Seminar Series: Technology Trends 2005
Virtual Reality Systems: Potential research
Manolya
Kavlaki, Macquarie University
Virtual reality (VR) systems were introduced to the general
public in 1989. Since then, VR has captured the public's imagination
with being commercially available even before being academically
understood. VR is the body of techniques that apply computation to
the generation of experientially valid realities. VR hardware
(including trackers, spatial sensors, biofeedback devices, audio and
video displays) maps natural behaviour onto digital streams, whilst
VR software provides tools for construction of, management of, and
interaction with digital environments surrounding a user.
With these characteristics, VR provides the potential for
completely customized, individualized learning, but it also carries
the risk of changing our mental models making the borders between
virtual and actual unclear. Research on VR systems requires a deep
knowledge of human physiology, perception, and cognition, as well as
computer engineering.
Regarding the interface design, a shift from the needs of symbol
processors to the needs of humans is essential to be able to
understand the cognitive and behavioral effects of transportable
perspectives, programmable bodies, and exchangable body parts.
Virtual Reality is a way for humans to visualize, manipulate and
interact with computers and extremely complex data. The
visualization part refers to the computer generating visual,
auditory or other sensual outputs to the user of a world within the
computer. This world may be a CAD model, a scientific simulation, or
a view into a database. The user can interact with this virtual
world, directly manipulating objects in it. Interaction with the
virtual world is the major focus of a VR system.
The applications being developed for VR run a wide spectrum, from
games to architectural and business planning. Some are similar to
our own, like CAD or architectural modeling. Some provide ways of
viewing from a very different perspective not possible with the real
world, like scientific simulations and telepresence systems. Others
are much different from anything we have ever directly experienced
before, like navigating a large corporate information system.
In this seminar, I will mainly focus on VR technology, describing
a wide range of VR systems, point to some active areas of research,
outline our research efforts underway at Macquarie University, and
discuss potentials and risks engendered by this technology. Dr
Manolya Kavakli , Macquarie University
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