States population-roughly 150 million people-live in places where federal air quality requirements are not met. This pollution, which contains ozone, particulate matter, and other smog-forming emissions, is mostly caused by passenger cars and heavy-duty trucks.
The dangers of air pollution to one's well-being are enormous. Poor air quality exacerbates respiratory illnesses such as asthma and bronchitis, raises the risk of life-threatening diseases such as cancer, and saves our health-care system a lot of money. Particulate matter is responsible for up to 30,000 deaths prematurely per year.
The Importance of Zuckerberg's Remarks
The significance of Zuckerberg's comments is that they reflect a unified view from a market pioneer of what augmented reality technologies can do for customers, not just companies, and he identifies apps that might be the hook to get people to purchase and then wear sophisticated computers on their faces: immersive in-person contact.
Years down the line, as Zuckerberg predicted on Monday, the ultimate vision would be a pair of ordinary-looking computer-powered glasses that can view content alongside the real world through transparent displays.
"Rather than calling someone or doing a video chat, you just sort of snap your fingers and teleport, and you're sitting there, and they're on their sofa, and it looks like you're there together," Zuckerberg stated.
Augmented Reality
The majority of major technology companies, including Apple, Microsoft, and Google, are developing augmented reality technology, which overlays computer-generated graphics over real-world images. Since the mobile and touchscreen, they're all vying to create the next big device interface.
Related Article: Move Along, VR: Augmented Reality Will Overtake Apps
Benefits of AR Technology
One benefit of AR-powered "teleportation," according to Zuckerberg, is that it might cut travel or commuting time. In the end, augmented reality could allow employees to live anywhere they choose, maybe in a less costly area, and "basically teleport to work," according to Zuckerberg.
"We thought about climate change a little bit before it became too relevant," Zuckerberg said. "People would simply choose to drive less in the future and do so more easily, so they can go somewhere without having to spend hours traveling or commuting."
AR Smart Glasses
The interview comes as Facebook prepares to introduce a pair of smart glasses in collaboration with Ray-Ban later this year. However, Zuckerberg stated that they will not be "absolute AR," meaning they will not represent sophisticated virtual objects. As technology advances, Facebook intends to introduce more sophisticated AR glasses.
Via Oculus, which it bought for $2 billion in 2014, Facebook also builds augmented reality headsets without translucent screens. The Oculus 2, a $300 virtual reality headset, is commercially available. According to Zuckerberg, app developers will begin developing software in virtual reality before moving on to augmented reality, and the two systems are "two sides of the same coin."
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