Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality (VR) is common name for an absorbing, interactive, Computer-mediated

experience in which person perceives a digital (simulated) world by means of special human-
computer interface Equipment. It communicates with the environment's virtual objects as if
they were alive. In a shared Synthetic space, such as a battlefield, many people can see and
communicate with one another.
A computer-generated visual environment that can be passed around and controlled by a user
in real time is referred to as virtual reality. On a head-mounted mirror, a computer monitor, or
a wide projection screen, a simulated world can be seen. The user can watch, step about, and
control the simulated world using head and hand tracking devices.
The main difference between VR systems and traditional media (such as radio, television) lies in
three dimensionality of Virtual Reality structure. Immersion, presence and interactivity are
peculiar features of Virtual reality that draw it away from other representational technologies.
Virtual reality does not imitate real reality, nor does it have a representational function. Human
beings have inability to distinguish between perception, hallucination, and illusions.
VR has grown into a new phase and becomes a distinct field in world of computing. The utility
of VR has already been researched in car design, robot design, medicine, chemistry, biology,
education, as well as in building design and construction.
In a virtual environment system, a computer generates sensory impressions that are delivered
to the human senses. The type and the quality of these impressions determine the level of
immersion and the feeling of presence in VR. Ideally the high resolution, high quality and
consistent over all the displays, information should be presented to all the user’s senses.
Moreover, the environment itself should react realistically to the user’s actions. The practice,
however, is very different from this ideal case. Many applications stimulate only one or a few of
the senses, very often with low-quality and unsynchronized information. We can group the VR
systems accordingly to the level of immersion they offer to the user:
• Non-Immersive (Desktop VR) systems – Desktop Virtual Reality is a lower level of immersive
VR that can be easily employed in many applications without the need for special devices.
Sometimes called Window on World (WoW) systems. This is the simplest type of virtual reality
applications.
Desktop VR is when a computer user views a virtual environment through one or more
computer screens. A user can then interact with that environment but is not immersed in it. It
uses a conventional monitor to display the image (generally monoscope) of the world. No other
sensory output is supported.
Desktop Virtual Reality has begun to make its way and popularity in modern education because
of its ability to provide real time visualization and interaction within a virtual world that closely
resembles a real world.
• Semi-Immersive (Fish Tank VR) systems –improved version of Desktop VR. These systems
support head tracking and therefore improve the feeling of “of being there” thanks to the
motion parallax effect. They still use a conventional monitor (very often with LCD shutter
glasses for stereoscopic viewing) but generally do not support sensory output.
• Immersive systems –the ultimate version of VR systems. They let the user totally immerse in
computer generated world with the help of HMD that supports a stereoscopic view of the
scene accordingly to the user’s position and orientation. These systems may be enhanced by
audio, haptic and sensory interfaces.
It is not easy to define all the uses of VR because now it’s enough developed in many fields.
Here, some uses of VR are explained.
EDS Jack is an example of a commercially available virtual reality software package. It is mainly
used for visibility and ergonomics study. These are two of the areas that using Virtu-al Reality
really benefits. For example, when designing a large mechanical device such as a bulldozer or
even a car, visibility and ergonomics are very important to the operators. Would you buy a car
that was uncomfortable to drive or had poor visibility, probably not? Many companies spend a
large amount of money making their products interface better with the operators. The cost of
building prototypes is very expensive, upwards of a few million dollars for one machine using
the bulldozer example. By using virtual reality, the company could check out the viability and
ergonomics of their machine quickly and make changes to it without ever spending money on
building hardware.
Another area that Virtual Reality is heavily used in is driving or flying simulations. These provide
the users a chance to gain expertise operating a vehicle without the real-world consequences of
making a mistake.
MPI Vega Prime is an example of a software package that supports any type of driving
simulation. The user builds the virtual environment within the software package. Its biggest
advantage is its realistic physics engine which supports collision detection.
Flight simulators are the most common type of machine simulation. Some other examples
would be the US Army’s use of simulators to train tank solders with virtual tank wars. NASA also
trains its astronauts on how to land the space shuttle with a virtual reality simulator.

Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality (AR) is a new technology that involves the overlay of computer graphics on the real
world. AR is within a more general context termed Mixed Reality (MR), which refers to a multi-axis
spectrum of areas that cover Virtual Reality (VR), AR, telepresence, and other related technologies. AR
can be considered a technology between VR and telepresence. While in VR the environment is
completely synthetic and in telepresence it is completely real, in AR the user sees the real world
augmented with virtual objects. The field of Augmented Reality has existed for just over one decade, but
the growth and progress in the past few years has been remarkable.

Four major classes of AR can be distinguished by their display type: Optical See Through, Virtual Retinal
Systems, Video See-Through, Monitor Based AR and Projector Based AR.

Optical See-Through AR uses a transparent Head Mounted Display to show the virtual environment
directly over the real world. It works by placing optical combiners in front of the user’s eyes. These
combiners are partially transmissive, so that the user can look directly through them to see the real
world. The combiners are also partially reflective, so that the user sees virtual images bounced off the
combiners from head-mounted monitors. Prime examples of an Optical See-through AR system are the
various augmented medical systems. The MIT Image Guided Surgery has concentrated on brain surgery.
UNC has been working with an AR enhanced ultrasound system and other ways to superimpose
radiographic images on a patient. There are many other Optical See-through systems, as it seems to be
the main direction for AR.

The VRD projects a modulated beam of light (from an electronic source) directly onto the retina of the
eye producing a rasterized image. The viewer has the illusion of seeing the source image as if he/she
stands two feet away in front of a 14-inch monitor. The image is on the retina of its eye and not on a
screen. The quality of the image he/she sees is excellent with stereo view, full color, wide field of view
and no flickering characteristics.

Video See-Through AR uses an opaque HMD to display merged video of the VE and view from cameras
on the HMD. This approach is a bit more complex than optical see-through AR, requiring proper location
of the cameras. However, video composition of the real and virtual worlds is much easier. There are a
variety of solutions available including chroma-key and depth mapping. Mixed Reality Systems Lab
(MRSL) of Japan presented a stereo video see-through HMD at ISAR 2000. This device addresses some of
the parallax related to location of the cameras vs eyes.

Monitor Based AR also uses merged video streams, but the display is a more conventional desktop
monitor or a handheld display. It is perhaps the least difficult AR setup, as it eliminates HMD issues.
Princeton Video Image, Inc. has developed a technique for merging graphics into real time video
streams. Their work is regularly seen as the first down line in American football games. It is also used for
placing advertising logos into various broadcasts.

Projector Based AR uses real world objects as the projection surface for the virtual environment. It has
applications in industrial assembly, product visualization, etc. Projector based AR is also well suited to
multiple user situations. Alignment of projectors and the projection surfaces is critical for successful
applications.

The Augmented Reality technology has many possible applications in a wide range of fields, including
entertainment, education, medicine, engineering, and manufacturing.

A simple form of augmented reality has been in use in the entertainment and news business for quite
some time. Whenever you are watching the evening weather report, the speaker remains standing in
front of changing weather maps. In the studio the reporter is standing in front of a blue screen. This real
image is augmented with computer generated maps using a technique called chroma-keying. Another
entertainment area where AR is being applied is on game development.

The military has been using displays in cockpits that present information to the pilot on the windshield
of the cockpit or the visor of the flight helmet. This is a form of augmented reality display. By equipping
military personnel with helmet mounted visor displays or a special purpose rangefinder the activities of
other units participating in the exercise can be imaged. While looking at the horizon, during a training
section for example, the display equipped soldier could see a virtual helicopter rising above the tree line.
This helicopter could be being flown in simulation by another participant. In wartime, the display of the
real battlefield scene could be augmented with annotation information or highlighting to emphasize
hidden enemy units.
Imagine that a group of designers are working on the model of a complex device for their clients. The
designers and clients want to do a joint design review even though they are physically separated. If each
of them had a conference room that was equipped with an augmented reality display this could be
accomplished. The physical prototype that the designers have mocked up is imaged and displayed in the
client’s conference room in 3D. The clients can walk around the display looking at different aspects of it.
To hold discussions the client can point at the prototype to highlight sections and this will be reflected
on the real model in the augmented display that the designers are using. Or perhaps in an earlier stage
of the design, before a prototype is built, the view in each conference room is augmented with a
computer-generated image of the current design built from the CAD files describing it.

In the domain of robotics and telerobotic an augmented display can assist the user of the system. A
telerobotic operator uses a visual image of the remote workspace to guide the robot. Annotation of the
view would be useful as it is when the scene is in front of the operator. Besides, augmentation with
wireframe drawings of structures in the view can facilitate visualization of the remote 3D geometry. If
the operator is attempting a motion, it could be practiced on a virtual robot that is visualized as an
augmentation to the real scene. The operator can decide to proceed with the motion after seeing the
results. The robot motion could then be executed directly which in a telerobotic application would
eliminate any oscillations caused by long delays to the remote site. Another use of robotics and AR is on
remote medical operation.

When the maintenance technician approaches a new or unfamiliar piece of equipment instead of
opening several repair manuals, they could put on an augmented reality display. In this display the
image of the equipment would be augmented with annotations and information pertinent to the repair.
For example, the location of fasteners and attachment hardware that must be removed would be
highlighted. Boing made an experimental system, where the technicians are guided by the augmented
display that shows the routing of the cables on a generic frame used for all harnesses. The augmented
display allows a single fixture to be used for making the multiple the nature of AR technology or displays.
Work has been done in the correction of registration errors and avoiding hiding critical data due to
density problems.