The Immersive Cocoon may be the next big advancement towards an physically engaging, 360 degree submersion into Computerland. Per the description on the website,…”The Immersive Cocoon combines elegant industrial design with a revolutionary new way to think about digital interfaces.”

The pod will feature motion-sensing software, reminiscent of the film Minority Report, to track your body’s movements. Instead of using a keyboard and mouse, your body becomes the entire interface.
The screen will wrap 360 degrees around the walls, opening up new levels of visual stimulation and interactivity. Inside the unit, there will be reclined seating, air conditioning, server racks and more.

Potential uses include gaming, remote office work, exercise, enhanced Second Life capabilities, virtual tours, and more.

Commercial models are not expected to be available for another 5 years, it will be interesting to see if these ever become affordable for an ordinary household, or remain housed in public spaces, available for rent.

While I’m all for technological advancement, as a medium by which to enhance and empower our society as a whole, this may introduce yet another barrier in human face to face communication, by encasing yourself into a digital world, so far removed from the interpersonal analog communication that is lacking today. Every where I look, I see the new “posture” of the year 2000. Can you guess what it is?

If you said couples standing together, looking away from each other, faces plastered to their cell phones, you guessed correctly. While this may seem cynical, I fondly remember as a kid playing outdoors, riding bikes around the neighborhood, venturing off into the woods, creating imaginary worlds with friends, skateboarding, with a healthy mix of indoor video game time… yes, good ole’ Atari.

Only time will tell.