Last night I opened my drawer and I founded a CD of research on my studies before. Just wanted to shared the research with everyone though its not that good. The page is quite long since its a book of research. Happy reading..
The copyright of this thesis belongs to the author under the terms of the Copyright Act 1987 as qualified by Regulation 4(1) of the Multimedia University Intellectual Property Regulations. Due acknowledgement shall always be made of the use of any material contained in, or derived from, this thesis.
© Siti Noraida binti Abd Wahab, 2006
All rights reserved
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the work have been done by myself and no portion of the work contained in this thesis has been submitted in support of any application for any other degree or qualification of this or any other university or institute of learning.
____________________
Siti Noraida binti Abd Wahab
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To begin with, I would like to thank to my lecturer, Pn.Natalya Rudina Shamsuar for her advice and guidance for me during the process for this research.
I also greatly appreciate a support from my friend, Selina Ooi Shin Ping for her to assist me in writing this research. Last but not least, I openly acknowledge the support from Mohamad Zaffrullah bin Ab Basik who always companies me for observation the idea and searching the information.
ABSTRACT
Virtual Reality (VR) application is a new technology in this area. VR application not just limited in entertainment, but also in medical applications, engineering and architecture, military simulations, scientific visualization and financial visualization. But VR application in entertainment is the most popular between others. This is because nowadays, entertainment is such an important matter for people to gain enjoyment and relaxing. Why entertainments become so important these days? People life style become very busy and cause stress and pressure. Entertainments one of the choices for people to relax from busy days. There are lots of entertainments available for people to choose, but an entertainment that have VR application becoming very popular now.
Entertainment application of VR is an ideal entertainment because it’s rich of sensorial interaction and 3D immersion that gives people a new way to explore reality. VR turns the imagination to reality. The lucrative video game and theme park markets are the areas of fastest growth of such as heavyweights Sega, Disney Paramount Pictures, LucasArts, General Electric, Hughes and Microsoft. VR entertainment applications now range from PC-based game, to network multiplayer games, to location-based VR rides.
What so special about VR is, today immersive VR accomplishes by interfaces for sights and sound. VR is not limited to one person at a time, but also a group can share the experience, even when they are physically located in different places. For example;VR online games. As a result, the understanding of VR will be gain while process this research.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
COPYRIGHT PAGE ii
DECLARATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv
ABSTRACT v
TABLE OF CONTENTS vi
LIST OF TABLES x
LIST OF FIGURES xi
PREFACE xii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background Research 1
1.2 Research Questions 1
1.3 Justification Research 1
1.4 Methodology 2
1.5 Scope 2
1.6 Thesis Outline 2
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 3
2.1 The Historical Development of Virtual Reality 3
2.2 Virtual Reality Application in Entertainment 4
2.3 The Elements of Virtual Reality Application in Entertainment 4
2.3.1 Output Hardware 4
2.3.2 Input Hardware 5
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 7
3.1 Research Method 7
3.2 Case study I – Output Hardware 7
3.2.1 Introduction 7
3.2.2 Visual Display Characteristic
3.2.3 Visual Display Device Types 8
3.3 Case study II- Input Hardware 8
3.3.1 Introduction 8
3.3.2 Input Device Characteristics 8
3.3.2.1 Desktop Input Devices 9
3.3.2.2 Tracking Devices 9
3.3.2.3 3D Mice 9
3.3.2.4 Special-Purpose Input Device 9
3.3.2.5 Direct Human Input 9
CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH ANALYSIS 10
4.1 Introduction 10
4.2 The Analysis of Output Hardware 10
4.2.1 Introduction 10
4.2.2 Visual Display Characteristic 10
4.2.3 Visual Display Device Types 12
4.3 The Analysis of Input Hardware 17
4.3.1 Introduction 17
4.3.2 Input Device Characteristics 17
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 20
5.1 Discussion 20
5.2 Conclusion 23
References 25
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background Research
The objective for this research is to be able to compare VR application in entertainment as to understand what VR application in entertainment is in term of user preference. For example, what the user looking for when entering games with VR application is a feeling that the user or entering a world that can touch emotionally, that can immerse themselves. What makes people feel good with an entertainment that have VR application is as the aim for this research, Its important for people to be able to understand what VR application is so that this product can grow faster and to apply VR on a new products.
1.2 Research Questions
The question like the different between entertainment product that have applied VR and haven’t will be ask online survey. And what and how this application is so VR. This question is good to know if people really understand about it because sometimes people said they have heard it before but not really pays attention.
1.3 Justification Research
The key of objective for this research are to improve the understanding of VR application especially in entertainment. The worst problems that will occur if didn’t really understand what VR applications are a failure to create a new entertainment product of VR application and a failure to improve it. However, if understanding of what VR application is can be getting the possibilities of the creation successful is high.
1.4 Methodology
This research will be done by gather and find the information needed from journals, books study, online surfing by internet and online survey question.
1.5 Scope
Scope for this research is not limited to one generation only but also from kids to teenagers and from teenagers to an adults. This is because entertainments not only for one generation, all generation need entertainment as a life requirements.
1.6 Thesis Outline
Chapter one will provide an overview introduction of research background, justification and objectives/scope of this research.
Chapter two will discuss about the analysis the issues and the perceptions of a comparative study on VR application in entertainment.
Chapter three describes the collection of information about comparison of VR application in entertainment and the technology of VR application.
Chapter four will explain and analyze the feedbacks and results from comparison of VR application in entertainment from online survey and self reservation from books and journals.
Chapter five will interpret the discussion of the issues in the research questions and show a brief answer to each of the question. The conclusion of this research will provide some recommendations in order to solve the issues in the entertainment of VR application.
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. The Historical Development of Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality (VR) is such a new technology in our area. It emerged in the public domain after a considerable period of research and development in industrial, military and academic laboratories. The emergence of VR was closely related to the maturity of other technologies such as real-time computer systems, computer graphic and display. Then, at some critical moment, when each technology could provide its own individual input, a crude working system appeared. History remind people that there is a time and place for everything to happen, and irrespective of how useful, exciting and revolutionary a product appears to be, it will succeed unless the right condition exist.
Successful invention is above all about timing, where a product meets a specific need, such as spectacles. VR system were not developed to meet a specific need, they were developed because they were possible. The development and fine-tuning of these systems continues, but in the meantime applications are emerging that confirm that people are dealing with the powerful and creative way of interacting with computer-based systems.
Looking back over the historical development of modern technology, it is interesting o see how one idea spawns another. VR obviously depended upon the existence of the computer, not to mention the associated field of computer graphics. So it is interesting to trace back in time, to see how each major technological breakthrough brought people one step towards today’s VR systems.
2.2. Virtual Reality Application in Entertainment
VR entertainment application now range from PC based game, to networked multiplayer games, to location based VR rides. Entertainment is an important thing to people because living needed and entertainments do not have age range. Everyone needs an entertainment in daily life. Listening to music and watching videos have existed in known digital versions for tens of years as a much appreciated way of entertaining. As of today, modern technology gives people entertainment with VR application.
“There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that entertainment is destined to become massive market for VR. It is noteworthy that parallel with the development of single user, immersive VR systems-motion theatres-are providing an alternative scenario for entertaining groups of people. Traditionally, these simulator rides are passive, and each group of people receives the same experience. However, interactive rides exist, where individuals can interact with real-time computer graphics. VR technology will continue to stimulate new game formats, where single and networked users will compete with one another, while sophisticated motion theatres will provide an alternative experience.” (Vince.J, 1995)
2.3. Virtual Reality Hardware
VR hardware is something that can make people understands the different between entertainment with VR application and entertainment with no VR application in it. VR hardware also something that will make the application so VR.
2.3.1. Output Hardware
A necessary component of any 3D user interface is hardware that presents information to the user. These hardware devices, called display devices (or output devices), present information to one or more user’s senses through the human perceptual system, majority of them are focused on stimulating the visual, auditory or haptic senses. “In some rare cases, they even display information to the user’s olfactory system, or sense of smell.”(David, 2001)
Of course, these output devices require a computer to generate the information through techniques such as rendering, modeling and sampling. The devices then translate this information into perceptible human form. Therefore, displays actually consist of physical devices and computer systems used in generating the content the physical devices present.
2.3.2. Input Hardware
An equally important part is choosing the appropriate set of input devices that allow the user to communicate with the application. For example, we might need to track the user’s head or let him interact with the application using his voice. As output devices, there are many different types of input devices to choose from when developing a 3D user interface, and some devices may be more appropriate for certain tasks than others.
Many different characteristic can be used to describe input devices. One of the most important is the degrees of freedom that an input device affords. A degree of freedom is simply a particular, independent way that a body moves in space. A device such as tracker generally captures three position values and three orientation values for a total of six degrees of freedom. For the most part, a device’s degree of freedom gives an indication of how complex the device is and the power it has in accommodating various interaction techniques.
“Input device can be categorized by their intended use. For example, some devices are designed to specifically determine position and orientation information (locators), while others are designed to produce a real number value (valuators) or to indicate a particular element of a set (choice).”(Bowman.D.A, 2005)
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
3.1. Research Method
This research is about understanding of VR application in entertainment. To be able to understand about VR application in entertainment, self observation and online survey been used which is, reviewing the book and journal and do an online survey question in website about VR application in entertainment. VR application is such a new technology in this area, so not many people know about what VR application is. Doing self observation is the best way to do this
3.2. Case study I – Output Hardware
3.2.1. Introduction
Visual displays present information to the user through the human visual system. As stated, display devices require the computer system to generate digital content that the display device transforms into perceptible form. For visual display devices, real-time computer graphics rendering techniques are used to produce the images that display device presents to the user.
3.2.2. Visual Display Characteristic
A number of important characteristics must be considered when describing visual display devices.
• Field of regard and field of view
• Spatial resolution
• Screen geometry
• Light transfer mechanism
• Refresh rate
• Ergonomics
Other characteristics include brightness, color contrast, and gamma correction.
3.2.3. Visual Display Device Types
• Monitors
• Surround-screen displays
• Workbenches
• Hemispherical displays
• Head-mounted displays
• Arm-mounted displays
• Virtual retinal displays
• Autostereoscopic displays
3.3. Case study II- Input Hardware
3.3.1. Introduction
As stated, an equally important part is choosing the appropriate set of input devices that allow the user to communicate with the application. For example, we might need to track the user’s head or let him interact with the application using his voice. As output devices, there are many different types of input devices to choose from when developing a 3D user interface, and some devices may be more appropriate for certain tasks than others
3.3.2. Input Device Characteristics
This research contains a variety of different input devices and how they affect interaction techniques. These devices are broken up into the following categories:
• Desktop input devices
• Tracking devices
• 3D mice
• Special-purpose input devices
• Direct human input
3.3.2.1 Desktop Input Devices
• Keyboard
• 2D mice and trackballs
• Pen-based tablets
• Joysticks
• 6-DOF devices for the desktop
3.3.2.2. Tracking Devices
• Motion trackers
• Eye trackers
• Data gloves
3.3.2.3. 3D Mice
3.3.2.4. Special-Purpose Input Device
3.3.2.5. Direct Human Input
CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS
4.1. Introduction
The purpose of this study was to compare a different of VR application in entertainment. The researcher believe that, the understanding of what VR is the most important part and a meantime the hardware of VR is the biggest way to show the different between them. This is because, the hardware that been used in VR application is the reason why that application is so VR.
4.2. The Analysis of Output Hardware
4.2.1 Introduction
Visual displays present information to the user through the human visual system. As stated, display devices require the computer system to generate digital content that the display device transforms into perceptible form. For visual display devices, real-time computer graphics rendering techniques are used to produce the images that display device presents to the user.
4.2.2. Visual Display Characteristic
A number of important characteristics must be considered when describing visual display devices.
• Field of regard and field of view
• Spatial resolution
• Screen geometry
• Light transfer mechanism
• Refresh rate
A visual display device’s field of regard (FOR) refers to the amount of the physical space surrounding the user in which visual images re displayed. FOR is measure in degrees of visual angle. For example, if we built a cylindrical display in which a user could stand, the display would have a 360-degree horizontal FOR. A related term, FOV refers to the maximum number of degrees of visual angle that can be seen instantaneously on a display. For example, with a large, flat projection screen, the horizontal FOV might be 80 or 120 degrees depending on the user’s position in relation to the screens because the FOV varies with the user’s distance from the screen.
The spatial resolution of a visual display is related to pixel size and is considered a measure of visual quality. This measure is often given in dots per inch (dpi). The more pixels displayed on the screen, the higher the resolution, but resolution is not equivalent to the number of pixels. Instead, resolution depends on both the number of pixels and the size of the screen. Two visual display devices with the same number of pixel but different screen sizes will not have the same resolution, because on the large screen, each individual pixel takes up a larger portion of the screen than on the small screen. Therefore, the smaller screen will actually have higher resolution than the larger screen when both have an identical number of pixels. “The further the user is from the display, the higher the perceive resolution because individual pixels are not distinguishable. This is similar to the effect of viewing paintings from the pointillist movement.”(Kieseyer, 2001)
Another visual display characteristic that plays a role in visual quality is screen shape. Visual displays come in a variety of different shapes, including rectangular-shaped, hemispherical, and hybrids. Nonrectangular screen shapes require nonstandard projection algorithms, which can affect visual quality. For example, hemispherical displays can suffer from visual artifacts such as distortion at the edges of the display surface, resulting in lower overall visual quality.
The most important visual display characteristic is how the light actually gets transferred onto the display surface. There are number of different ways to transfer the light, including front projection, rear projection, laser light directly onto the retina, and the use of special optics. The light transfer method often dictates what types of 3D user interface techniques are applicable. For example, when using a front-projected display device, 3D direct manipulation techniques do not work well because the user’s hand can get in the way of the projector, causing shadows to appear on the display surface.
Refresh rate refers to the speed with which a visual display device refreshes the displayed image from the frame buffer and is usually reported in hertz (Hz, refreshes per second). Note that refresh rate is not to be confused with frame rate, the speed with which images are generated by the graphics system and placed in the frame buffer. Although a graphics system could generate images at a rate higher than the refresh rate, the visual display can show them only at its refresh rate limit. The refresh rate of a visual display is an important characteristic because it can have a significant effect on visual quality. Low refresh rates can cause flickering images depending on the sensitivity of a particular user’s visual system.
Finally, visual display ergonomics is also an important display characteristic. People want the user to be comfortable as possible when interacting with 3D applications, and people want the visual display device to be as unobtrusive as possible. Comfort is especially important when a user has to wear the display on his head.
4.2.3. Visual Display Device Types
The different types of visual displays include the following:
• Monitors
• Surround-screen displays
• Workbenches
• Hemispherical displays
• Head-mounted displays
• Arm-mounted displays
• Virtual retinal displays
• Autostereoscopic displays
Other characteristics include brightness, color contrast, and gamma correction. Table 1 present summary of output devices.
Visual Display Types Pros and Cons Visual Depth Cues Supported
Monitors Relatively inexpensive
Very high spatial resolution
Can use virtually any input device
Small FOR/FOV
No peripheral vision
Not very immersive
Physical/virtual object occlusion problem • Monocular
• Stereopsis if using stereocapable monitor
• Limited motion parallax when tracked because of limited mobility
• Convergence if using stereo
• No accommodation
Surround-screen displays Large FOV/FOR
Makes use of peripheral vision
Real and virtual objects easily mixed in 3D application
Requires large amount of physical space
Expensive device
Limited to 4 tracked viewer in mono, 2 in stereo per device
Physical/virtual object occlusion problem • Monocular
• Stereopsis
• Full motion parallax when tracked
• Convergence if using stereo
• No accommodation
Workbenches Generally higher spatial resolution than surround screen devices
Devices can be titled to mimic desks and easels
Some devices permit 2D input on display surface
No peripheral vision
Limited to 4 tracked viewers in mono, 2 in stereo per device
Physical/virtual object occlusion problem • Monocular
• Stereopsis
• Limited motion parallax when tracked because of limited mobility
• Convergence if using stereo
• No accommodation
Hemispherical displays Brighter images due to front projection
Large FOV
Spatial resolution not always uniform across display surface
Front projection makes direct manipulation difficult
Limited to 4 tracked viewers in mono, 2 in stereo per device
Physical/virtual object occlusion problem • Monocular
• Stereopsis
• Limited motion parallax when tracked because of limited mobility
• Convergence if using stereo
• No accommodation
Head-mounted displays 360-degree FOR
Portable device
No physical/virtual object occlusion problems
Small FOV
Lower spatial resolution then projection-based device
Ergonomic issues due to weight and fit of device
Limited peripheral vision • Monocular
• Stereopsis if using stereocapable HMD
• Full motion parallax when tracked
• Convergence if using stereo
• Accommodation possible in research prototype
Arm-mounted displays Easy to manipulate because of counterweight
360-degree FOR with BOOM
High spatial resolution because heavier optics can be used
User must have one hand on device in order to operate it
Limited user mobility
Limited peripheral vision • Monocular
• Stereopsis if the device is stereo-capable
• Limited motion parallax when tracked to limited mobility
• Convergence if using stereo
• Accommodation possible
Virtual retinal displays Bright, high-resolution images
Potential to have FOV matching human visual system
360-degree FOR
Current systems designed primarily for mobile computing only
Need eye tracking
Little work done with 3D user interfaces • Monocular
• Stereopsis if using stereo-capable VRD
• Full motion parallax when tracked
• Convergence if using stereo
• Accommodation possible in research prototype
Autostereoscopic displays(lenticular)
Autostereoscopic displays(volumetric and holographic) No glasses required to see stereo
High spatial resolution
Limited sweet spot
Limited FOV and FOR
Limited to 4 tracked viewers in mono, 2 in stereo per device
Physical/virtual object occlusion problem
Produce true 3D imagery
Unlimited active viewers(all will see correct perspective)
No accommodation convergence cue conflicts
No tracker needed
Limited FOV,FOR and display area
Little work done with 3D user interfaces • Monocular
• Stereopsis
• Limited motion parallax when tracked
• Convergence
• No accomodation
• Monocular only with some devices
• Stereopsis
• Motion parallax
• Convergence
• accommodation
Table 1. Visual display devices: pros and cons, visual depth cues supported.
4.3. The Analysis of Input Hardware
4.3.1. Introduction
As stated, an equally important part is choosing the appropriate set of input devices that allow the user to communicate with the application. For example, we might need to track the user’s head or let him interact with the application using his voice. As output devices, there are many different types of input devices to choose from when developing a 3D user interface, and some devices may be more appropriate for certain tasks than others.
4.3.2. Input Device Characteristics
This research contains a variety of different input devices and how they affect interaction techniques. These devices are broken up into the following categories:
• Desktop input devices
• Tracking devices
• 3D mice
• Special-purpose input devices
• Direct human input
There are many input devices that are used in desktop. Many of these devices have been used and designed for traditional 2D desktop applications such as word processing, spreadsheets, and drawing. However, with appropriate mappings, these devices also work well in 3D application such as modeling and computer games. Some desktop input devices have also been developed with 3D interaction in mind. Of course, most of these devices could also be used in more immersive 3D user interfaces that use surround-screen displays or HMDs, although some would be more appropriate than others. Keyboard is a classic example of a traditional desktop input device that contains a set of discrete components. They are commonly used in many desktop 3D applications from modeling to computer games. “Two-dimensional mice and trackballs are another classic example of desktop input devices made popular by the Windows, Icons, Menus, and Pointers (WIMP) interface metaphor.” (Dam.V, 1997). Pen-based tablets and handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs) generate the same types of input that mice do, but they have a different form factor. Joystick also another example of input devices traditionally used on the desktop and with a long history as a computer input peripheral.
In many 3D applications, it is important for the user interface to provide information about the user or physical object’s location in 3D space. For example, an application might need the user’s head position and orientation so that full motion parallax and stereoscopic depth cues can be included in the application. One of the most important aspects of 3D interaction in virtual worlds is providing a correspondence between the physical and virtual environments. As a result, having accurate tracking is a crucial part of making interaction techniques usable within VR applications. Currently, there are a number of different motion-tracking technologies in use, which include magnetic tracking, mechanical tracking, acoustic tracking, inertial tracking, optical tracking and hybrid tracking. Eye trackers are purely passive input devices used to determine where the user is looking. In some cases, it is useful to have detailed tracking information about the user’s hand, such as how the fingers are bending or two fingers have made contract with each other.
The distinguishing characteristic of 3D mice, as opposed to regular 2D mice, is that the user physically moves them in 3D space to obtain position or orientation information instead of just moving the device along a flat surface. Therefore, users can hold the device or in some cases, wear it. Additionally, with orientation information present, it is trivial to determine where the device is pointing, a function used in many fundamental 3D interaction techniques. Because of their generality, they can be mapped to many different interaction techniques, and in one form or another, they are often the primary means of communicating user intention in 3D user interfaces for VE applications.
Special-purpose input device are often designed for specific applications or used in specific interfaces. The example of these special-purpose devices is Shape Tape. Shape Tape is a flexible, ribbon like tape of fiber-optic curvature sensors that comes in various lengths and sensor spacing. Because the sensor provide bend and twist information along the tape’s length, it can be easily flexed and twisted in the hand, making it an ideal input device for creating, editing, and manipulating 3D curves.
A powerful approach to interacting with 3D applications is to obtain data directly from signals generated by the human body. With this approach, the user actually becomes the input device. For example, a user could stand in front of a camera and perform different movements, which the computer would interpret as commands. Other types of direct human input device include speech, bioelectric, and brain computer input.
CHAPTER 5: DISCCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
5.1. Conclusion
While VR technology is currently mature enough to be used in practical applications, in many fields, it is still clearly in its early development phase. In many ways, it is still a technology that we are just beginning to learn how to apply. However, it is easy to project the path of its continued evolution. It will include faster and higher quality graphics, more affordable and better designed head-mounted display (HMDs), other input and output devices, and faster computer processing power. These enhancements will influence various aspects of VR application, from the visual and audio quality of virtual worlds, to the breadth of VR application that will be available in new fields. However, the question still been asked about VR either what is good or what is bad. Sure, everything created there will be good and bad. If people just think about the bad way, then new things will never appear. Here, we will discuss the question that always been asked. Basically, the question is about;
Can people build systems that immerse all of the user’s senses?
Most immersive technologies have been designed to provide a virtual stimulus to a single sensory modality (visual). We have surround-screen displays that flood he user’s visual sense with realistic 3D stereo graphics, spatial audio systems that produce believable sounds from any 3D location, and haptic devices that display surface or texture with passable realism. Less work has been done on smell, taste or vestibular displays although some rough prototypes have been developed. The real challenge, however is to integrate all of these single-sense display types into seamless system. Similar to the Holodeck on Star Trek, in such a system objects and environments would look, sound, feel, smell and taste completely realistic. Before we achieve the Holodeck, however there are many intermediate steps. One is to develop to a haptic system that integrates al the different elements of haptic sensation: resistance, elasticity texture and temperature at any number of points on the user’s hand and body. A second step is to integrate haptics and immersive visuals. Current haptics devices are typically unusable in immersive displays, because they must sit on a desk or because they require so many wires, mechanical arms, and other hardware that they are too complex to integrate with a CAVE or HMD. A third challenge is to solve the “visual interference” problem. If we completely surround the user with virtual visual, where do we put the tracking device, haptic device, speakers, and other components so that they do not interfere with the viewing the virtual world? Retinal displays that draw graphics directly on the entire surface of the user’s retinal could provide a solution here.
What are the best mapping between devices, tasks, interaction techniques, and application?
The point of developing better 3D technology is to enable better 3D application, but currently we know very little about the usefulness of specific technologies for specific applications. Ideally, we would like to have a set of guidelines (or even an automated process) that, given a description of an application (domain, tasks, users, requirements, constraints,) would suggest an appropriate set of devices (input and output) and interaction techniques. In order for this to become reality, a huge amount of empirical research needs to be performed. We need to compare the usability of various 3D display devices and input devices for particular tasks and domain; we need to evaluate the compatibility of input devices and interaction techniques; and we need to understand the ways in which input and display devices affect each other.
How can mixed reality interaction techniques allow seamless interaction in boh the real and virtual worlds?
In completely virtual worlds, designers can opt for fully natural techniques or magic techniques, or something in between. In mixed reality, however, designers don’t have as much freedom, because users will be interacting with real objects as well as virtual ones. In some cases, it may be appropriate and effective to use different methods of interaction in the real and virtual parts will be the best choice in most applications. The challenge, then, is to use the same interaction techniques to interact with both physical and virtual object; therefore, the user simply picks up the associated real object. As we’ve seen, however, magic interaction techniques can be very powerful, so mixed reality researchers should also consider whether it is possible to interact with real objects using magic interaction techniques. As a simple example, note that it certainly makes sense to select both virtual and real objects using a magic technique like ray-casting.
Can we quantity the real benefits of VR?
Nature has demonstrated through evolutionary forces that those species able to control and adapt to a changing environment have a distinct advantages over other life forms. Stereoscopic vision enables us to assess the size of a distant object quickly; we can looking at the stars at one moment, and one second later, be examining the surface detail of our skin. People do not need to invent reason for existence of VR system. They are a natural development for the tools we use to control our environment. Ad as so many design procedures are already computerized, immersive VR systems will simply enhance existing human-computer interfaces. Instead of manipulating an image of a virtual mechanical component, people will design the component as if it existed. Instead of trying to imagine what it would be like to stand inside an imaginary atrium, an architect can actually discover first-hand. Virtual reality will be used to model and explore familiar environments associated with kitchens, planes, offices, studio, ships, submarines, cars and hospitals. It will also be used to explore unfamiliar environments found in molecules, atoms, galaxies, viruses, bacteria and crystals. In order to appreciate the hidden potential of VR systems people will explore in greater depth some of the relevant subject areas and how integrated systems function. People will then study how the technology is currently being applied, and also explore how the technology could evolve and be used in a wide variety of applications.
5.2. Conclusion
Artificial intelligence (AI) is another area of computer technology that may well push VR into new directions. AI involves programming computers to stimulate human thinking processes. An AI expert system consists of a database or collection of rules on a specific topic. This information is gleaned from a real-life expert
AI agents already serve as guides or assistants who provide information to VR participants, functioning much like an animated help function.
The ability of users to share virtual worlds on a global scale will create virtual communities in cyberspace. These real time interaction promise unlimited opportunities for people from diverse cultures to communicate and pool their collective knowledge. In future developments in VR, the line between virtual reality and reality may become less discernible.
It would be impossible to address all the applications for VR currently under investigation. Those that have been described have been chosen to illustrate the breadth of applications, and the benefits arising from these projects. There are many more exciting application areas to explore, such as plastic surgery, psychiatry, teaching, drama, artificial intelligence, robotics, simulation, art and design, fashion, information retrieval, museums and retailing. It is left to the reader to pursue these topics through the wealth of papers, journals and books associated with VR.
Within a very short period of time VR has lost its image of technology looking for a problem, and is now being applied to almost every area of human endeavor. This author does not believe, however, that the engineers, scientist and surgeons will have to become accustomed to wearing HMDs, every minute of the day. What will happen is that computer systems will acquire interfaces where the benefits of the virtual domain can be utilized whenever it is necessary. VR is now posed to expand in many directions, and will be greatly influenced by technological development in the next few years.
VR technology is no different to any other technology when it comes to success in the marketplace, and very simple issues will determine how it will be embraced by different communities. System reliability, ease of use, cost, physical side-effects and efficiency are just as important to industry as presence, immersion spatial and spatial awareness. In time, though, such problems will be resolved and we can look forward to a new generation of tools, to which we will quickly become accustomed.
REFERENCES
1) Vince.J (1995).Virtual Reality Systems.Thomson Training & Simulation LTD.Vol R QA 76.9 H85 S54 1995C.
2) Burdea G.C and Coiffet.P (2003). Virtual Reality Technology. Vol R QA 76.9 H85 S57 2004C.
3) Eddings.J(1994).How Virtual Reality Works.Vol R QA 76.9 H86 S68 1994C.
4) Bowman.D.A,Kruijff.E,Joseph.J.L.J,and Ivan.P(2005) 3D User Interfaces Theory and Practice.Vol R QA 76.9 U83 T47.
5) Keiseyer.U(2001).Georges Seurat:1895-1891: The master of Pointillism,TASCHEN America LLC.
6) van Dam.A(1997).Post-WIMP User Interfaces:the Human Connection.Communication of the ACM
No comments:
Post a Comment