Virtual reality
Computer and video "VR" simulations that entail wearing headgear, electronic gloves, and possibly electronic body suits such that users are immersed in a cyberspace of simulated reality that gives the sensation of being in a three-dimensional world where objects can be moved about with hand movements and sensations of walking and touching are simulated using super computing power. The origins of virtual reality are in flight simulators of the military. There are now VR game arcades and laboratories where wide varieties of applications in entertainment, training, medical research, architectural design, data research, etc. are taking place. Virtual reality programs require massive computer power. Usually, the closer authors attempt to simulate the real world, the greater the computing power needed to achieve sensations of reality. Although most of virtual reality applications to date have been in training and entertainment, there are some applications in data analysis such as the use of VR to analyze international portfolio data in the TIAA/CREF Pension Funds.
Winn (1994) contends VR will become a major part of university curricula. He cites evidence that VR is especially successful for learning in disadvantaged and physically handicapped students. In June 1994, Apple Corporation unveiled a new desktop computing software option (with a CD-ROM recorder) called QuickTime VR that takes a collection of photographs (e.g., photographs of numerous angles of the inside of a room) and assembles them into motion scenes that resemble more expensive virtual reality generated on super computers. Viacom Inc. sells a QuickTime VR entertainment CD-ROM called "Star Trek: The Next Generation Interactive Technical Manual" that provides VR tours of the Starship USS Enterprise. For a review of some initial applications of QuickTime VR in anatomy education see
Carlton (1994b). (See also
Simulation and
VRML.)
An artificial environment created with computer hardware and software and presented to the user in such a way that it appears and feels like a real environment. To âenterâ a virtual reality, a user dons special gloves, earphones, and goggles, all of which receive their input from the computer system. In this way, at least three of the five senses are controlled by the computer. In addition to feeding sensory input to the user, the devices also monitor the userâs actions. The goggles, for example, track how the eyes move and respond accordingly by sending new video input.To date, virtual reality systems require extremely expensive hardware and software and are confined mostly to research laboratories. The term virtual reality is sometimes used more generally to refer to any virtual world represented in a computer, even if it's just a text-based or graphical representation.
A computer simulation of a real 3-dimensional world,often supplemented by sound effects.The games let you fly an airplane or spaceship in combat or explore a dungeon and kill its monsters.Educational applications let you learn through experience for many types of simulated tasks or interact with professors and class members at a distance.
