VIRTUAL REALITY

Jeet Patalia – B064Venkatesh Suvarna – B071

Virtual Reality allows a user to interact with a

computer- simulated environment, be it a real or imagined one.

Real Environments- Simulations for pilot or combat training.

Imaginary Environments- Differ significantly from reality, as in VR games

Most virtual reality environments are primarily visual experiences, displayed either on a computer screen or through special stereoscopic displays, but some simulations include additional sensory information, such as sound through speakers or headphones.

Some advanced and experimental systems have included limited tactile information, known as force feedback.

Why Virtual Reality is needed?

Operations in dangerous environmentsThere 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 VisualizationScientific 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.

Geologists remotely analyzing the surface of a planet at NASA

Why Virtual Reality is needed?

MedicineUntil 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,

VR IN MEDICINE: Sample Video

Why Virtual Reality is needed?

Education and trainingDriving simulators.Flight simulators.Ship simulators.Tank simulators.

VR IN EDUCATION

Types of VR

1. Immersive VR A type of VR in which the user becomes immersed (deeply involved) in a virtual world. It is also a form of VR that uses computer related components.

Immersive VR Components

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.

Immersive VR Components» 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.

Immersive VR Components

A glove that can sense the position of the finger which can be used to control and interact with the virtual images being displayed.

2. Text-based VR – when a reader of a certain text form a mental model of this virtual world in their head from the descriptions of people, places, and things.

3. Augmented VR- the idea of taking what is real and adding to it in some way so that the user obtains more information from their environment.

Augmented VR

Technologies of VR--Software

Toolkits

Programming libraries. Provide function libraries (C & C++).

Authoring systems

Complete programs with graphical interfaces for creating worlds without resorting to detailed programming.

Technologies of VR--Software

Software packages available in market:

Multiverse (Freeware) Virtual Reality StudioSense8 World Tool Kit (WTK)Autodesk Cyberspace Development kit

Technologies of VR--Software

VRMLIn 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 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.

Architecture of VR System

InputProcessor

RenderingProcessor

World Database

SimulationProcessor

visual, auditory, haptic, touch…

Position &Orientation

Components of VR System

Input ProcessorControl the devices used to input information to the computer. The object is to get the coordinate data to the rest of the system with minimal lag time.Keyboard, mouse, 3D position trackers, a voice recognition system, etc.

Components of VR System

Simulation ProcessorCore of a VR system.Takes the user inputs along with any tasks programmed into the world and determine the actions that will take place in the virtual world.

Components of VR System

Rendering ProcessorCreate the sensations that are output to the user. Separate rendering processes are used for visual, auditory, haptic and other sensory systems. Each renderer take a description of the world stat from the simulation process or derive it directly from the World Database for each time step.

Components of VR System

World Database (World Description Files)Store the objects that inhabit the world, scripts that describe actions of those objects.

RECENT ADVANCEMENTSiOptik A Washington-based company is looking to further decreasing the line between science fiction and reality with its eye enhancing iOptik virtual reality contact lenses.

Enhance your normal vision by allowing you to view virtual and augmented reality images without the use of any bulky apparatus.

RECENT ADVANCEMENTS Conduit from Mechdyne Corporation

Allow users of existing computer graphics applications to automatically be able to run those applications on CAVE, head-mounted display, or other VR device without access to the source code.

Remo 3DAn effective tool for creating and modifying 3D models intended for realtime visualization.Brings support for importing and exporting models in multiple file formats(OSGF, OSGT, OSGT etc.)

ADVANTAGES

• Interaction with the environment.• User interface• User can see and even feel the shaped surface under

his/her fingertips.• Flight simulators and games.• CAD/CAE • Biomedical Engineering the projects mentioned are use of virtual reality for viewing of X-RAY's and MRI‘s.• Rendering and 3-D lighting, modeling for resource management.

DISADVANTAGES

• New technologies have also revealed new problems.• VR in medical treatment is going through some

growing pains.• There are limitations with VR devices as well in

regards to usability.• Lack of standardization of hardware and protocols.• Most troublesome are the side effects it can induce,

like disorientation, dizziness and nausea.• People often find navigating in 3-D spaces and

performing actions in free space extremely difficult.• Practical problems in spatial cognition research

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.

Thank YouThank You