Virtual Reality
Source: http://www-vrl.umich.edu/intro/ A good introduction to virtual reality.
The term 'Virtual Reality' (VR) was initially coined by Jaron Lanier, founder of VPL Research (1989). Other related terms include 'Artificial Reality' (Myron Krueger, 1970s), 'Cyberspace' (William Gibson, 1984), and, more recently, 'Virtual Worlds' and 'Virtual Environments' (1990s). According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, "virtual" is defined as "exiting in essence or effect though not in actual fact or form." Thus virtual reality is a phenomenon that has the essence of a real entity though not the entity itself.
Today, 'Virtual Reality' is used in a variety of ways and often in a confusing and misleading manner. Originally, the term referred to 'Immersive Virtual Reality.' In immersive VR, the user becomes fully immersed in an artificial, three-dimensional world that is completely generated by a computer.
As the technologies of virtual reality evolve, the
applications of VR become literally unlimited. It is assumed that VR will
reshape the interface between people and information technology by offering new
ways for the communication of information, the visualization of processes, and
the creative expression of ideas.
Note that a virtual environment can represent any three-dimensional world that
is either real or abstract. This includes real systems like buildings,
landscapes, underwater shipwrecks, spacecrafts, archaeological excavation
sites, human anatomy, sculptures, crime scene reconstructions, solar systems,
and so on. Of special interest is the visual and sensual representation of
abstract systems like magnetic fields, turbulent flow structures, molecular
models, mathematical systems, auditorium acoustics, stock market behavior,
population densities, information flows, and any other conceivable system
including artistic and creative work of abstract nature. These virtual worlds
can be animated, interactive, shared, and can expose behavior and
functionality.
Useful applications of VR include training in a variety of
areas (military, medical, equipment operation, etc.), education, design
evaluation (virtual prototyping), architectural walk-through, human factors and
ergonomic studies, simulation of assembly sequences and maintenance tasks,
assistance for the handicapped, study and treatment of phobias (e.g., fear of
height), entertainment, and much more.
Virtual reality may best be defined as the wide-field presentation of computer-generated,
multi-sensory information which tracks a user in real time. In addition to the
more well-known modes of virtual reality - head-mounted displays and binocular
omni-oriented monitor (BOOM) displays - the Electronic Visualization Laboratory
at the University of Illinois at Chicago introduced a third mode in 1992: a
room constructed of large screens on which the graphics are projected onto two
to three walls and/or the floor.
Source: www.evl.uic.edu/pape/CAVE/oldCAVE/CAVE.overview.html
The CAVE is a multi-person, room-sized, high-resolution, 3D video and audio environment. In the current configuration, graphics are rear projected in stereo onto two walls and the floor, and viewed with stereo glasses. As a viewer wearing a location sensor moves within its display boundaries, the correct perspective and stereo projections of the environment are updated, and the image moves with and surrounds the viewer. The other viewers in the CAVE are like passengers in a bus, along for the ride! "CAVE," the name selected for this virtual reality theater, is both an acronym (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment) and a reference to "The Simile of the Cave" found in Plato's Republic, in which the philosopher explores the ideas of perception, reality, and illusion. Plato used the analogy of a person facing the back of a cave alive with shadows that are his/her only basis for ideas of what real objects are.
www.web3d.org/fs_aboutus.htm The Web3D Consortium was formed to provide a forum for the creation of open standards for Web3D specifications, and to accelerate the worldwide demand for products based on these standards through the sponsorship of market and user education programs. Web3D applications have been actively pursued by many organizations for quite some time. Today, the Web3D Consortium is utilizing its 1500-2000 strong Internet development community, and its broadbased industry support to systematically move the VRML97 ISO Standard forward. Our many prominent technical activities include the Extensible 3D (X3D) specification, which is extending VRML97, using the Extensible Markup Language (XML).
The best way for people to overcome their fear of flying may be to place them in a 3-D, computer-generated world that simulates an airplane ride. A recent study concludes that virtual therapy may treat fear of flying as effectively as the more expensive method of sitting on a real plane.
An estimated 10-25 percent of the population suffers from overwhelming anxiety associated with flying, making it one of the most prevalent phobias today. Drs. Samantha Smith, of Walter Reed Army Hospital, and Barbara O. Rothbaum, of Emory University School of Medicine believe that a new tool, called Virtual Reality Exposure (VRE), may be the most effective way to treat this phobia.
www.howstuffworks.com/news-item71.htm Short article on physically based virtual reality and the electronic glove.
Source: http://www-vrl.umich.edu/project/football/index.html Virtual football trainer set up by the University of Michigan.
Imagine watching the U-M football team playing in a sold out Michigan Stadium on a sunny Saturday afternoon. But instead of cheering from the bleachers, you are being transposed right down to the field next to the quarterback. You are in the middle of the action. You can move to any position and experience the game from the player's point of view. You feel like being a participant, no longer a spectator.
The technology of immersive virtual reality makes this amazing scenario possible. While video games allow you to explore a football play by looking at a computer's monitor, immersive virtual reality provides a much different and unrivaled experience: You are fully surrounded by the virtual players on the field, the players are presented in full scale and in stereo. It seems that you can touch them. You can look and walk around, hover over the quarterback, or even fly to cover distances quickly.
www.hitl.washington.edu/projects/knowledge_base/onthenet.html The Knowledge Base Project organized this compendium of resources. In Spring, 1999, the project completed its work. The publications and pages remain online for the benefit of the virtual reality community. Be aware, however, that the information is not current.
www.ict.usc.edu/disp.php In August 1999, the U.S. Army awarded a five-year contract to the University of Southern California to create the Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT). The ICT's mandate is to enlist the resources and talents of the entertainment and game development industries and to work collaboratively with computer scientists to advance the state of immersive training simulation. The goal of the ICT is the creation of the Experience Learning System (ELS), which provides the ability to learn through active, as opposed to passive, systems. In addition to specific military training tasks, the ELS will have applications for a broad range of educational initiatives. The entertainment industry brings expertise in story, character, visual effects, gaming and production to the ELS. In addition the computer science community brings innovation in networking, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality technology.
www.tombtown.com/html/index2.htm?http%3A//www.tombtown.com/bios/davis.htm
Unique way to obtain biographies. Enter a virtual cemetery called Tombtown and click on the tombstones to reveal a biography about a certain individual. An interesting list of guests visit Tombtown in October for Halloween.
http://archive.ncsa.uiuc.edu/VR/cavernus/ Cavernus is a user society which is an alliance of industrial and research institutions equipped with immersive displays, and high-performance computing resources all interconnected by high-speed networks to support collaboration in design, training, scientific visualization, and computational steering, in virtual reality.
www.cs.vu.nl/~lgonggr/VRLinks.html Another listing of virtual reality sites.
www.ento.vt.edu/~sharov/3d/3dinsect.html 3D insects and how to build virtual insects. From Virginia Tech University. Also contains a list of 3D websites.
www.vrealities.com/ Virtual reality products and prices.
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/GeoImages/QTVR/QTVR.html A site containing beautiful virtual reality panoramas.
http://vr.isdale.com/WhatIsVR.html Another good source about VR.
http://www.zombie.com/ Company that produces virtual reality games.