A small step into the big future of high technology | Modern History
I remember in my childhood days, the video game entertainment industry took its first timid step, which was the basis for the birth of a new history. At the time, one of the first video game consoles, the Dendy, was released, and once in the public eye, it quickly gained widespread popularity. The console was connected to any television set that existed at the time. I had an LG color TV with a remote control, which was almost a luxury at the time.
But it was thought that such experiments could harm an expensive color TV, but the desire to immerse myself in the world of virtual reality left these concerns no chance. At that time, there were cult video games that came out on cartridges. In my case it was Contra, Battletoads & Double Dragon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time and others. Familiar outdoor games like quad or soccer temporarily ceded their reins to virtual reality, if you could call it that. At the same time, a game called Duck Hunt appeared, which surpassed other games in its popularity, as it allowed you to shoot at a virtual story on the screen with a plastic gun.
One player could control the movement of flying ducks with a joystick, the main player had to hit them. The gun projected a light spot at the spot where the ducks were hit on the screen and somehow the hits were read by the console, giving the result on the screen. The developers of this game were from Nintendo, accordingly the game first appeared on their own console in 1984.
Who would have thought that this bizarre game will be the basis of the principle of virtual shooting range, which today are exercised not at all children, and professional athletes practical shooting, as well as employees of various law enforcement agencies. Today, however, they shoot not fancy ducks, but realistic opponents modeled by programmers, who do not mind to shine their artificial intelligence at the first opportunity. This all became possible thanks to the unique software of interactive shooting galleries, which is based on the principle of high-precision feedback from the target situation. But unlike Duck Hunt game, the exact places of hits are read by special cameras, and the coordinates of the shot are instantly transferred to the shooting gallery program, giving no chance for error.
Thus it is possible to draw a certain straight line, which imperceptibly connects all these events in the general picture. This, as I understand it, is the technological progress, which today is moving forward by leaps and bounds, blurring the line between our usual life and the world controlled by artificial intelligence. It is interesting to see what will happen next.
