Technology & Engineering
Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality (VR) refers to a computer-generated simulation of an environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real or physical way. It typically involves the use of a headset and other sensory feedback devices to create an immersive experience for the user. VR technology has applications in various fields, including gaming, education, training, and healthcare.
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12 Key excerpts on "Virtual Reality"
eBook - PDF- R. A. Earnshaw(Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Academic Press(Publisher)
Part 1 Introduction This page intentionally left blank 1 Virtual Reality: Definitions, History and Applications Michael A. Gigante Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Advanced Computer Graphics Centre 1 Introduction Virtual Reality (VR) has received an enormous amount of publicity over the past few years. Along with this pubhcity has arisen a great deal of conflicting terminology, some unrealistic expectations and a great deal of uninformed commentary. In this paper, I will attempt to provide an overview of developments in the area and attempt to lay down some realistic medium term goals. I will also lay to rest a number of misconceptions about VR and where it is today. 1.1 Terminology First, let me provide a minimal deñnition; VR is characterized by The illusion of participation in a synthetic environment rather than external observation of such an environment. VR relies on three-dimensional (3D), stereoscopic, head- tracked displays, hand/body tracking and binaural sound. VR is an immersive, multi- sensory experience. Under this broad definition, VR is also referred to as Virtual Environments, Virtual Worlds or Microworlds. Although these names are essentially equivalent, many research groups prefer to avoid the term VR because of the hype and the associated unrealistic expectations. Telepresence represents one of the main areas of research in the VR community - that of VR-mediated remote presence and remote operation. The classic example of a telepresence environment is the teleoperation of a robot in a hazardous or remote environment. You can imagine coupling your visual system with remote cameras that track your head and eye movements so that you can see what you would see yourself if you were in fact in that remote place.
eBook - PDF- Paul Birevu Muyinda(Author)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- IntechOpen(Publisher)
There are several accepted definitions for VR. This is partly due to its interdisciplinary nature but also to its historical development. VR is the ‘generic’ name that represents a technology through which the user can freely visualize, explore/manipulate, and interact with complex data in real time (Alves et al., 2011). With the grouping of other concepts, one can say that VR is an advanced technical interface capable of providing the user a feeling of immersion (feeling of being in the environment), of browsing and interaction in a computer-generated synthetic tri-dimensional environment, using multi-sensorial channels. The environments developed in VR have five elements that form its main characteristic (called 5 “Is”): Immersive, interactive, intuitive, illustrative, and intensive. Thus, VR can be immersive or not. That which sets it apart is the use of physical technologies (supported by logical ordering technologies). The first type depends on input/output devices (helmets, gloves, and even projection rooms). The non-immersive one is based on the use of a monitor, mouse, or touch screen. These are simpler and have low cost and are ideal for distance education courses via the Web. The image below shows a student browsing the contents of one of the distance education courses that uses VR on a monitor. In order to intensify the feeling of immersion, a helmet and gloves can also be added, as well as sound (sound can create a feeling of movement and location). Distance Education 148 Figure 2. Monitor VR Kirner and Sicouto (2007, p.92) state that a VR system can be synthetic (generated in real time), tri-dimensional, multi-sensorial, immersive, interactive, realistic (reproduction of real objects) and with presence. Therefore, we can consider it as a tri-dimensional graphical environment that integrates audio, generating in real time and that allows interactivity. Audio-Visual Realism is the experience of uniting sight and hearing.
eBook - PDFMetaverse and Immersive Technologies
An Introduction to Industrial, Business and Social Applications
- Chandrashekhar A, Shaik Himam Saheb, Sandeep Kumar Panda, S. Balamurugan, Sheng-Lung Peng(Authors)
- 2023(Publication Date)
- Wiley-Scrivener(Publisher)
The next level of advancement can be called Virtual Reality. Technology is rapidly evolving and has excellent potential. The ability of Virtual Reality to pro- duce realistic worlds of data, objects, and surroundings with which users can interact and manipulate realistically and naturally offers up a wide range of possibilities for work-related applications. The concept of Virtual Reality offers a unique blend of entertainment, education, and cutting-edge technology. Guests will be transported to diverse realms via virtual real- ity technology. Distance no longer matters when speaking with someone who is not physically present due to technological advancements. You have much freedom to explore the 3D environment and your ideas with the help of this technology. Various applications range from entertainment to industrialization. Many users are still designing their programs and setting them up specifically suited to their needs. So it is still in its early stages. The development of technologies that handle the difficulties of ‘wide scale’ virtual environments is the future of Virtual Reality. As additional research is conducted, we may expect VR to become common in our homes and workplaces. As computers evolve fast, they can generate more realistic graphic pictures that better replicate reality. It will be interesting to observe how it improves artificial reality shortly. “Virtual Reality: Where reality ends, and imagination begins. ” 374 Metaverse and Immersive Technologies References 1. Yu, X., Research and practice on application of Virtual Reality technology in virtual estate exhibition. Proc. Eng., 15, 1245–1250, 2011. 2. Park, J., Kang, H., Huh, C., Lee, M., Do immersive displays influence exhi- bition attendees’ satisfaction?: A stimulus-organism-response approach.
eBook - PDF- Constantine Stephanidis(Author)
- 2009(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
12 -1 12.1 Introduction Virtual Reality (VR) refers to technologies that can permit users to experience and interact with environments that are entirely computer generated. A large part of such environments are visual, using computer screens, multiscreen projection systems, shutter glasses to provide 3D effects, and various kinds of head-mounted displays, but may also include rich audio capability, haptic (tactile) interfaces, various means for locomotion within the virtual world, and even olfaction (smell). The environments created using these techniques may represent the real world, or an entirely artificial world, or some combination of both. For the purposes of this chapter, two additional concepts will be con-sidered within the scope of VR: mixed reality (MR) and aug-mented reality (AR). Milgram and Kishino (1994) defined what they call the virtuality continuum (Figure 12.1) that has at one end sensed reality in the real world, and at the other extreme VR in which the sensed world is entirely artificial. In between these is the world of MR, in which some elements of the world being sensed and with which a user is interacting are physically real while some are artificially generated. Discussions are ongoing about the terminology and specific attributes of each. While these discussions can be energetic and entertaining, this chapter will use the terms MR and AR in a specific and more narrowly focused way. MR for the purpose of this chapter will be environments that contain both real and artificially created elements in various modalities (visual, audi-tory, haptic, olfactory) with the mix determined by the needs of the application. In particular, elements of the environment with which the user must interact directly will generally be real physical elements; those that the intended user must see, hear, or otherwise sense, but that they do not directly manipulate, can be entirely virtual, that is, computer generated.
eBook - PDF- Charles Blilie(Author)
- 2007(Publication Date)
- World Scientific(Publisher)
The popular image of Virtual Reality is likely to change a great deal in the years ahead. In a decade or two, when one thinks of VR, it will not be of video games, but of participatory educational software, simulated visits to ancient Egypt, a vastly expanded Internet telepresence and teleconferencing capability, and a means of cultural dispersion. Virtual Reality … and Reality 243 The Interactive Image Let us return to the chapter’s central question: what constitutes Virtual Reality? Virtual Reality as expanded imagination — as an imaginary world that nonetheless has the authentic ring of reality — implies many things. But the essential features can be, I think, condensed down to this: Virtual Reality is a set of interactive sensory images , with rules for getting from one image to another. Each part of this definition is important. The Virtual Reality, to warrant the name, must have images that appear real enough to us. Without images, just with words, we would have the information, but not the immediacy of reality. Every image is a projection of what is real or what can be real. Images are thus essential to Virtual Reality — and images mean not only visual images (the normal use of the term), but also images appropriate to the other sensory modes: of sounds and textures, smells and tastes. Virtual Reality must also be interactive . Without a means of acting on the world, however small, the virtual world is just a separate universe. It is not fully real for me . Without the possibility of participation, the simulated world will simply develop along the deterministic lines its internal rules dictate (or vary randomly). Finally, there must be a set of rules for getting from one set of images to another. This could be as simple as allowing a participant to select arbitrarily which path to pursue in the virtual world, or as complex as trying to simulate the behavior of objects according to scientific laws.
eBook - PDF- Alan Chamberlain(Author)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Elsevier Science(Publisher)
Some of the potential application areas for VR systems are summarised in Table 1 and include many aspects of site work, design activity and so on. This paper will describe the applications of VR technology to two construction problems and will go on to show that there is potential for further research in this area. The field of Virtual Reality has developed out of experience gained in computer graphics and human-computer interaction. The basic concept is that of the immersion of the operator in a computer-generated world such that the sensory information conveyed reinforces the 250 Table 1 Potential Applications of VR in Construction Area Potential Applications Site Operations Rehearsing erection sequences Planning lifting operations Progress and monitoring Communications Inspection and maintenance Safety training and skills Office Automation Tele-conferences Project review and evaluation Project documentation Marketing Design Phases Preliminary and detailed design Lighting and ventilation simulations Data exchange Fire/safety/access assessments Scheduling and progress reviews Special Areas Nuclear industry Subsea inspections and work Near space operations Micro inspection and testing impression that the model or synthetic world is real [3]. The virtual world is generated by a specialised computing platform and is conveyed to the operator using the human sensory input channels. At the same time, extraneous impressions of the real world are excluded. VR tools for simulating construction processes and site environments fall into the two categories of immersive and non-immersive VR systems. Immersive VR systems are where a user dons a headset and gloves in order to take an active part in the virtual domain maintained by the computer. In this way, the user can simulate the behaviour of a tower crane operator or participate in a training session. The other approach is called non-immersive VR and is where a user is outside the virtual world maintained by the computer.
eBook - ePub- Richa Goel, Sukanta Kumar Baral, Tapas Mishra, Vishal Jain, Richa Goel, Sukanta Kumar Baral, Tapas Mishra, Vishal Jain(Authors)
- 2023(Publication Date)
- De Gruyter(Publisher)
VR and AR are two of the most viable solutions for creating learning objects and meeting their basic needs. Technological integrations in the learning area will improve deeper awareness through a multisensory atmosphere [ 1 ]. 1.1 Virtual Reality interactions VR allows users to engage with computer-based surroundings, enhanced by a graphic system and a wide range of display and input devices. Virtual Reality technology primarily provides prospective education, including the competence to permit beginners to visualize and interrelate with 3D virtual representations, real-time immersion in the virtual environment, visualize the effective relationship among some attributes in a virtual environment system and intellectual concepts, assimilate their understanding of phenomena by composing or controlling virtual surroundings, and permit individuals to co-operate with one another in social settings. With such capabilities, in which some are unique to this sector, VR has several educational aids that, if properly applied, will exert a strong influence on its application to education. For example, in the field of specialized vocational training, the usage of VR headsets may significantly improve vocational training. Figure 10.1: Images on Virtual Reality. Participants can utilize Virtual Reality technology to involve themselves in virtualized scenarios, based on the frequent issues faced in any particular industry/business. One of the most attractive aspects of VR as a learning aid is its capacity to present items and situations that are not ordinarily accessible to humans, but allow people to interact with them, for instance, by reaching out to ‘touch’ the atoms of a complicated molecule which is shown in Figure 10.1. It can also simply transform a wheelchair into a vehicle capable of transporting its owner across the world, for example, virtual safari parks or cities
eBook - PDFCyberspace/Cyberbodies/Cyberpunk
Cultures of Technological Embodiment
- Mike Featherstone, Roger Burrows, Mike Featherstone, Roger Burrows(Authors)
- 1996(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications Ltd(Publisher)
The Design of Virtual Reality MICHAEL HEIM Why CaU It'Virtual Reality'? The label 'Virtual ReaHty' stuck to the new technology and just wouldn't let go. Since Jaron Lanier coined the phrase in 1986, it has held the field through aU opposition. Researchers at MIT shunned the phrase in the early 1990s. Instead of 'virtual reaHty', they spoke of 'virtual environments'. The word 'reality' in 'VR' glowed with an aura similar to 'artificial intelligence', and computer scientists had already been burned once before by boldly promising to deliver machines that could think. At the University of North CaroHna, engineers under Frederick Brooks found 'Virtual Reality' unscientific. They too opted for the more buttoned-down 'virtual environments'. Military scientists preferred 'synthetic environ-ments'. Researchers at the Human Interface Technology Lab at the University of Washington in Seattle urged 'virtual worlds'. Against all protests, however, Lanier's phrase held its own. 'Virtual Reality' continued appearing on successful grant applications as researchers conceded the power of VR to describe their holy grail. The poetic appeal of the phrase, its grandeur, struck the appropriate chord for the English-speaking community. Appropriate too was the subtle reference of the phrase to the historical origins of computing. The philosopher Leibniz was famous for his proto-computer as well as for his metaphysics of 'possible worlds'. The philosophical echoes in the term 'Virtual Reality' serve perfectly well to suggest today's ambiguous merger of life with computers. Grammarians complain about the oxymoron 'Virtual Reality', but the semantic twist of the phrase tells us as much about our tenuous grasp on reaHty as it does about the computerization of everything we know and experience. 'Virtual' impHes the computer storage model of Hfe, software tricks, and the switch from industrial physics to information symbolics.
eBook - PDFVirtual Reality
Human Computer Interaction
- Xin?Xing Tang, Xin‐Xing Tang, Xin‐Xing Tang(Authors)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- IntechOpen(Publisher)
The ultimate goal of Virtual Reality is to present to the user computer-generated scenes in such a manner that the user should not be aware that they are in a Virtual Reality system at all – a sort of Turing test [29] for VR. To achieve this, the images should be of such high resolution that the individual pixels cannot be distinguished, the display should change with the observer’s head movements without perceptible lag and the rendered scenes should be exquisitely detailed with realistically rendered three-dimensional models. Current capability in Virtual Reality falls some way short of this ideal. Nevertheless, recent advances in head tracking technology and pixel-drawing speed make this a useful point to pause and consider the state of the art in presenting high-fidelity immersive Virtual Reality. Issues that we will address in this chapter include approaches to minimise tracking latency; detection of and compensation for spatial distortions in head mounted displays and methods to check that a rendered scene corresponds well with the real-world rays of light that are being simulated (or ‘virtualized’). These questions are, to a large extent, independent of the technology used. To clarify terminology and lay a framework for subsequent discussion, we consider a Virtual Reality system to be comprised of three subsystems: tracking, rendering and display. Furthermore, we consider a ‘data pipeline’ to consist, broadly, of a real world event being sampled by the tracker, the generation of an appropriate scene on the VR graphics computer, and the final rendering of pixels in the display device. In this chapter we will examine the ©2012 Gilson and Glennerster, licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
- Christiane Eichenberg(Author)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- IntechOpen(Publisher)
The feeling of being physically immersed can result in a sense of presence , that includes a perception of the environment as being real, shutting out real-life stimuli and performing involuntary, objectively meaningless body movements such as ducking to avoid an object displayed in VR. Moreover, persons seem to experience a strong sense of control in VR. A study [2] showed that persons who were told to have control over the movements of an elevator but actually did not, rated their perceived control as high as those who in fact had control over the elevator. Another technology that has been developed in the past years is referred to as Augmented Reality (AR). AR describes the superimposition of virtual elements into the real world. Persons therefore see a visualization of the real world and virtual elements at the same time [3]. © 2012 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Virtual Reality in Psychological, Medical and Pedagogical Applications 36 Advantages of AR in comparison to VR may include an enhanced feeling of presence and reality, since the environment is in fact real. Additionally, AR might be less expensive, because the real world environment can be used as a scheme. Thus, the setting does not need to be entirely developed. Research on the usage of VR and AR technologies in psychotherapy has mainly focused on behavioral therapy and was proven to be effective particularly in the treatment of specific phobias [4]. According to well-established behavior therapy theories, clients have to be exposed to fear inducing situations in order to treat phobias, because avoidance of fearful stimuli might stabilize the assumption that they are dangerous.
eBook - PDFVirtual Reality
Recent Advancements, Applications and Challenges
- Lila Bozgeyikli, Ren Bozgeyikli(Authors)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- River Publishers(Publisher)
1 Recent Application Areas, Interaction Techniques and User Interfaces in Virtual Reality Yafei Xu, Limin Zhang and Lila Bozgeyikli * School of Information, University of Arizona, USA E-mail: [email protected] * Corresponding Author 1.1 Introduction Virtual Reality (VR) has been actively used in a wide array of areas in recent years, thanks to the advancements in hardware which enabled affordable headsets with high technical capabilities (e.g., 6 degrees of freedom posi-tion tracking, standalone systems). This chapter aims to give a snapshot of the recent VR studies with an emphasis on novel system components or application areas. Mainly, the use of the following topics in VR will be discussed: education and training, assessment and treatment of cognitive disorders and eating disorders, increasing empathy, entertainment, interaction and user interfaces (UIs). 1.2 Education and Training with Virtual Reality 1.2.1 Language Learning in VR Although people intend to learn languages for many purposes, there is still much less of them who can sustain the learning path. The current language learning tools cannot bring the fun part of immersive learning experience while studying abroad is not a privilege to everyone. The truth is, it is important to acquire a language in the context within its related culture. In recent years, the affordable VR tools for immersive experience have arisen in the application areas of education and tourism. Cheng et al. explored 1 2 Recent Application Areas, Interaction Techniques teaching language and culture with a VR game [1]. Their work focused on their design process of a VR game adapted from “Crystallize” by Culbertson et al. [2], which is a 3D video game for learning the Japanese language. They built the game in VR with Oculus Rift. Particularly, they investigated the use of VR in designing the game mechanics for physical cultural interaction like bowing in Japanese greetings.
- Massîmo Bergamasco, Benoit Bardy, Daniel Gopher, Massîmo Bergamasco, Benoit Bardy, Daniel Gopher(Authors)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
real.environments.and.those.developed.for.the.purpose.of.simulation.and.training . In.the.case.of.VR.as.an.alternative.work.environment,.the.major.emphasis.is.also. on.the.relevance.and.transfer.of.experience.acquired.in.the.VR.environment.to.the. performance.in.the.actual.operational.environment . .Consequently,.if.fidelity.cannot. be.preserved.or.is.hard.to.achieve,.it.is.better.to.avoid.it.because.of.the.risk.of.pro-ducing.illusionary.conjunctions.and.negative.transfer.(Schroeder.&.Kaiser,.2003) . In.the.development.of.training.environments.this.is.the.case.where.it.is.some-times.desirable.for.the.purpose.of.training.to.create.deliberate.impoverishment.and. systematic.diversions.from.fidelity.(low-. fidelity.VR.environments) . .This.is.done.to. emphasize.components,.overcome.the.dominance.of.one.modality.over.another,.and. help.the.operator.to.develop.sensitivities,.capabilities,.and.modes.of.behavior.that.are. otherwise.suppressed.in.real-. life.operational.conditions . .For.example,.when.using. the. standard. computer. keyboard,. natural. dominance. of. vision. causes. performers. 53 Perspectives of Multimodal Virtual Reality (VR) Training Platforms to.intuitively.adopt.a.visually.guided.typing.strategy . . Acquisition. of. touch-. typing. skills.based.on.proprioceptive.information.feedback.from.hands.and.fingers.does.not. develop.without.deliberate,.long,.and.tedious.training.(Wichter.et.al ., .1997) . .Using.a. secondary.task.paradigm.in.which.the.visually.guided.typing.strategy.was.made.less. attractive.led.to.a.faster.acquisition.of.touch-. typing.skills.and.higher.performance. levels.both.at.the.end.of.training.and.in.the.retention.tests.(Yechiam.et.al ., .2001) . ARCHITECTURE OF MULTIMODAL VR TRAINING PLATFORMS A. multimodal. VR. training. platform. requires. the. integration. of. different. tools,. devices,.and.the.execution.of.high-. performance.algorithms.for.haptic,.visual,.and. audio. rendering. that. have. to. be. well. synchronized. to.
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