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... , not a product. ) If extensive low-polygon object libraries were included with modelling software, useful worlds would be relatively straightforward to assemble. 3 -D modeling packages with more sophisticated functionality, such as Alias TM and Wavefront TM, are proportionally more difficult to learn. Some of the most powerful features of these modelers (multiple light sources, radiosity, mirror surfaces, shading options, and batch animation capabilities) are presently unusable for real-time rendering. Also, the object linking mechanisms are not as flexible as they need to be. I did some conceptual design in AutoCADTM for a PC-based VR prototype system that could render small (500 polygon) models. It was great training for minimalist world design, but after working with larger models, I'ive concluded that 500 polygons just isn " it enough to stock a dynamic, surprising world with interesting objects.
AutoCAD provided me with the most useful architectural design capabilities, but once again, its complex functionality requires more learning time than most teachers and students have available. The software that HITL uses to model 3 -D sound is an extension of FocalPointTM. While I have only begun to integrate sound into virtual worlds, it is clearly a compelling component of the environment. Using vision-only systems in schools would not be doing VR; the multi-modality of the experience is an essential feature for educational applications. 2. 2. Dynamics Programming Software: After you model the world, you program the dynamics of the environment. You add viewpoint control, command structures, collision detection for manipulating objects, movement constraints, animations, and object behaviors.
Body Electric TM is VPL " is dynamics software, and although successive versions of this complex package are increasingly streamlined, effective use requires a clear understanding of interface device functionality, of the network of platform components, of the model " is structure, and of the intention of the design. You also have to program, using a data flow network that converts raw data input into intended behavior. HITL " is VR software, VEOS (Virtual Environment Operating Shell), is a platform-independent Unix network that allows multiple concurrent worlds and as many users as you have equipment for [W. Broken 1991 ].
VEOS worlds are specified in a LISP-like language. The ability to program complex object behavior allows more life-like dynamics in a virtual environment. In Body Electric, I can put a bird on a fixed flight path through the world. In VEOS, I can program the bird to seek out food, prefer some foods to others, avoid cats, and come when its called. Our current interface build will provide first generation tools for the public domain. We need software that is specifically intended for creating virtual worlds, that provides straightforward methods for modelling, modifying, and assigning behaviors to elements of the environment.
Ideally, we should be able to use the same basic set of tools both on screen and inside VR. Specialized VR software packages are being developed by several companies and universities, but I expect that several iterations of tool design will be necessary before a simple, reliable VR software toolkit is available for classroom use. 2. 3. Interface devices: A variety of head-mounted displays (Hmd's) have been developed by the Air Force and NASA. Others are marketed by companies such as VPL, W-Industries, LEEP Optics, and Areas. They are all based on aerial imaging technology, in which we view a picture focused at infinity that is projected in front of our eyes.
This is, of course, not the way we see objects in the real world, where our focus changes to converge on objects located at different distances from us. Although binocular viewing does give us a feeling of three-dimensionality, it is difficult to judge the relative location of objects in aerial displays without redundant cues such as familiar size, occlusion and parallax. Alternative display technologies, such as direct retinal scanning, are being investigated [Furness 1990 ]. Current HMD " is are bulky, heavy and fairly fragile. Present displays are very low-resolution, making small objects and details of virtual worlds difficult to see. Some distort vision with a fish-eye effect, and others do not show color.
Most do not include audio capacity. All Hmd's have cables which restrict our movement. A rugged, lightweight, high-resolution audio-visual HMD that can tolerate the daily use of rambunctious students is prerequisite for classroom VR. Position sensing and tracking devices translate our movements into data streams that the computer uses to update display images and sounds according to our location. Some VR systems use a Polhemus IsotrackTM, which generates a small electro-magnetic field and tracks the movement of receptors within it.
By placing the receptors on our head and hand, the rotation and translation of those parts of our physical body are mapped onto our virtual body. We need to stay within the generated field and we are attached to the tracking devices with wires. Passive video tracking is used in artificial reality systems such as Mandala TM, and could be applied for some applications of inclusive VR. The challenge is to improve the technology for wider range, wireless communication, faster update rate, and greater accuracy. We interact with elements of the virtual world using 6 -D control devices such as the DataGloveTM, the Virtex TM Glove, the Bird TM, and the SpaceBallTM. The Data Glove has gotten enough use so that we have some information about how it works as an interface device.
Getting our hand into the virtual environment increases our sense of presence and allows us to manipulate virtual objects in a more natural, efficient and intuitive way [Sturman 1989 ]. However, gesture commands are limited by the number of finger positions that can be defined as unique, mutually exclusive, and comfortable. Gestures can require a degree of manual dexterity that many people do not have. I have found that pointing to fly gets mixed reviews; alot of people find it an unending source of fun, but other people report tired arms and motion sickness. When moving by pointing, directional accuracy is approximate, stopping exactly where you want to can be difficult, and speed control is awkward. Inadvertent gestures can trigger unintentional commands; for example, when people first use the buttons on the control panel of the VSX, they extend their index finger to press the button and fly right through their target.
There are proprietary issues regarding the use of computerized gloves which will affect price, performance and availability. The Bird is a 6 -D mouse, which can select and move objects in 3 -space. The Space Ball is a 6 -D pressure-sensitive trackballs which can be used to select and manipulate objects or control viewpoint. Moving your viewpoint through a virtual world with a Ball is very smooth. Unlike a glove, it can be used to tumble and swivel. This capacity is very useful for object manipulation, but moving your viewpoint with unconstrained freedom can be very disorienting.
The challenge is to determine which interface devices are appropriate for particular tasks and individuals. 3. Fears: Educators are concerned that more technology that they aren " it trained to use will be dropped into the classroom, and that it won " it really help them to teach more effectively. On a broader level, there is anxiety about the misuse of VR and fear that the technology may have some inherently negative attributes (see the collected abstracts of the Second International Conference on Cyberspace, Santa Cruz CA, 1991). Brenda Laurel addresses the fear of computer technology and identifies its components: "i the arch typical taboo on presuming to imitate God "i the fear of fallibility: 'i intelligent^i software entities may turn out to be crude, lifeless representations; or, we may create monsters -- war, environmental destruction -- with technology "i the fear of loosing identity, becoming dependent 'islands of cybernetic symbiosis' "i the fear of loosing control to alien life: software entities may NOT be crude and lifeless -- new, improved sentience may emerge and take over [Laurel 1990 ] We can now identify new fears that have emerged about VR in particular: "i fear of loosing control to unidentifiable others -- invisible hackers, masked tricksters, faceless corporate / governmental manipulators: how do we know who a virtual person really is, how do we know if information is being distorted, how are individual rights established, how are conflicts managed, who is i...
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