The truth is, that’s not far off. Flow state is a concept in psychology where you become fully immersed in a task where, in effect, you use 100% of your available mental resources. Though, unlike the 2014 “hit” film Lucy, you won’t turn into a USB stick afterwards.

Now imagine applying flow state to your work. Imagine being able to apply 100% of yourself to solve that tricky bug, or to close that deal. While it won’t be easy, there are certain conditions which provide a baseline for entering flow state.

• Goals and measurable/tangible progress towards your current goal. Flow state requires you to have an end state you wish to be at.
• Immediate feedback. Indicators need to signal to you that changes need to be made in order to maintain flow state.
• The belief that you can accomplish the task at hand. This is the hardest criteria to quantify, but this model, published by Csíkszentmihályi in 1997, best illustrates it:

Here, we can see that we need to compare how good you think you are, against how difficult you think the task is. If you’re bad at the task and the task is easy, you stop caring. If you’re skilled in the task and the task is easy, you start relaxing. Flow state requires the task to be hard and for you to think you’re mustard.

While these are hard criteria to fill, there is a task that satisfies them to a tee – video games. Let’s take Call of Duty for example:

• Condition 1) The goal is set from the get-go. You have to either kill the enemy repeatedly, capture a flag and hold down an area, or detonate/protect a bomb.
• Condition 2) You get feedback from the indicators on your screen and sound system, whether it be an enemy running past, or the sound of your bullets hitting your opponent.
• Condition 3) Teams are designed to be balanced, average out a team’s skill. Therefore, in theory, every game should present a challenge to each player.

HOW CAN WE APPLY FLOW STATE TO WORK?

To enter flow state, we need to satiate our three conditions and, as shown, games by nature accomplish that. So why don’t we turn work into a game?

• Condition 1) Set goals. Set an overarching goal for the day, as well as smaller goals that lead up to it.
• Condition 2) Set audio and visual indicators when we successfully complete a task or fall behind schedule. Make progress towards fixing a bug; gain some exp. Finish a difficult ticket; give yourself a loot-box (I mean, \”surprise mechanics\”. Am I right, EA?).
• Condition 3) Push yourself. When possible, challenge your ability. Take on that difficult project; solve that impossible ticket; close that massive deal.

While this is easier said than done, there are apps out there designed to turn everyday into a game, such as Habitica (No, I’m not sponsored. But Habitica, if you’re reading this, give me a call). Give it a shot!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to feed in League of Legends.

Standard VR utilises two of the main senses: sight and hearing. Substitutional Reality aims to introduce more of the human senses, such as smell, haptic feedback (sense of touch/resistance), thermoception (ability to sense heat and cold), equilibrioception (the sense of balance and motion change) and proprioception (the sense of space). The theory is, by having dedicated VR laboratories that can simulate these senses, as well as custom controllers, we can create tangibility to VR experiences, to create more immersive and more applicable scenarios (particularly for training purposes).

Firefighter Training

Learn as much theory as you want, but firefighting requires you to, eventually, fight a fire. In standard, practical training, structures are built or acquired, set on fire and students enter the building to extinguish it. There are three main problems with this: the cost of the building; the frequency at which this type of training can happen; and the danger it puts students in, before they are fully trained.

Substitutional reality can provide a solution to this. By creating custom VR controllers designed as fire-hoses, cutters, spreaders, etc., groups of trainees can fight a virtual fire. Heaters can even be used to trigger thermoception. The beauty of this is that common, hard to replicate scenarios can be simulated (i.e. people crying, wooden frames falling, etc.). Also, since there is no burning building to acquire, this training can happen as often as needed, whenever it’s needed.

\”But Bobby; fighting a fire in a virtual world is completely different to real life. There’s no cost of failure in a simulated environment.\”

Yep, I agree. There’s a fundamental difference between being in the real situation and a simulated one. The point of substitutional reality in this case would be to give trainees a better baseline level of experience, before the real thing.

Surgery

The July effect is when there is a noticeably increased risk of medical/surgical errors, as med-school graduates start their residencies. Substitutional reality can reduce the increased risk by giving students unlimited experience with the functioning human anatomy, beyond cadaver use. SR would utilise scalpel, forceps, etc. shaped controllers containing motors designed to give haptic feedback to any given pressure.

However, the biggest benefit of using Substitutional Reality in surgical use is that we can promote mistake driven learning. Cut too deep? No problem, it’s not real. The lack of a time-limit or danger in a simulated environment would allow doctors to consider the route they should take in a relaxed setting and become familiar with the process, which should hopefully translate into a real-life scenario. However, it’s important to note that real surgery isn’t as consistent as SR would like it to be. Different bodies will have organs is slightly different locations; also, people with prior surgeries will most likely have adhesions that will make the process differ.

Substitutional reality does have a place in this world, and it becomes clearer with every new advancement. The problem is that it requires investment and official recognition. It’s fine to say we can use SR for Doctor and Firefighter training, but unless it’s recognised as an effective enough tool by official bodies, it will just stay as a novelty – a proof of concept. However, if successful, SR can change the way we advance this world – if every step is run through a hundred times, every real step we make will be perfect; just like the simulations.

If you\’re looking to hire skilled VR engineers into your team, or if you\’re an engineer looking for a new opportunity, please reach out to me to discuss how I can support you.

Additional Reading

I recommend “Substitutional Reality: Using the Physical Environment to Design Virtual Reality Experiences” by Adelberto Simeone, Eduardo Velloso and Hans Gellersen. It delves deep into the mechanics of substitutional reality, with some great research into how far we can take the experience before immersion becomes too disturbed. The first image is Figure 1 of this paper.

I also recommend “Smart Substitutional Reality: Integrating the Smart Home into Virtual Reality” by Benjamin Eckstein, Eva Krapp, Anne Elsässer and Birgit Lugrin.

We are seeking a dedicated individual to join our team as a 1st Line Technical Support specialist in Milton Keynes. The ideal candidate will possess strong problem-solving skills, excellent communication abilities, and a passion for providing exceptional customer service

Responsibilities:

• Provide first-line technical support to users via phone, email, or chat.
• Troubleshoot and resolve technical issues related to hardware, software, and network connectivity.
• Document all support interactions and resolutions accurately in the ticketing system.
• Escalate complex issues to the appropriate team members or higher-level support as needed.
• Assist with basic system administration tasks, such as account management and software installations.
• Collaborate with other team members to improve support processes and documentation.

Requirements:

• Previous experience in a technical support role or similar customer-facing position preferred.
• Strong knowledge of Windows and Mac operating systems.
• Familiarity with basic networking concepts and troubleshooting.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Ability to multitask and prioritize tasks effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• A proactive and self-motivated attitude towards problem-solving and learning.

Benefits:

•   Competitive salary

•   Comprehensive benefits package

•   Opportunities for professional development and growth If you meet the qualifications and are excited about the opportunity to join our team, please submit your resume to farah @ tttechrec.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

What is cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency is simply a digital currency. It is controlled by a decentralised network, based on a blockchain technology. In other words, as oppose to transactions going through a central authority, that may charge a service fee or leverage the position of being the middle man, blockchain allows transactions to be direct and secure when purchasing goods and services/transferring between two parties; as well as all the history of transactions and digital assets to be easily accessible and displayed.

How far can cryptocurrency go?

Well when discussing cryptocurrency, you would be hard-pressed to meet someone who hasn\’t heard of the original crypto, Bitcoin. Within Bitcoins life span, released in 2009, the coin has managed to shake and disrupt the banking and financial sector worldwide, as governments panic in a desperate attempt to try and police a growing movement in which they don’t understand. Countries such as China, Russia and Vietnam, to name a few, have essentially frowned upon the use of Bitcoin; essentially banned in China with banks being prohibited from transacting Bitcoin, whereas Russia and Vietnam just don’t see Bitcoin as a legitimate form of payment as oppose to regulated.

Then there are an array of altcoins (cryptocurrencies that aren’t Bitcoin are referred to as altcoins), that have made shockwaves in there own sectors. Sectors such as decentralised finance (Ethereum, Cardano etc), Non-refundable tokens (NFTs) (Theta, Decentraland) and an ever growing community every single day.

The opportunities for cryptocurrency are endless. 

Just like scientists and doctors working on a vaccine, the world is looking for a vaccine to the current crises faced by nearly every creative and production based industry.

How do we continue in the current climate? How do we overcome the daily challenges of a world that can no longer meet up?

Just like those scientific feats of man ensuring human safety via vaccination programmes. There are engineers, producers and creatives worldwide coming together to ensure the utmost is being done in emerging technologies to also account for a global shift and transition into another realm of production. Both music, video and other mixed media installations are still taking place all over the world so these emerging technologies present themselves out of a need for continuation. 

We take a look at the current standing within media production considering the vast deep dive into the digital realm, from Extended, Virtual and augmented Realities. What happens when these separate and innovative workflows come together is Mixed Reality! 

Mixed Reality is a term best coined to describe an amalgamation of multiple processes used to get the job done. Nowadays the necessity for working at home means that remote access to servers, softwares and projects mean that new solutions need to be in place to enable remote access and execution of our favourite Broadcasts, Music, Film, Live Events and more.

We are blinded by a need for human interaction, and with this ‘by any means’ approach we find ourselves creating technologies to overcome challenges we never thought we’d face before. How do we continue our media and production consumer habits with no overcrowded teams of assistants running up and down the studio? And no crowds and audiences?

As mentioned the answers were in the existing technologies we had in place, the perfect example to use here is the ‘Astronomical’ gig, put together by Epic Games and Travis Scott who came together in 2020 to produce a digital live concert through the Fortnite gaming platform. Please see links and videos for further details, the concert was attended by millions. Anything for a solution! 

Travis Scott 

Astronomical – (Full Video YT)

Amalgamating the many workflows brought forward in the last ten years allows us to create a Mixed Reality environment, spearheading us forward in the feat of innovative tech as a creative solution.

Though it will take a while to get used to these changes, it is evident that the work environment, as we know it, will change. Some businesses, such as Twitter, are accepting these changes and are giving their employees the option to work from home for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, it has been reported that some businesses that believed they required on-site technical assistant, prior to the lockdown, found this was not the case; throughout the lockdown, these businesses were able to work and operate effectively with technical support being offered remotely. In terms of recruitment, does this mean the tech related roles that were put on hold can resume as planned? Will the technology recruitment industry pick up again? In order to answer these questions, we may need to consider the alternative options this pandemic has presented. For example, working remotely means businesses now can easily access candidates from various geographical locations as the requirements of being located within a close proximity does not hold anymore.