This sounds far-fetched, until you count the hours per day that people currently spend in front of one screen or another, and then it doesn’t sound far-fetched at all.
Speaking of dreams, how many senses can dreams simulate? If dreams are the brain’s means of making sense of the world and entertaining us while it defragments, do we need more than those senses simulated to be fully mentally immersed in something that feels real? Will travel become the only trip for the nose and taste buds?
well what is perception? It is mostly visual, sensory, temporal, olifactory, auditory and sensory. Visual audio have received far more attention than the other areas. We still don't have digital smell generator, we don't have micro tactile bodysuits with genital stimulation, nor do we have digital taste.
In the future, once we have complete mastery of all facets of human sensory inputs, we can record and manipulate experiences.
I imagine the ultimate goal is to stimulate the responses in the brain not to physically use the senses. It would most likely feel as real as a dream which feels real during it.
The matrix may actually be awesome, so sign me up as a coppertop.