Subject: Computer graphics

&
Animation
 Contents
▪ Introduction to virtual Reality
▪ Definition of VR
▪ Classical components of VR
What is Virtual Reality?
▪ Virtual Reality means feeling the imaginary(virtual) world, rather
than the real one. The imaginary world is a simulation running in a
computer.
▪ Virtual reality is the term used for computer generated 3D
environments that allow the user to enter and interact with
alternate realities.
▪ The definition of ‘virtual’ is near and ‘reality’ is what we experience
as human beings.
Definition
▪ Virtual reality (VR) is a technology that allows a user to interact with
a computer-simulated environment, be it a real or imaginary one.
▪ Users can interact with a virtual environment or a virtual artifact
either through the use of standard input devices (such as a
keyboard and mouse) or through multimodal devices (such as a
wired glove, boom arm, and Omni-directional treadmill).
▪ In practice, it is currently very difficult to create a high-fidelity VR
experience, largely due to technical limitations on processing
power, image resolution, and communication bandwidth.
▪ VR is often used to describe a wide variety of applications,
commonly associated with its immersive, highly visual, three-
dimensional (3D) environments.
▪ The development of computer-aided design (CAD) software,
graphics hardware acceleration, head-mounted displays, database
gloves, and miniaturization have helped popularize the notion.
 VR system’s goals
VR system must look real, requiring the most detailed images
possible.
The fluidity and responsiveness of a 3D environment that provides
a key to the VR system.
Terms of computer graphics, both are mutually exclusive.
Incredibly detailed images make a virtual environment appear
more realistic, but movement through the environment is slow and
cumbersome, detracting from the experience.
Lesser-detailed scenes will appear false and artificial.
 Classical components of VR Systems
A typical VR system consists of six main components:
1. The virtual world
2. Graphics engine
3. Simulation engine
4. User interface
5. User inputs
6. User outputs

The virtual world, simulation engine, graphics engine, and user interface are all
internal components to a VR software package, input and outputs are external
ones.
▪ A virtual world is a scene database that contains geometric
representations and attributes for all objects within the
environment.
▪ The graphics engine is responsible for actually generating the
image that a viewer sees.
▪ This is done by taking into account the scene database and the
viewer’s current position and orientation.
▪ It also includes combining information from the scene database
with textures, sounds, special effects, etc., to produce an
impression that you are looking at the scene from a particular
point.
▪ The simulation engine actually does most of the work required to
maintain a virtual environment. It is concerned purely with the
dynamics of the environment —how it changes over time and how it
responds to user’s actions.

▪ This includes handling any interactions, programmed object actions,

physical simulation (for example, gravity or inertia) or user actions.

▪ Finally, the user interface controls how the user navigates and
interacts with this virtual environment. It acts as a buffer between the
virtual world software and the myriad of input and output devices
that may be used.

▪ Inputs and outputs are mostly independent of the VR software except

in specialized applications.