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Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
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Searching... | 30000010026076 | QA76.9.H85 S54 2003 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
Searching... | 30000010068255 | QA76.9.H85 S54 2003 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
Understanding Virtual Reality arrives at a time when the technologies behind virtual reality have advanced to the point that it is possible to develop and deploy meaningful, productive virtual reality applications. The aim of this thorough, accessible exploration is to help you take advantage of this moment, equipping you with the understanding needed to identify and prepare for ways VR can be used in your field, whatever your field may be.
By approaching VR as a communications medium, the authors have created a resource that will remain relevant even as the underlying technologies evolve. You get a history of VR, along with a good look at systems currently in use. However, the focus remains squarely on the application of VR and the many issues that arise in the application design and implementation, including hardware requirements, system integration, interaction techniques, and usability. This book also counters both exaggerated claims for VR and the view that would reduce it to entertainment, citing dozens of real-world examples from many different fields and presenting (in a series of appendices) four in-depth application case studies.
Author Notes
William R. Sherman leads the virtual reality effort at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Bill came to NCSA as part of the scientific visualization team in 1989 and took over the reins of the virtual reality facilities in 1992. He has authored several book chapters and papers on the topics of scientific visualization and virtual reality and has been teaching a graduate-level course on VR at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Alan B. Craig currently does research and development in the Visualization and Virtual Environments Group at the NCSA at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In addition to giving numerous presentations, Alan has authored papers and book chapters related to scientific visualization and virtual reality. Prior to his work in the Visualization and Virtual Environments Group, Alan was Manager of the NCSA Training Group, Manager of the NCSA Information Technology Group, and a member of the NCSA Scientific Visualization Group
Table of Contents
Preface | p. xviii |
Part I What is Virtual Reality? | p. 2 |
1 Introduction to Virtual Reality | p. 4 |
2 VR: The Medium | p. 38 |
Part II Virtual Reality Systems | p. 70 |
3 Interface to the Virtual World--Input | p. 74 |
4 Interface to the Virtual World--Output | p. 114 |
5 Rendering the Virtual World | p. 204 |
6 Interacting with the Virtual World | p. 282 |
7 The Virtual Reality Experience | p. 380 |
8 Experience Design: Applying VR to a Problem | p. 412 |
9 The Future of Virtual Reality | p. 436 |
Part III The Appendices | p. 458 |
A NICE, An Educational Experience | p. 460 |
B Crumbs, A Tool for Scientific Visualization | p. 482 |
C Boeing Wire Bundles, An Augmented Reality System | p. 512 |
D Placeholder, An Artistic Exploration | p. 522 |
References | p. 541 |
Index | p. 557 |
About the Authors | p. 581 |