Understanding Virtual Reality: Interface, Application, and Design

Understanding Virtual Reality: Interface, Application, and Design, Second Edition arrives at a time when the technologies behind virtual reality have advanced dramatically. The book helps users take advantage of the ways they can identify and prepare for the applications of VR in their field. By approaching VR as a communications medium, the authors have created a resource that will remain relevant even as underlying technologies evolve. Included are a history of VR, systems currently in use, the application of VR, and the many issues that arise in application design and implementation, including hardware requirements, system integration, interaction techniques and usability.

Features substantive, illuminating coverage designed for technical or business readers and the classroomExamines VR's constituent technologies, drawn from visualization, representation, graphics, human-computer interaction and other fieldsProvides (via a companion website) additional case studies, tutorials, instructional materials, and a link to an open-source VR programming systemIncludes updated perception material and new sections on game engines, optical tracking, VR visual interface software, and a new glossary with pictures

PART I WHAT IS VIRTUAL REALITY? 1. Introduction to Virtual Reality 2. VR: The Medium

PART II VIRTUAL REALITY SYSTEMS 3. The Human in the Loop 4. Input: Interfacing the Participant(s) with the Virtual World 5. Output: Interfacing the Virtual World with the Participant(s) 6. Presenting the Virtual World 7. Interacting with the Virtual World

PART III APPLIED VIRTUAL REALITY 8. Bringing the Virtual World to Life 9. Experience Conception and Design: Applying VR to a Problem 10. Virtual Reality: Past, Present, Future