ur Welcome to the world of virtual reality
Virtual Reality - a means of synthesising "reality" -
Real time interactive stereoscopic immersive 3d graphics and sound.
A progressive evolutionary increase in digital bandwidth
with the goal of reaching a perfect 1:1 Human Computer Interface?
What Is Virtual Reality (alt definition)
What Is Virtual Reality (comprehensive analysis)
"VR is an interface that immerses participants in a 3-dimensional
real-time synthetic environment generated by one (or several) computer(s).
Input to the system can be done simultaneously with body movement tracking
and verbal commands, and devices such as "wands", "data gloves", etc.
The result is simultaneous stimulation of participants' senses
(mainly vision and hearing, and occasionally touch)
that gives a vivid impression of being immersed in
a synthetic environment with which one intereacts. "
(BOYER JACQUES <c1661@er.uqam.ca>)
Haptics, the addition of touch and feel..Haptics Bibliography
Virtual Reality
An expression with a hidden agenda?
An escape from reality and the body, into a safe and contollable virtual
world?
"Virtual reality is artificial reality. Instead of going to the office,
you plug in a headset and immersed yourself in an entire world, a new
reality.
A new world where you can do things you can't physically do in our world.
Really being free of your body. "
Interview with
Peter Wojciechowski Page
Virtual Reality- a medium for the millenium,
the next Sega/Nintendo/Sony games vehicle,
Global PC players immersed in networked Doom?
Or will it be a Really Useful design and communications tool?
Global Soap?
Soft Sculpture?
Virtreal estate?
The next digital revolution will be in 3D !
Computer Graphics Enter a New (Third) Dimension
Industry is set to immerse the PC world with affordable 3D
accelerators,
fuelled by the desire to enable desktop3D graphics simulation games.
3D Blaster, Voodoo, 3Demon, S3, virge, PowerVr.. (average price
$300,£200)
See Hardware
Usoft is set to shipping Direct3D free with Windows. Direct
3D, previously known as RenderLab provides realtime software rendering,
originally created by recently acquired RenderMorphics, London.
3D software
The future looks bright, in 3D.
Games led, (doom)
3D communications and networked shared descentful experiences..
VRML Virtual Reality Modeling Language VRML
VRML is the first common cross platform3D user interface that
makes a step away from the flatworld model. [Hyperlinks only link flat planes.]
3D visualisation represents an advancement to 2D,
yet even the 3D representation of perceived reality embodied in VRML
and associated VR hardware/software is a restrictive paradigm,
with apparently generalised assumptions of objects defined by
static surfaces, flying cameras, traditional perspective and goals of
photorealism -
limiting the potential capability of expressing alternative multidimensional
constructions.
VRML 2.0 (Moving Worlds) a new standard, incorporating animation, interaction and much much more.. may well offer the artist a whole new medium of expression, VRML 1.0 gave the ability the viewer to be able to pan around a 3d model transmitted via the net, what next? Problems are being raised - Will there be other alternatives? - quote from WAVE 608 -
"On the issue of DIS vs. VRML, he echoed the sentiments of many in the industry:
VRML is just not very good for real-time rendering. He felt that VRML will
not prove to be adequate for online vis-sim or gaming markets; rather a
streamlined technology such as DIS-Lite will be required to support online
multiplayer gaming. Alert: MaK Technologies and their DIS networking technology
will beprofiled on CNN this Saturday." September 17th 1996 (I presume DIS
is some sort of Distributed Interactive System?? It is originally a Department
of Defence invention..)
A medium for artists with Access?
Osmose by Char Davies and her team at Softimage (Now owned by Microsoft)
probably created the first aesthetically beautiful, disturbing, meaningful?
and costly piece of VR work that broke the traditional flat cartesian orientated
views of vr.
She added spirituality - a near death experience (suspicions abound).
A tree, leaves, water, earth, nearly abstract, touchingly Californian.
(email c_davies@microsoft.com)
An expensive ($1000,000) technology that prohibits general access.
Industrial art or advertising?
Wired reviews the work, Mute slated
it..WIRED
4.08: Osmose: Trance Romance
Char Davies site:
OSMOSE -
Virtual Reality Art Installation
VR and Art
Art
Applications in Virtual Reality
Virtual gallery at
Derby, UK
VR
and Art Bibliography
VR as a fine art medium at
CHELSEA COLLEGE
OF ART
The exploration of vr and hypnosis!:
Hypnotic
VR and art research
VRML as an artform
Experimental VRML art (very interesting!) Artnetweb
VRML as a sculptural medium -> Sculpture and Computers
Architectural Sculpture by Tracey Durkin -> Yanta System One
*
A medium for challenging the perceptions of reality?
It seems that Mark Pesce
(creator of Virtual Reality Modelling Language) and other VRML type folk
(eg Brad Anderson
creator of a Mac VRML Plugin)
have found links with the UNreal..(techno spiritualty, the fourth dimension,
hyperspace etc.)
"I've seen aliens and communicated with invisible intelligences"-
Terence McKenna
Land
{McKenna multimedia publishings from
BlueWater }
*
And what does it mean when Sony create a Virtual Society with something
entitled
Cyber Passage..
?!?
CATEGORISED
LINKS
Information and People:
The UKVR Special Interest Group, conferences, information and
people..
UK
VR-SIG
And the recently formed London VRSIG
LVRG index
A chatty, newsy and informative site with many links
oneday originated VR
related resources
Those that are pushing at the edges..
Mel Slater - the creation of presence in Virtual Space..(Neuro Linguistic
Programming connections)
Mel Slater - Public Home
Page
Architecture and music in virtual environments:
The Embryology
of Virtual Spaces
transTerraFirma2:
Tidsvag Noll v2.0
?Setting up a system?
Commercial contacts:
London: Virtual Presence
Overview: VR Buying
Guide
Survey
of VR and VRML Systems
Heavy duty and military DIVE LABORATORIES,
INC.
3D
Stereoscopic Video Display Project Page
Cambridge
Autostereo Display Brochure
VR Software
Industrial quality SENSE8 Corporation -
Home Page & WorldToolKit
Users' Group
Less than £1000 VREAM Inc.
- About Us
Some academic links - See sites of sites
for more
Chris Hand at Leicester
De Montford University
Virtual
Hand Laboratory
VIRART
home page
Sites of sites
A comprehensive list of academic and commercial sites:
Gerrie's Virtual
Reality Sites
Professional research from Toni Emerson from Washington's HITLAB
Emerson
- On The Net: Internet Resources in Virtual Reality
More..
CompInfo - Virtual Reality, VRML
Some Applications for Virtual Reality Virtual Reality
IGD - DemoCenter for Virtual Reality - Index
Virtual Reality and Other Oxymorons
.
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