Defining Virtual Reality Websters New Universal Unabridged - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Defining Virtual Reality

Webster’s New

Universal Unabridged Dictionary (1989) defines Virtual as “being in essence or effect, but not in fact”

Webster’s defines

reality as “the state or quality of being real”

What is Virtual Reality? “A high-end user interface that involves real-time simulation and interaction through multiple sensorial channels.” (vision, sound, touch, smell, taste)

Introduction

Introduction

Four Key Elements of Virtual Reality Experience

Virtual World Immersion

– Physical and Mental

Sensory Feedback Interactivity

Key Element 1

Virtual world

• 1. an imaginary space often manifested

through a medium

• 2. a description of a collection of objects in

a space and the rules and relationships governing those objects

Key Element 2:

Immersion

Immersion into an alternate reality or point

• f view

The state of being mentally immersed

is often referred to as having “a sense

• f presence” within an environment

Immersion sensation of being in an

environment; can be a purely mental state or can be accomplished through physical means

Physical and Mental Immersion

Mental immersion state of being deeply engaged;

suspension of disbelief; involvement

Physical immersion bodily entering into a

medium; synthetic stimulus of the body’s senses via the use of technology

Sensory Feedback, cont….

Sensory feedback is an ingredient essential to virtual

• reality. The VR system provides direct sensory feedback

to the participants based on their physical position. In most cases, it is the visual sense that receives feedback, although virtual reality environments do exist that display exclusively haptic (touch) experiences

In order to base the sensory output of the VR system on the

position of the participant, the system must track their

• movement. A typical VR system will track the head of the

participants and at least one hand or an object held by the

• hand. Advanced systems may track many of the major

body joints

Key Element 4 Interactivity

For virtual reality to seem authentic, it

should respond to user actions, namely, be interactive.

Key Element 4:

Interactivity

Unlike more traditional media, VR allows

participants to select their vantage point by positioning their body and to affect events in the virtual world

These features help to make the reality more

compelling than a media experience without these options

Combining the Elements

Virtual reality a medium composed of interactive

computer simulations that sense the participant’s position and actions and replace or augment the feedback to one or more senses, giving the feeling of being mentally immersed or present in the simulation (a virtual world)

Simulations

Artificial realities constructed through

computational simulation model a portion of a world.

These models generally result in a large collection

• f numbers that represent the state of that world
• ver a period of time.

– One example might be a scientific simulation of a thunderstorm, wherein the mathematical equations that describe the storm are solved based on the current weather conditions, and the resulting numbers are transferred into imagery

Collaborative Environment

The collaborative environment is an

extension of the interactive element and refers to multiple users interacting within the same virtual space or simulation

Users can perceive others within the

simulation, allowing for mutual interaction

The users’ representations are referred to as

their avatars

Avatar

• 1. A virtual object used to represent a

participant in a virtual world. The (typically visual) representation may take any form.

• 2. The object embodied by a participant.
• 3. comes from the word indicating a Hindu

deity's earthly embodiment.

Augmented Reality

Some virtual reality applications are designed to

combine virtual representations with perception of the physical world. – In AR, the use of special display technology allows a user to perceive the real world with an

• verlay of additional information.

– Augmented reality can be considered a type of virtual reality. Rather than experiencing physical reality, one is placed in another reality that includes the physical along with the virtual.

Augmented Reality

– Typically, it is the visual sense that is being augmented – Physicians might use AR to see the internal organs of a patient while simultaneously maintaining an external view of the patient’s body

Telepresence…

…is a medium in which transducers such as video

cameras and microphones substitute for the corresponding senses of the participant

…differs from the general case of virtual reality

by representing the physical world as opposed to representing a world that is entirely computer generated

…is an application that uses VR technology to

virtually place the user somewhere else in space

Teleoperation

Cyberspace: location that exists only in the

minds of the participants (often as a result

• f technology that enables geographically

distant people to interactively communicate).

Sensorama Simulator, US Patent #3,050,870, 1962

Introduction

Ivan Sutherland’s HMD (1966+)

Introduction

Brooks’s Grope Project (1977)

Introduction

The first complete system was developed by NASA “Virtual Visual Environmental Display” (VIVED early 80s; they prototyped the LCD HMD; Became “Virtual Interface Environment Workstation” (VIEW) 1989

Introduction

NASA … a pioneer in VR

Large simulation and training needs; Could not send humans to other harm; Relatively small budgets.

Introduction

Why NASA?

NASA VIEW system (1989)

Introduction

NASA VIEW system (1992)

Introduction

Towards Commercialization… The first commercial VR systems appeared in the late 80s produced by VPL Co. (California): The VPL “Data Glove” and The VPL “Eye Phone” HMD

Introduction

The VPL DataGlove (1987)

Introduction

The Matel PowerGlove (1989)

Introduction

The first commercial VR glove for entertainment – Mattel Power Glove $50 (1989)

Virtual Reality in the early 90s….

Emergence of first commercial Toolkits: WorldToolKit (Sense8 Co., now Engineering Animation Inc.); VCToolkit (Division Ltd., UK); Virtual Reality Toolkit VRT3 (Dimension Ltd./Superscape, UK); Cyberspace Developer Kit (Autodesk)

Introduction

Introduction

Superscape VRT3 Development System

Virtual Reality in the early 90s….

Emergence of first non-commercial toolkit: Rend386; Later Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML 1.0); Later still Java and Java 3D;

Introduction

Introduction

Provision 100 VR turnkey system (Division Ltd., UK)

35,000 polygons/sec; $64,000 (including texture generator, tracker, 3-D audio, HMD and software)

Introduction

Provision 100 VR turnkey system (Division Ltd., UK)

Other VR Milestones

• 1977 Sandin and Sayre invent a bend-sensing glove
• 1979 LEEP (Large expansion enhanced perspective):

deliver wide FOV from a small display

• 1981 Super Cockpit, augmented reality pilot helmet,

Tom Furness, Wright Patterson AFB

• 1984 Term Cyberspace in W. Gibson’s Neuromancer
• 1987 Polhemus Isotrack tracking system

Other VR Milestones

• 1989 Jaron Lanier (VPL) coins the term virtual

reality

• 1992 Projection VR is introduced at SIGGRAPH,

CAVE system, Un. Of Illinois at Chicago

• 1993 First VR dedicated conferences (to become IEEE

VR)

• 1993 Sensable introduces Phantom

Rendering speed comparison SGI vs. PCs

VR Marketplace (estimated in 1994)

Introduction

VR 2001 prices PC - $5k HMD $1k Trackball $1k Toolkit $0k Total: $7k

Laboratory VR Station prices (2002)

PRODUCT

Price/user % of Budget

PC 1.7 GHz FireGL 2 accelerator 2,347 48 Polhemus 3D tracker 4 receivers 1,823 37 5DT sensing glove five-sensor version 482 10 Stereo Glasses wired 179 3 Force feedback Joystick 88 2 Java and Java3D

• VRML
• Total

4,919 100

VR Market growth

The key elements of a VR System

Table 1.1

Application Area Description Air traffic control Improved situation awaremness for air traffic controllers Architectural design Design and visualization of buildings and impact on city layout. The technology can allow a virtual walk-through to be made Aircraft design The paperless aircraft. The traditional drawing board could be replaced and the whole design process udnertaken in an electronic form, from initial design through to rapid prototyping and system evaluation Acoustical evaluation Soundproofing and room acoustics Computer aided design Design of complex objects with a high degree of designer interaction Education Virtual science laboratories. Cost-effective access to sophisticated laboratory

• environments. Virtual planetariums

Entertainment Wide range of immersive games such as those produced by W Industries. Legal/police Investigations Re-enactment of accidents and crime Medical applications Radiation therapy treatment planning. Medical training - virtual cadavers. Ultrasound

• imaging. Molecular docking - drug synthesis.

Scientific visualization Aerodynamic simulation. Comutational fluid dynamics. Planetary invesitgations. Telepresence Robot operation in hazardous environments. Training/simulation Flight Simulation Virtual manufacturing environments Ease of assembly and maintainability evaluations

Art Art

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Vehicle Dynamics & Simulation

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Virtual Assembly

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Manufacturing & Simulation

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Flow Analysis

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Biology, Chemistry, Medical

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Data Visualization

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• 1998 Disney opens the first of their

DisneyQuest family arcade centers