Notes from CES

The turn of the year brings with it a chance for us techies to see what the coming year will bring, courtesy of the Consumer Electronics Show.

While most people will remember the Michael Bay fiasco, there were actually some visionary gadgets on display. The Eyelock Myris employs advanced eye-recognition technology to allow users to safeguard their devices; gone are the days of a four-digit pin as a padlock.

It was another device that really caught my eye though: the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset. As a child of the 90s, VR was always a big deal growing up, Tomorrow's World seemingly promising it on a regular basis. The reviews have been very complimentary so far but what, if any, is the potential for research?

I foresee a day when respondents will put an Oculus Rift on to walk around a virtual store. I, for one, can't wait.

Darren Till
Research Consultant, Discovery

This article was first published in InBrief magazine, April 2014
Copyright © Association for Qualitative Research, 2014