Virtual reality Introduction

Presented by G.Anuradha 06331A0507

Inroduction
The term 'Virtual Reality' (VR) was initially coined by Jaron Lanier, founder of VPL Research (1989). VR can be viewed as an evolution of simulator technology Over the past few years a number of research studies, mainly involving desktop-based or head-mounted Virtual Reality (VR) systems, have been undertaken to determine what VR can contribute to the education process. In our study we have used the findings from a number of these studies to help in formulating a new study into the perceived merits and limitations of using VR in general, and immersive CAVE-like systems in particular, as an education tool

Definition
A computer system used to create an artificial world in which the user has the impression of being in that world and with the ability to navigate through the world and manipulate objects in the world

Main types of VR
Adventure games, MUD/MOO Desktop Projected Semi-immersive Immersive

Technology requirements
Hardware capable of rendering real-time 3D graphics and high-quality stereo sound. Input devices to sense user interaction and motion. Output devices to replace user's sensory input from the physical world with computer-generated input. Software that handles real-time input/output processing, rendering,

Head-mounted displays
Can display either stereo or mono images depending on type

Stereo images (binocular disparity) Same image twice (binocular concordance) Single image (uniocular

Interaction devices
3D Mice Spaceballs Eye tracking Video camera and shadows (eg. Krueger's Critter and Videoplace) Voice recognition Biological sensors Gloves

Hand and gesture tracking Enables natural interaction with objects Can use hand-signs to execute actions

Spacetec SpaceBall

PinchGlove

Sound

Important to create a sense of atmosphere Can greatly enhance feeling of presence Can be used to provide valuable depth cues, aiding navigation Enables the user to pervieve events that occur outside the immediate field of view Audio feedback (can be useful as a substitute for haptic feedback) Voice input/output

Coordinate systems

Introduction to 3D Graphics and VRML World coordinates

World coordinates 3D space defined using X, Y, and Z coordinates The origin is at 0,0,0 In a right-handed coordinate system, -Z is in the distance

Object coordinates
Each object has its own coordinate system

Geometric primitives
Triangles

Polygons
Tristrips Polystrips Pmeshs Vectors Point

Lists

Anti-aliasing
Improves

realism by smoothing out jagged

lines Usually handled by hardware as software anti-aliasing is slow

Animation
Static

environments are not usually very interesting Interpolation is typically used to define animation in a virtual environment In VRML, interpolator nodes can be used to control animation

Interaction

need to be able to receive event messages triggered by user actions, and react on them, in order to be able to support interaction In VRML, sensor nodes are used to detect user actions and generate events A TouchSensor is used to detect touch and can generate several different output events that describe how, when and where a user touched an object

Applications
Architecture

Education
Conferencing Medical Design

and prototyping

Design and prototyping

Education

Training
Civilian and military training simulators
Driving simulators Flight simulators Ship simulators Tank simulators

Challenges
Hardware

technology User interface Distributed virtual environments

Conclusions
VR

is a powerful user interface technology

choosing the best way to visualise it VR enables the user to interact directly with information VR can enable the user to see/experience things in new ways Full 'presence' is not provided by current technology A number of potentially serious physiological problems remain unsolved