Virtual Reality: Through the New Looking Glass

Book by Teixeira, Kevin, Pimentel, Ken

Virtual reality allows users to immerse themselves in a computer-generated alternative world. The worlds can entertain, such as the holodeck on television's Star Trek: The New Generation ; or provide instruction, as in flight simulators for airline pilots. The joint efforts of Pimentel, a working designer in the field, and Teixeira, a writer and marketing spokesperson, make the writing current and accessible to nonspecialists. An overview and history of this exciting technology is provided, as well as definitions of the component parts needed to design a virtual reality environment. There is even a chapter on how to construct a system on the PC at home (provided you have $20,000 lying around). The most spellbinding part of the book is the account of the possible and actual applications of virtual reality. While Howard Rheingold's Virtual Reality ( LJ 6/1/91) appeared in 1991, the field is moving so fast that Rheingold's book is already dated. Recommended for popular technology and science collections.
- J. Sara Paulk, Concord P.L., N.H.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.