Philip Rosedale, the inventor of Second Life, has a new startup named High Fidelity. This company is developing a new platform for virtual worlds. In Second Life, people used normal computers with keyboards and mice to navigate the virtual world. The new platform has been spurred on by recently created technologies to better immerse people into the virtual environment. The platform is experimenting with 3-D headsets using virtual reality goggles and and infrared motion sensors to detect hand movement. It also uses small 3-D cameras attached to a laptop's screen to track the user's head movements and facial expressions. The company has 15 employees and $5 million in investment. The new platform is basically trying to be "Second Life 2.0" by eliminating some of the flaws with the original virtual world that kept people from fully enjoying it. One of the major aspects is more natural communication. With faces that move and act like the real face of the person you are communicating with, it is hoped users will be more engaged and will "fall in love" with the new experience.
