2.03B Common Types and Interface Devices and Systems of Virtual Reality 2.03 Explore virtual reality.

Types of Virtual Realities

 Desktop  Uses 3-D Graphics  Does not require additional equipment.  Immersive  Requires additional equipment.  Is the most effective of Virtual Reality technologies.  Eyes, ears, or other body senses are isolated from real environment and fed information that is generated by the computer.  Telepresence  Allows a person to interact with another live, real place at a different physical location other than their actual location.  Involves life-size images.  In some situations, participants may be able to manipulate devices or the environment in the remote location.

Common Interface Devices

Interface Devices Head-mounted display (HMD) Facial sensor/body suit

Interface Devices Wand Data glove

Head-Mounted Display (HMD)  Device on top of helmet signals head movements.  A computer continually updates the simulation to reflect new perspectives.  Its viewing screen adds depth to flat pictures.  Blocks out surrounding environment.  Is popular with the entertainment industry.

Data Glove Programs the computer to change modes in response to gestures made with data gloves.  Some use fiber optic cables.  Some use strain sensors over joints. Facial sensor/body suit Sensors read facial expressions/body movements and transfer information to the computer for animation purposes.

Wand  Is simplest of interface devices.  Most have on/off buttons.  Some have knobs, dials, or joy sticks.  Wands operate with six degrees of freedom.  By pointing a wand at an object, its position and orientation can be changed in any of six directions  forward or backward, up or down, or left or right  Example of Use: Biologists use wands like scalpels to slice tissue samples from virtual brains.

Interface Systems

Three common systems:  HMD – Head-mounted Display  BOOM – Binocular Omni Orientation Monitor  CAVE – Automatic Virtual Environment

BOOM (Binocular Omni Orientation Monitor)  Is similar to HMD – but no helmet.  Viewing box suspended from rotating arm.  Uses handles on box sides to move image around.  Buttons on handles allow user to interact with object.  Can also hook up data gloves.

CAVE  One of the newest, most "immersive" virtual environments.  10 x 10 x 9-foot darkened cubicle.  Is like climbing into the computer’s screen.  Display enables user to experience the. sensation of being "inside" the data.

Advantages of CAVE  Only need special glasses and a wand instead of clunky equipment.  Has a large field of view of data that is projected in stereoscopic images onto the walls and floor of the CAVE.  Multiple users can be in CAVE at same time.  Sound can be added to images.

Shared Virtual Environments The users can see each other, communicate with each other, and interact with the virtual world as a team. In this illustration, three networked users at different locations (anywhere in the world) meet in the same virtual world by using a BOOM device, a CAVE system, and a Head-mounted Display. All users see the same virtual environment from their respective points of view. Each user is presented as a virtual human (avatar) to the other participants.

Review Common virtual reality  Types  Interface devices  Interface systems