A New Continent of Ideas

While a new technology called virtual reality" is still at the "ground floor" level one of its basic components 3D computer graphics is already in wide commercial use and expanding. Other components that permit a human operator to "virtually" explore an artificial environment and to interact with it are being demonstrated routinely at Ames and elsewhere. Virtual reality might be defined as an environment capable of being virtually entered - telepresence it is called - or interacted with by a human. The Virtual Interface Environment Workstation (VIEW) is a head-mounted stereoscopic display system in which the display may be an artificial computer-generated environment or a real environment relayed from remote video cameras. Operator can "step into" this environment and interact with it. The DataGlove has a series of fiber optic cables and sensors that detect any movement of the wearer's fingers and transmit the information to a host computer; a computer generated image of the hand will move exactly as the operator is moving his gloved hand. With appropriate software the operator can use the glove to interact with the computer scene by grasping an object. The DataSuit is a sensor equipped full body garment that greatly increases the sphere of performance for virtual reality simulations by reporting to the computer the motions bends gestures and spatial orientation of the wearer. VPL created its own version the eye display in NASA's helmet system the EyePhone a head-mounted stereo display. VPL has developed a line of software for virtual reality applications. The company offers a complete package the RB2 Virtual Environment."

Full article: http://hdl.handle.net/hdl:2060/20020086961