Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for CS 3604, Fall 1996.
Virtual Reality is a formidable topic of conversation in the 1990's. The concept has altered the way people think and view the world of computing. Although there exists a multitude of misconceptions about the topic of virtual worlds, people have allowed the basic idea to matriculate into popular culture.
Considerable advancement in the virtual world is not an indomitable reach; however, there is an immense gap between what people think VR can accomplish in the near future and what it actually can do today. Fantastical visions of what VR could do plague entertainment in every possible form. In actuality, much of the research to date has focused on a software attempt to find practicality in VR uses.
In terms of function, Virtual Reality is a simulation of some aspect of the real world, whether it be a walk through an environment, or a military combat simulation. A key word in the definition of VR would have to be interactivity. The heart of VR is based on interactive principles between the real and the virtual world. Some of the major areas pertaining to VR include simulation and modeling, and of course, entertaining, as well as education. Before the present and future of VR can be scrutinized, a background on the historical perspective is necessary.
Virtual Reality has a significant history that is both interesting and complex. [1] A little over thirty years ago, a young man by the name of Morton Heilig had an idea. He was not a computer scientist, nor was he an engineer. Heilig was a cinematographer who wanted to utilize the other seventy-two percent of the spectator's viewing field. He wanted to create an ultimate full-view experience for the spectator.
[2]"I became very excited. I thought, 'Why stop at a picture that fills only 18 percent of the spectator's visual field, and a two-dimensional picture at that? Why not make it a three-dimensional image that fills 100 percent of the spectator's visual field, accompanied by stereophonic sound? If we're going to step through the window into another world, why not go the whole way?'"
Unable to obtain any financial support, Heilig was unable to create his dream; however, he created a unit called the "Sensorama Simulator", released in the early 1960's. A photo of his creation is shown here.
This virtual workstation utilized 3-D video, obtained with three 35 mm cameras mounted
on the cameraman. The setup included stereo sound, integrated with the full 3-D camera
views. The viewer could ride a motorcycle while sensing the wind, simulated by a fan, and
even potholes in the road. The machine was crude, but it opened the door for a multitude
of ideas - a whole new world not yet discovered.
[3] In 1966, Ivan Sutherland, a graduate student at the University of Utah, picked up where Heilig had left off. Sutherland used two Cathode Ray Tubes mounted near the ears to simulate the three dimensional experience. Sutherland realized that analog camera scenes were not necessary. Sutherland started the idea of the graphics accelerator, an integral part in modern virtual simulation. The military quickly recognized the potential of this idea in flight simulation, and spent most of the seventies designing helmets that could simulate a view of flight. Also, NASA began research on using the technology for space flight, and later, moon landings. Ironically, Helig's invention changed the world of computing, as well as the evolution of the computer itself.
The pivotal convergence of technologies that have made Virtual Reality possible have come about in the last ten years. The last ten years have seen advancements in areas that are absolutely crucial to the VR paradigm. [4] These include the Liquid Crystal Display(LCD) and Cathode Ray Tube(CRT) display devices, high performance image generation systems, and tracking systems(to compute display areas into calculated machine coordinates). As the world of the integrated circuits progressed into the MIPS era, high speed, high performance systems became affordable. As a result, non-military research was possible, and research migrated to other countries as well, Japan, France, and Germany in particular. Evolution of specific technologies included the display technology, as mentioned above, the human interface, and imaging. The evolution of display technology has played a vital role in the advancement of the Virtual Reality paradigm. [5] An image display or a graphic is a computer generated reproduction of a realistic(can also be abstract) object or scene. Modern advances in graphic resolution and processor speed have allowed adaptive real time drawing of polygons in the computer interface. For a long time, the processors were too slow to refresh the image for each adaptation of movement. To add, the enhancement in processor speed has improved the granularity or minimum change in position that the sensor can detect. This allows a particular simulation movement to appear less jerky.
As a result of this display and imaging technology, there has been an explosion in the advent of new VR tools. Since interactivity is a key word in the VR world, input/output tools have been pondered and experimented with. First came the flight helmets developed by the military to replace costly real combat simulations. The helmets allowed the military to put pilots in dangerous situations which they could otherwise not experience ñ dangerous in the virtual world only, of course.
Since it is necessary to know the real time positions of any potential view, 3-D position sensors were developed. [6] In order to successfully translate a view into graphics, a Cartesian three coordinate system was used. Interestingly enough, these sensors have evolved into potentiometers, using low frequency magnetic fields, ultrasound, radar, or infrared cameras to detect motion. This phenomenon is one of the many areas of VR that have become extremely complex, using, electromagnetic and kinematic principles.
[7] Another way to control VR objects has emerged with the invention of the trackball mouse. An advantage of this 'non-absolute' VR tool is that it does not need expensive sensory equipment. A mentionable example of this technology is the advent of the Dimension6 trackball. This ball measures forces and torques to be translated by a computer into differential changes in VR position.
Probably the most know VR tool is the sensory glove. A vast array of gloves have hit the market for numerous functions. [7] Sensory gloves include the dataglove, the cyberglove, the powerglove, and the Dexterous Hand Master (DHM). These tools were invented as a result of the multitude of possible hand movements. The hands and fingers can move in many ways to simulate many physical degrees of freedom in movement. A movement of index finger might simulate a button click, or forward propulsion in the virtual environment. As a result of these factors, gloves have become popular in the entertainment field. This is just a light view of some of the VR tools that have evolved simultaneously with the VR world, greater scrutiny could border on the incessant.
We know the past and present of Virtual Reality, but what lies ahead, on the horizon? What can we expect? This question has a delicate answer. Just a Bill Gates said in the mid 1980's that a computer would never need more that 60k memory, there is no finite end to what lies ahead. Since VR requires the burdens of various equipment, decreasing the size of needed tools is a common view. At the University of Washington, scientists are investigating the writing images into the retina of the eye. This would allow one's retina to act as a screen. Also, neurosurgeons consider the possibility of brain implants. With the advancement in processor performance, the millions of signals (EEG) involved in brain activity are interpretable, something that would never have been conceivable a few years ago. Neurosurgeons have successfully stimulated the brain to provoke images in subjects. This would seem to lead to an end to the need for equipment. Also, scientists are attempting to relate the EEG signals with muscular signals. Someday, the glove that we are familiar with now will be obsolete due to the muscular signals sent out by muscular movements (EMG). Researchers and scientists hope to downsize the neural network used to read these signals to chip size; this would allow the chip to be placed on the arm, like a wrist watch, with every advantage of the present glove.
Aside from physical views of future technology, Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV)
are evolving rapidly. Pilots are able to evoke their sensory skills into the cockpit of a
plane without actually being there. Primitive versions of these systems were used in the
Gulf War, proving that the possibility is real.
A phenomenon that is rising in popularity is architectural modeling. Already, VR allows a designer or consumer to view their proposed environment before it is constructed. This technology is on the rise, as is the desire to attain it. The customer could create or modify any aspect of what seems unsatisfactory.
Many ethical questions arise in this field. Should we be doing this? People wonder, with the histrionic nature of entertainment, if we run the risk of making the real world obsolete. The truth is, we have nothing to fear in the near future. As stated above, there is an enormous gap between what could be and what is. We are only in fifth to sixth decade of computer integration in human experience. With the expedient advance of computing power, visionaries tend of over dramaticize what is apparent. We will not be destroying our world with this technology, it is too new to even consider the risk. The truth is we know about as much about the future as Charles Babbage did when he was struggling with the idea of the computing machine so many hundreds of years ago. Virtual Reality has indeed integrated itself into humanity, and it will continue to do so hopefully ameliorating our lives in the inexorable process.
1650 words
Last Updated: 9/28/96
Bibliography:
[1] Hamit, Francis Virtual Reality and the Exploration of Cyberspace Sams Publishing,
1993
[2] ibid
[3] ibid
[4] ibid
[5] Anderson, Time The Virtual Reality Casebook Van Nostrand Reinhold Publishing,
1994
[6] ibid
[7] ibid