Virtual Reality: A Short Introduction

CAVE

The CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment) was developed at the University of Illinois at Chicago and provides the illusion of immersion by projecting stereo images on the walls and floor of a room-sized cube. Several persons wearing lightweight stereo glasses can enter and walk freely inside the CAVE. A head tracking system continuously adjust the stereo projection to the current position of the leading viewer.

CAVE system (schematic principle):

Input Devices and other Sensual Technologies

A variety of input devices like data gloves, joysticks, and hand-held wands allow the user to navigate through a virtual environment and to interact with virtual objects. Directional sound, tactile and force feedback devices, voice recognition and other technologies are being employed to enrich the immersive experience and to create more "sensualized" interfaces.

A data glove allows for interactions with the virtual world:

Moving the steering wheel

Characteristics of Immersive VR

The unique characteristics of immersive virtual reality can be summarized as follows:

Head-referenced viewing provides a natural interface for the navigation in three-dimensional space and allows for look-around, walk-around, and fly-through capabilities in virtual environments.
Stereoscopic viewing enhances the perception of depth and the sense of space.
The virtual world is presented in full scale and relates properly to the human size.
Realistic interactions with virtual objects via data glove and similar devices allow for manipulation, operation, and control of virtual worlds.
The convincing illusion of being fully immersed in an artificial world can be enhanced by auditory, haptic, and other non-visual technologies.
Networked applications allow for shared virtual environments (see below).

Shared Virtual Environments

In the example illustrated below, 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, respectively. 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. The users can see each other, communicated with each other, and interact with the virtual world as a team.

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