Prepared By:

Sagar Reddy
DOEACC B-Level

Content
What is Virtual Reality?
Why we need Virtual Reality?
Virtual reality systems
Virtual Reality hardware
Virtual Reality developing tools
The Future of Virtual Reality

What is Virtual Reality ?

Virtual reality is, plainly speaking, seeing an

imaginary world, rather than the real one.

Seeing, hearing, smelling, testing, feeling.
The imaginary world is a simulation running in
a computer. The sense data is fed by some
system to our brain.

A medium composed of interactive computer

simulations giving users the

being present in the simulations.

feeling

of

Why Virtual Reality is needed?

Operations in dangerous environments
There

are still many examples of people

working in dangerous or hardship environments
that could benefit from the use of VR-mediated
teleportation.
Workers
in radioactive, space, or toxic
environments could be relocated to the safety
of a VR environment where they could 'handle'
any hazardous materials without any real
danger using teleoperation or telepresence.

In the future -- Tele-presence

In the future -- Tele-presence

Why Virtual Reality is needed?

Scientific Visualization

Scientific Visualization provides the researcher

with immediate graphical feedback during the
course of the computations and gives him/her
the ability to 'steer' the solution process.
Application at NASA Ames Research Center is
the Virtual Planetary Exploration. It helps
planetary geologists to remotely analyze the
surface of a planet. They use VR techniques to
roam planetary terrains.

NASA VR Mars navigation

simulation

Geologists
remotely analyzing
the surface of a
planet at NASA

Why Virtual Reality is needed?

Medicine

Until now experimental research and education in

medicine was mainly based on dissection and
study of plastic models. Computerized 3D human
models provide a new approach to research and
education in medicine. Experimenting medical
research with virtual patients will be a reality.
We will be able to create not only realistic looking
virtual patients, but also histological and bone
structures. With the simulation of the entire
physiology of the human body,

Real 3D Ultrasound Experiment

Exposure Therapy For Acrophobia

Virtual Elevator

Why Virtual Reality is needed?

Education and training
The

most common example is the flight

simulator. This type of simulator has shown the
benefits of simulation environments for
training. They have lower operating costs and
are safer to use than real aircraft.
They also allow the simulation of dangerous
scenarios not allowable with real aircraft.

Virtual Reality Systems

VR Systems can be divided into three groups

non-immersive systems (like workstations)

See information about the real world, presented via

computer - location based services, GIS .

hybrid systems (graphics on top of real world)

also called: Augmented reality systems
Stay in real world, but see simulated objects

immersive systems (like HMD or CAVE)

See simulated world and "be" in that simulated world

Non-immersive systems
Through- the - window
Large display, but
doesnt surround
the user.

Augmented reality
Stay in real world, but see simulated objects

Information
Visualization

More Augmented reality

Stay in real world, but see simulated objects

AR Museums

More Augmented reality

Stay in real world, but see simulated objects

Augmented Reality can

be used for training as
well as for assembly
purpose

Immersive systems (CAVE)

See simulated world and "be" in that simulated world
The

CAVE
(Cave
Automatic
Virtual
Environment) 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.

CAVE Pictures
See simulated world and "be" in that simulated world

Illusions of immersion

Hardware used in VR
Input devices:
A variety of input devices 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 "sensualized" interfaces.

Input Devices (The Data Glove)

the sensors measure the bending angles of the joints of the thumb and the
lower and middle knuckles of the others fingers, Attached to the back is a
Polhemus sensor to measure orientation and position of the gloved hand. This
information, along with the ten flex angles for the knuckles is transmitted
through a serial communication line to the host computer.

Input Devices
(3D Mouse and Space Ball)

The Logitech 3D mouse Figure is based on a ultrasonic position reference

array, which is a tripod consisting of three ultrasonic speakers set in a
triangular position, emits ultrasonic sound signals from each of the three
transmitters. These are used to track the receiver position, orientation and
movement. It provides proportional output in all 6 degrees of freedom: X, Y, Z,
Pitch, Yaw, and Roll.
.

Input Devices (Motion Trackers)

The Motion Tracking system is based on magnetic sensors which are attached
to the user. Most common are sensors measuring the intensity of a magnetic
field generated at a reference point. The motion of the different segments is
tracked using magnetic sensors . These sensors return raw data (e.g. positions
and orientations) expressed in a single frame system..

Other Input Devices

MIDI keyboard

A MIDI keyboard controller has 88 keys, any of which can be

struck within a fraction of second. Each key transmits velocity of
keystroke as well as pressure after the key is pressed.

Real-time video input

SIRIUS Video card from Silicon Graphics. With SIRIUS,

images are digitized at a frequency of 25 Hz (PAL) or 30 Hz
(NTSC) and may be analyzed by the VR program.

Real-time audio input

Speech synthesis facilities are of clear utility in a VR

environment especially for command feedback. Although
speech synthesis software is available even at the personal
computer level, some improvement is still needed, particularly in
the quality of speech.

Output Devices
Head-mounted displays (HMDs)

The head-mounted display (HMD) was the first device providing its wearer with
an immersive experience. 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. As a result, the viewer can
look around and walk through the surrounding virtual environment.

BOOM (Binocular Omni-Orientation

Monitor)

The BOOM (Binocular Omni-Orientation Monitor) from Fake space is a headcoupled 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.

Haptic interfaces and tactile

feedback for VE applications
CyberGrasp

Haptic feedback interface enables user to actually "touch" computer-generated

objects and experience force feedback via the human hand. The CyberGrasp
is a lightweight, unencumbering force-reflecting exoskeleton that fits over a
CyberGlove and adds resistive force feedback to each finger. With the
CyberGrasp force feedback system, users are able to explore the physical
properties of computer-generated 3D objects they manipulate in a simulated
'virtual world.'

Virtual Reality developing tools

(Virtual Reality Modeling Language)
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..

The viewing of VRML models via a VRML plug-in for Web

browsers is usually done on a graphics monitor under mousecontrol 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.

The Future of Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality is a growing industry
PC and specialized hardware are getting

better, faster and cheaper because of

development in VR.
Maybe 3D user interfaces will replace the
windows based ones?
Huge demand for VRML programmers in near
future.
Revolution in gaming industries

So a virtual reality is a synthetic

sensory experience which may
one day be indistinguishable from
the real physical world
- Kalawsky, R.S. (1993)