Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality

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Virtual Reality
Paper Presentation

Name:L.Srikanth Reddy
Address: III B.Tech II Sem, CSE,
CJITS,Jangaon,Warangal.
Email: srikantharc@yahoo.co.in

Name: G .Srinath
Address: III B.Tech II Sem, CSE,
CJITS,Jangaon,Warangal.
Email:srinath_0209@yahoo.co.in

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INDEX: page no:

 Abstract 4
 What is VR? 4

 Terms of VR 5
 Definition 5

 Terminology 5
 Different Kinds of VE Technologies 5
1.Subjective Immersion
2.Spatial Immersion
 Styles of Interactions to VE 6
1.Desktop VR 6
2.Projected VR 6
3.Immersive VR
6 4.Cave
6 5.Telepresence
7 6.Augmented
7 7.Non-Immersive VR
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 Evolution of Technologies to Achieve VR 7
1.Immersive VR 7
i.Head-Mounted Display
8 ii.Boom
8 iii.Cave
9 iv.Characteristics of Immersive VR
9 2.Non-Immersive VR
10 i.VRML
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 Applications 11
1.Architecture,Design and Prototype
11 2.Educational and Conferencing 11
3.Training 12
4.Medical
12 5.Bussiness Visualization
12 6.Scientific Visualization
12 7.Art and Leisure
12
 Challenges 13
1.Technologies
13 2.Building worlds
13 3.User Interface Design

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13 4.Distributed Virtual Environments

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 Conclusion 14
 Final Thoughts 14

 Biblography 14

Abstract:

Virtual reality as of recent, while still

extremely new, has become the topic of many opposing
viewpoints. It has caught the eye of the general public for
several reasons. Perhaps, this is mainly because of all the
possibilities which virtual reality creates. Note that the
possibilities are not pre-determined as either good or bad,
mainly because there are many different opinions to the
future of this developing technology.

However, despite the controversy this

new technology has aroused, society should not remain
skeptical. Virtual reality has the potential, if used correctly,
to become a great technological advancement that will aid
society in many ways. In the past, virtual reality has been
nothing more than a small step beyond video games.
However, it is now apparent that this technology can be
used for more practical purposes. These purposes include
national defense, surgical procedures and various other
applications.
Society has not fully acknowledged
the benefits of virtual reality as of yet because it is still
under development. The reason for virtual reality
remaining in its development for so long is mainly due to
its complexity. The hardware that has developed so far is
unable to make the large calculations required by a virtual
reality based machine. However, as apparent in recent
years, technology is advancing at an extreme rate
It is clearly apparent that because this
technology is so new society is unsure how it will fit in.
This is also a good example of why people's opinions are
so varied. Some people see virtual reality as just another
tool which will aid society in several ways. Others see it as
dominating society all together and affecting everyone's
lives everyday. It obviously has the potential to be both and

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it is easy to see why people are so hesitant to decide.

Perhaps another reason for society's lack of optimism is
their fear that they will somehow be removed from actual
reality. Although quite ironic, for a long time society has
had a fear that technology will someday take control of
their lives.
Perhaps the idea of technology becoming so advanced that
people will no longer be able to tell whether they are in
virtual or actual reality. It is clear that technology has
definitely affected society in recent years. However, it is
quite difficult to predict the role of technology in the
future.

Although society knows a lot about

virtual reality there is still so much that it doesn't know.
Perhaps in the coming years, new technology will come
out and people will learn more about this virtual world.
However, until that time, the questions will remain
numerous and doubtful yet the possibilities are unlimited.

What is VR?

Virtual reality's new technology and theory makes it

somewhat expensive and puzzling to practitioners.
Effectively using its inherent characteristics requires
understanding VR's terms and its variations.
Terms of VR

"Virtual" refers to its computer-generated existence; some

prefer the term "cyber" to reinforce the point.

"Reality" is the more controversial term. Realism debates

whirl around what levels of realistic detail are needed and
affordable. Practitioners can choose types and amounts of
reality varying from "objective" to "novel" and from
specific to variable, or nonspecific.

Definition

"Virtual Reality: 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."

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Terminology

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).

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.

Different kinds of VE technology support different

modes of interaction.

• One kind of VE technology employs subjective

immersion, in which the user interacts as if using
an ordinary desktop computer system. The user
views the system from the usual close but remote
position and interacts through standard or special-
purpose input or control devices such as keyboards,
mouse controls, trackballs, joysticks, or force balls.
Three dimensions are represented on 3D displays
through the use of simulation software employing
perspective, object rotation, object interposition,
relative size, shading, etc.

• The other kind of VE technology uses spatial

immersion. The user is required to get inside the
virtual space by wearing special equipment,
typically at least a helmet mounted display that
bears sensors to determine precise helmet position
within the VE system's range, in order to interact
with the simulated environment. The user is thus
immersed in a quasi-3D virtual space in which
objects of interest appear to exist and events occur
above, below, and around in all directions toward
which the user turns his or her head.

Styles Of Interactions To VE

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The different styles of interaction depend upon

the way the virtual environment is represented. We can
identify at least six interaction styles that refer to the way
the simulated/virtual environment is represented: desktop,
projected, immersive, Cave, telepresence, augmented.

1) Desktop VR

The most popular type and is based upon the concept that
the potential user interacts with the computer screen
without being fully immersed and surrounded by the
computer-generated environment. The feeling of subjective
immersion can be improved through stereoscopic vision
(i.e., CrystalEyes) and operative action with interface can
be guaranteed via pointing devices (mouse, joystick) or
typical VR peripherals such as Data glove. Desktop VR is
used mainly in games but professional applications are
currently widely diffused. Example of professional
application domains comes from general industrial design,
engineering, architecture and the visualization of data
streams. The main benefit of desktop VR is its limited cost
and less involving use of interacting technology, as a
matter of fact according to different scenarios of use it
might be more appropriate a less "invasive" device such as
a CRT monitor than a wired HMD. It seems that desktop
VR is particularly successful with the inspection of sample
objects as opposed to immersed VR where the best
exploitation is with the exploration of spaces. Up to date
CAD/CAM systems slowly shifted in their performance
towards the quality of VR interaction when they allowed
the user to manipulate 3-d objects as if they were real.

2) Projected VR

This is technological solution often seen in VR-Art shows

and in VR leisure applications. It is based upon the
overlapping of the image of the real user on the computer
generated world. That is to say that the user can see his
image overlaid the simulated environment. A special
movement tracking device can capture the movements of
the user and insert them so that they can cause actions and
re-actions in the virtual world.

3) Immersive VR

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With this type of solution the user appears to be fully

inserted in the computer generated environment. This
illusion is rendered by providing HMD, with 3-D viewing
and a system of head tracking to guarantee the exact
correspondence and co-ordination of user's movements
with the fee-back of the environment.

4) CAVE

Cave is a small room where a computer generated world is

projected on the walls. The projection is made on both
front and side walls. This solution is particularly suitable
for collective VR experience because it allows different
people to share the same experience at the same time. It
seems that this technological solution is particularly
appropriate for cockpit simulations as it allows the views
from different sides of a imaginary vehicle.

5) Telepresence

Users can influence and operate in a world that is real but

in a different location. The users can observe the current
situation with remote cameras and achieve actions via
robotic and electronic arms. Telepresence is used for
remote surgical operations and for the
exploration/manipulation of hazardous environments (i.e.,
space, underwater, radioactive.

Virtual Reality is the product of a trick. The VR system

tricks the user into believing that the Virtual Environment
by which he feels himself surrounded is the actual, real
environment. This is made possible by several different
devices, each with its own technology, which produce each
a specific aspect of the VE, relevant for a specific sense.
We will discuss hardware relevant for the three senses
which are to be immersed in the VE: sight, touch and
hearing.

6) Augmented

This VR solution is an invasive strategy towards reality. As

a matter of fact user's view of the world is supplemented
with virtual objects and items whose meaning is aimed at
enriching the information content of the real environment.
In military applications for instance vision performance is

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enhanced by providing the pictograms that anticipate the

presence of other entities out of sight.

7) Non-Immersive VR

Today, the term 'Virtual Reality' is also used for

applications that are not fully immersive. The boundaries
are becoming blurred, but all variations of VR will be
important in the future. This includes mouse-controlled
navigation through a three-dimensional environment on a
graphics monitor, stereo viewing from the monitor via
stereo glasses, stereo projection systems, and others.
Apple's QuickTime VR, for example, uses photographs for
the modeling of three-dimensional worlds and provides
pseudo look-around and walk-trough capabilities on a
graphics monitor.

Evolution of Technologies To Achieve VR

Today two prominent types to achieve virtual
reality. They are Immersive VR and Non-Immersive VR

1. Immersive VR: In immersive VR, the user becomes

fully immersed in an artificial, three-dimensional world
that is completely generated by a computer.

i.Head-Mounted Display (HMD)

The head-mounted display (HMD) was the first device

providing its wearer with an immersive experience. Evans
and Sutherland demonstrated a head-mounted stereo
display already in 1965. It took more then 20 years before
VPL Research introduced a commercially available HMD,
the famous "Eye Phone" system (1989).

A head-mounted display (HMD):

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Web size (83 K)

A typical HMD houses two miniature display screens and

an optical system that channels the images from the screens
to the eyes, thereby, presenting a stereo view of a virtual
world. A motion tracker continuously measures the position
and orientation of the user's head and allows the image
generating computer to adjust the scene representation to
the current view. As a result, the viewer can look around
and walk through the surrounding virtual environment.

To overcome the often uncomfortable intrusiveness of a

head-mounted display, alternative concepts (e.g., BOOM
and CAVE) for immersive viewing of virtual environments
were developed.

ii.Boom

The BOOM (Binocular Omni-Orientation Monitor) from

Fake space is a head-coupled stereoscopic display device.
Screens and optical system are housed in a box that is
attached to a multi-link arm. The user looks into the box
through two holes, sees the virtual world, and can guide the
box to any position within the operational volume of the
device. Head tracking is accomplished via sensors in the
links of the arm that holds the box.

The BOOM, a head-coupled display device:

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Screen size (170K) - Max size (100K)

iii.Cave

The CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment) was

developed at the University of Illinois at Chicago and
provides the illusion of immersion by projecting stereo
images on the walls and floor of a room-sized cube.
Several persons wearing lightweight stereo glasses can
enter and walk freely inside the CAVE. Head tracking
systems continuously adjust the stereo projection to the
current position of the leading viewer.

CAVE system (schematic principle):

Web size (29K)

Input Devices and other Sensual Technologies

A variety of input devices like data gloves, joysticks, and

hand-held wands allow the user to navigate through a
virtual environment and to interact with virtual objects.
Directional sound, tactile and force feedback devices, voice
recognition and other technologies are being employed to
enrich the immersive experience and to create more

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"sensualized" interfaces.

A data glove allows for interactions with the virtual world:

Moving the steering wheel

Web (120K) - Screen (307K) - Max (428K)

iv.Characteristics of Immersive VR

The unique characteristics of immersive virtual reality can

be summarized as follows:

• Head-referenced viewing provides a natural

interface for the navigation in three-dimensional
space and allows for look-around, walk-around, and
fly-through capabilities in virtual environments.
• Stereoscopic viewing enhances the perception of
depth and the sense of space.
• The virtual world is presented in full scale and
relates properly to the human size.
• Realistic interactions with virtual objects via data
glove and similar devices allow for manipulation,
operation, and control of virtual worlds.
• The convincing illusion of being fully immersed in
an artificial world can be enhanced by auditory, hap
tic, and other non-visual technologies.
• Networked applications allow for shared virtual
environments (see below).

2.Non-immersive VR

Today, the term 'Virtual Reality' is also used for

applications that are not fully immersive. The boundaries

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are becoming blurred, but all variations of VR will be

important in the future. This includes mouse-controlled
navigation through a three-dimensional environment on a
graphics monitor, stereo viewing from the monitor via
stereo glasses, stereo projection systems, and others.

i.VRML

Most exciting is the ongoing development of VRML

(Virtual Reality Modeling Language) on the World Wide
Web. In addition to HTML (Hypertext Markup Language),
that has become a standard authoring tool for the creation
of home pages, VRML provides three-dimensional worlds
with integrated hyperlinks on the Web. Home pages
become home spaces. The viewing of VRML models via a
VRML plug-in for Web browsers is usually done on a
graphics monitor under mouse-control and, therefore, not
fully immersive. However, the syntax and data structure of
VRML provide an excellent tool for the modeling of three-
dimensional worlds that are functional and interactive and
that can, ultimately, be transferred into fully immersive
viewing systems. The current version VRML 2.0 has
become an international ISO/IEC standard under the name
VRML97.

To view and interact with the following VRML example

(Escher's Penrose Staircase), we recommend to install the
Cosmo Player plug-in for Netscape or Explorer Web
browsers.

Rendering of Escher's Penrose Staircase (modeled by

Diganta Saha):

Web size (97K) - Screen size (427K) - Max size (688K)

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APPLICATIONS

i. Architecture, design and prototyping

• Architecture
• Walkthroughs to evaluate design decisions and/or
present designs to customers
• Demonstrate how a planned construction fits into
the environment in which it is intended to be built
• Design and prototyping
• Use to create rapid prototypes rather than make clay
models or full-scale mock-ups [ Image ]
• Simulate assembly lines. For example, to evaluate
the risk of interference or collision between robots,
cars, and car parts

ii. Education and conferencing

• Education
• Visualize concepts [ Image ]
• Visualize the past ('Virtual Heritage')
• Conferencing and Virtual Classrooms
• Conferencing
• Collaborative work over the Internet
• Virtual work groups
• Virtual lectures and conferences

iii. Training
• Civilian and military training simulators
• Driving simulators
• Flight simulators
• Ship simulators
• Tank simulators
• Train for hazardous or difficult operations
• Nuclear plant maintenance [ Image ]
• Learn to move in zero gravity
• practice locating and fixing faults in equipment
[ Image ]

iv. Medical
• Surgery
• Practice performing surgery
• Perform surgery on a remote patient
• Rehabilitation
• Phobia therapy

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• Use VR input devices and telepresence to enable

handicapped people to do things that would
otherwise be impossible for them to do
• Enable handicapped people to visit/see places that
they would be otherwise unable to experience

v. Business and visualization

• Business
• 3D visualization of complex financial information
• Demonstrate customizable products to customers
(cars, kitchens,...) [ Image ]

vi. Scientific visualization

• View complex data sets to gain greater insight and
understanding of structure
• View complex molecular structures
• View geological structures
• Visualizing Cyberspace
• 3D navigational interfaces to the Net
vii. Art and leisure
• Art
• Virtual galleries and museums
• Virtual theatres
• As a new visual/sensory medium
• Leisure
• Games
• Sport simulators
CHALLENGES

i. Technologies
• Hardware technology
• More realistic graphics and audio (this is also a
software problem)
• Greater processor power
• Less obstructive input/output devices

ii. Building worlds

• Creating models takes a long time and is a skill
that needs to be acquired
• We need better software tools to create objects,
add behavior to objects, and to handle
interaction (especially for working with VRML)

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• Optimizing models takes time and

synchronizing modifications can be difficult
(CAD tools to/from VR environment builder)
• Making accurate models of the physical world
is difficult. Devices such as laser scanners are
making this easier, but human intervention is
still a necessary and time consuming part of the
modeling process
• Can we build knowledge-based systems to help
us capture the physical world?

iii.User interface design

• The user interface for a virtual environment

needs to be carefully designed to take into
account the functional requirements of the
application and the limitations of current
technology
• How should the user interact with the virtual
environment?
• How should the computer provide feedback?
• What symbols and metaphors can be used to
improve the user interface?
• What is the most meaningful way to visualize
an abstract object/process/structure?
• How do we improve navigational and spatial
awareness?

iv. Distributed virtual environments

• How should users communicate?

• Etiquette in distributed VR?
• How do I know you are real and not an agent?
• How do I know you are really there? Maybe
you've gone off to make a cup of coffee while I
was talking to you!
• Social effects of distributed VR?
• Technological: Lag, large numbers of users
simultaneously, etc

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CONCLUSION

• VR is a powerful user interface technology

• Information is important, as is choosing the best
way to visualize 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
• VR does not have to be immersive to be useful

FINAL THOUGHTS

• How real is reality?

• What is reality?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• www-vrl.umich.edu
• www.osc.edu
• web.mit.edu
• www.cs.jhu.edu
• www.ia.hiof.no
• www.opm.ctw.utwente.nl

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