What are Virtual Environments?

Angela McCarthyCP5080, SP1

2010

Overview

► Paper Insight► Author► What is a Virtual Environment?► Why are Virtual Environments useful?► How are Virtual Environments made?► Availability► Telepresence► Research► Conclusion► Metadata► Discussion

Paper Insight

►Published in IEEE Computer Graphics and ApplicationsoVolume 14 , Issue 1

►January, 1994►Author: Stephen R. Ellis

Author

►Stephen R. Ellis►Publication Years: 1986-2009►Publications (ACM): 54►On paper, mention that Ellis is from

NASA Ames Research Center►History of working with:

o University of Californiao Lucent Technologieso NASA

What is a VE?

►Virtual Environments (VE) are interactive, computer-graphics based, head-mounted displays

►Illusion of creating spaceo Sensors – head-mounted displayo Effectors – stereoscopic displayo Special Purpose Hardware – links

sensors to effectors using a simulation computer

Why are VE useful?

►Applicationso Educationo Trainingo TeleoperationoRemote Planetary Surface Explorationo Scientific Visualisation

How are VE made?

►Works by developing a real-time, interactive, personal simulation of the content

►Compared to vehicle simulation (origins) environment simulation is unmediatedoHardware worn, not entered

Availability?

►At time, commercially available as flight simulators (e.g. CAE fiberoptic helmet mounted display)

►Achievement of implementation expensive, costs millions of dollarso Only recently, cheaper VE systems

become available

►Poor performance partially responsible for fall of former market, VPL Research

Telepresence

►Why have the related applications in telepresence not caught on?oBoth use head-referenced/mounted

displaysoMost likely due to cost and performance

characterics of the human interface

Research

►Author comments that a missing element of the application areas is a comparison of user performanceoMentions panel mounted hardware

formats with higher resolutionsoVE developers complain systems not

ready for testing• Many do not display recommended number

of scan lines

Conclusion

►Flight Simulations o Extended use produces nausea and

altered visual and visumotor coordination

►Life in virtual environmentsoMay have social after-effects

• E.g. Violence in video games, transferred into this medium

oDesign of virtual environments may provide technical, social and possibly political challenges as well

Metadata

►Large amount of referenceso Interesting, considering time (comparison

to other papers at the time)o References mostly ‘recent’, several older

references (eg, 1960’s)

►Diagrams/Images help to illustrate authors points o ie, when explaining head-mounted displays

►Only one author

Discussion

►ReasonsoWanted to look at ‘history’ of VE

►ConclusionoOdd conclusion, doesn’t give the user

much to end with apart from an explanation of what a VE is• Could have talked in depth about future

development and applications

Questions?

Thanks for listening!