Virtual Reality Technology

This in-depth review of current virtual reality technology and its applications provides a detailed analysis of the engineering, scientific and functional aspects of virtual reality systems and the fundamentals of VR modeling and programming. It also contains an exhaustive list of present and future VR applications in a number of diverse fields. Virtual Reality Technology is the first book to include a full chapter on force and tactile feedback and to discuss newer interface tools such as 3-D probes and cyberscopes. Supplemented with 23 color plates and more than 200 drawings and tables which illustrate the concepts described.

A groundbreaking Virtual Reality textbook is now even better

Virtual reality is a very powerful and compelling computer application by which humans interact with computer-generated environments in a way that mimics real life and engages various senses. Although its most widely known application is in the entertainment industry, the real promise of virtual reality lies in such fields as medicine, engineering, oil exploration, and the military, to name just a few. Through virtual reality, scientists can triple the rate of oil discovery, pilots can dogfight numerically superior "bandits," and surgeons can improve their skills on virtual (rather than real) patients.

This Second Edition of the first comprehensive technical book on virtual reality provides updated and expanded coverage of the technology such as:

• Input and output interfaces including touch and force feedback
• Computing architecture (with emphasis on the rendering pipeline and task distribution)
• Object modeling (including physical and behavioral aspects)
• Programming for virtual reality (WorldToolKit, Java 3D, GHOST, and PeopleShop)
• An in-depth look at human factors issues, user performance, and sensorial conflict aspects of VR
• Traditional and emerging VR applications

The new edition of Virtual Reality Technology is specifically designed for use as a textbook. Thus, it includes definitions, review questions, and a CD-ROM with video clips that reinforce the topics covered. The CD-ROM also contains a Laboratory Manual with homework and programming assignments in VRML and Java 3D, as follows:

• Introduction to VRML and Java 3D
• Sensor and Event Processing
• VRML and JavaScript
• Scene Hierarchy, Geometry, and Texture
• VRML PROTO and Glove Devices
• Viewpoint Control, Sound, and Haptic Effects

The Second Edition will serve as a state-of-the-art resource for both undergraduate and graduate students in engineering, computer science, and other disciplines.