Introduction

What is Virtual Reality?

Introduction

It is not augmented reality….

Introduction

What is Virtual Reality?

“A high-end user-computer interface that involves
real-time simulation and interaction through
multiple sensorial channels.” (vision, sound, touch,
smell, taste)”
 Introduction

http://games.yahoo.com/braingames/brain-teasers-games/phantom-square-255
Introduction

Sensorama Simulator, US Patent #3,050,870, 1962

 VR Short History

1963+
Ivan Sutherland's doctoral theses:
SKETCHPAD: stereo HMD, position tracking,
and a graphics engine. 1966+
Tom Furness: display systems for pilots;
1967+
Brooks developed force feedback GROPE
system;
Introduction

Ivan Sutherland’s HMD

(1966+)
Introduction

Brooks’s Grope
Project (1977)
VR Short History

1977
Sandin and Sayre invent a bend-sensing
glove

1979
Raab et al: Polhemus tracking system

1989
Jaron Lanier (VPL) coins the term virtual
reality

1994 VR Society formed

Introduction
NASA … a pioneer in VR

The first complete system was

developed by NASA “Virtual
Visual Environmental Display”
(VIVED early 80s; they
prototyped the LCD HMD;
Became “Virtual Interface
Environment Workstation”
(VIEW) 1989
Introduction

NASA VIEW system (1992)

Introduction

Why NASA?

Large simulation and training needs;

Could not send humans to other planets;
Relatively small budgets.
Introduction

Towards Commercialization…
The first commercial VR systems
appeared in the late 80s produced by
VPL Co. (California):
The VPL “Data Glove” and
The VPL “Eye Phone” HMD
Introduction

The VPL DataGlove (1987) cost $8,500

Introduction

The Matel PowerGlove (1989)

The first commercial VR glove for entertainment –
Mattel Power Glove $50 (1989)
 Early HMDs were massive

The Flight Helmet (ca. 1990) weighs 5 lbs

…and had poor resolution
 Introduction

Virtual Reality in the early 90s….

Emergence of first commercial Toolkits:
WorldToolKit (Sense8 Co.);
VCToolkit (Division Ltd., UK);
Virtual Reality Toolkit VRT3 (Dimension Ltd./Superscape, UK);
Cyberspace Developer Kit (Autodesk)
 Introduction
Superscape
VRT3
Development
System
Introduction

Virtual Reality in the early 90s….

Emergence of first non-commercial toolkits:
Rend386;

Later
Virtual Reality Modeling Language
(VRML 1.0);
Later still Java and Java 3D;
 Introduction

Successor is AVRIL ("A Virtual

Scene created with Rend386 Reality Interface Library“)
C library for authoring. Created at
U. Waterloo, Canada
ece.uwaterloo.ca/~broehl/avril.html
Introduction
Virtual Reality in the early 90s….
PC boards still very slow (7,000 – 35,000
polygons/sec);
First turnkey VR system – Provision 100
(Division Ltd.)
Emergence of faster graphics rendering
architectures at UNC Chapel Hill:
“Pixel Planes”;
Later “Pixel Flow”;
 Introduction

35,000 polygons/sec;
$26,000 (with two co-
processors)/card
Require up to 6 PC slots for
stereo version

Stride PC graphics accelerator

 Introduction

35,000
polygons/sec;
$64,000 (including
texture generator,
tracker, 3-D audio,
HMD and
software)

Provision 100 VR turnkey system (Division Ltd., UK)

 Introduction

~ 1 Million triangles/sec;

Pixel Planes 5 VR system (UNC)

Rendering speed comparison SGI vs. PCs
xBox 360
500 Million poly/sec

2005
 Laboratory VR Station prices (2002)
PRODUCT Price/user % of Budget
2,347 48
PC 1.7 GHz
FireGL 2 accelerator
Polhemus 3D tracker 1,823 37
4 receivers
5DT sensing glove 482 10
five-sensor version
Stereo Glasses wired 179 3
Force feedback Joystick 88 2
Java and Java3D - -
VRML - -
Total 4,919 100
VR Market growth
The key elements of a conventional VR System
The key elements of a modern VR System