By: Elizabeth GibsonCOMP 1631-CWinter 2011

What is Virtual Reality? Virtual reality technology : applies to computer- simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds Virtual reality allows users to interact in a new world by using just an input device such as a keyboard or with the new technology a wired glove. There are a wide range of uses of virtual reality technology. For example: simulations for pilot or combat training

A Brief History 1920 – vehicle simulators were introduced 1966 – Tom Furness introduced the flight simulator 1968 – the first augmented reality (AR) head mounted display (HMD) was developed by Ivan Sutherland and his student Bob Sproull 1977 – at MIT the Aspen Movie Map was created, which is one of the earlier hypermedia systems created 1985 – the first “goggles and gloves” was created which was titled the system of the decade 1991 – the virtual reality concept of “driving on Mars” with a rover was created by a MIT graduate and a NASA scientist.

Seven Concepts of Virtual Reality Technology Simulation Interaction Artificiality Immersion Telepresence Full-body immersion Network

Simulation: (computer science) the technique of representing the real world by a computer program; "a simulation should imitate the internal processes and not merely the results of the thing being simulated" Interaction: is a kind of action that occurs as two or more objects have an effect upon one another. The idea of a two-way effect is essential in the concept of interaction, as opposed to a one-way causal effect Artificiality: the state of being unreal or unnatural

Immersion: the state of consciousness where an immersant's awareness of physical self is diminished or lost by being surrounded in an engrossing total environment; often artificial Telepresence: refers to a set of technologies which allow a person to feel as if they were present, to give the appearance that they were present, or to have an effect, at a location other than their true location. Full-body immersion: the basis of technology that allows players to experience a complete out of body experience as the enter into a world of reality. Players are able to smell, hear and see this created world they play in and have it seem completely real. Network: is a real-time, two player business simulation game developed by David Mullich for the Apple II in Two players play competitively against the computer, each taking the role of the programming chief for a major television network.

Six Virtual Realities Anxiety Therapy VR Training Programs Multiplayer Online Gaming Medical Procedures Project Natal The Cave YOU ARE THE CONTROLER

Anxiety Therapy For many soldiers who suffer with post traumatic stress disorder use anxiety therapy. Therapists use anxiety therapy to allow those who suffer with anxiety to relive their pain and allow them to talk and understand there fear. Examples for the use of anxiety therapy: Soldiers who have P.S.D. Fear of flying Fear of elevators Quitting smoking

VR Training Programs VR Training Programs allows those using it to feel a complete immersion into the area of work. The first use of VR Training Programs was the fight simulator, created in Examples: including Iraqi cultural situations and battlefield simulators for soldiers counter-terrorism Paratrooping Welding mining training

Multiplayer Online Gaming Multiplayer Online Gaming allows players to feel that full-body immersion. Players are able to create their own avatar and live in a whole new world. Complete imaginary worlds are created and populated by the avatars of those playing. It is a means of communication and socialization with people around the world Examples: World of Warcraft Second Life

Medical Procedures Due to the development of technology, there have been advances in numerous medical techniques using virtual reality. Numerous medical surgeons have began using these technologies to help with their surgeries and have had a higher success rate. Because of the use of virtual reality and robotics in surgical training and surgeries, the use of this new technology will be beneficial in the long run and will continue to be developed in the future. Uses of Virtual Reality Technology: Many doctors are beginning to use robotics when working in certain medical fields. Examples of these are orthopaedics and cardiology. Many other medical practices are using various types of virtual reality when treating patients. Examples of this is in cases of mental health, anaesthetics, and emergency medicine “New technologies, in particular virtual reality and robotics, will have a major impact on health care in the next decade.” – Dr. R. McCloy

Project Natal The project natal is the newest virtual reality technology. Project natal has no controller, keyboard and any other type of input device. Controlled by the players voice and motions is the sole method of interaction with this new device. The latest craze is Xbox360’s newest gaming system, Kinect. Kinect is a very easy system to set up and is fun for the entire family. A full-body experience of gaming brings endless hours of entertainment to all those who play. With the numerous games that come with Kinect there is something for everyone in the family. “You are the controller. No gadgets, no gizmos, just you!” – Xbox360 Kinect

The Cave Created in 1992, The Cave was first created for research scientific visionaries. Many universities today use the Cave as a means of visualizing data and demonstrating 3D labs. The Cave is a full-body immersion into a world of virtual reality. Set up as four projectors placed on the four surrounding walls of the space used; the Cave offers multiple players to experience this new world at once.

Potential idea for Virtual Reality uses As technology expands there will be new and improved uses for virtual reality. In London, UK, three students of University of London explored the concept of virtual reality in mapping urban neighbourhoods. Goal to have 3D images Modelling language VRML Two types of maps Static Dynamic

The following diagram illustrates the five stages to full interactivity in virtual worlds. Starting with the basic HTML (Hyper Text Mark-up Language) to the full extent of the third dimensional world.

Conclusion As technology improves and becomes more and more advanced the uses to technology will grow. The concept of virtual reality technology is continuing to grow today and will continue to grow for the years to come. From the concept of being in a whole new world, to simply having a family games night, with the Xbox360’s Kinect, virtual reality is a very complex tool that has helped with numerous scientific discoveries and will continue to explore the concept of a virtual world, where you are the controller.

References Doyle S., Dodge M., Smith A., Science Direct, University College London, 1998, Web, p , 2011 Hogan D., About ScienceDaily, Rockville MD,1995, Web., March 4, 2009 McCloy R., Stone R., BMJ, 2001, Web Ayckboum A., Wikipedia, 2001, Web. 31 Jan Microsoft corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, Xbox.com, Web Darbyshire G., Denton N., Gawker, New York, Web All pictures are from Google Images Definitions were found on Google’s dictionary