What is a virtual environment?
LEE: Wikipedia defines virtual reality (VR) as a technology which allows a user to interact with a computer-simulated environment. A virtual environment is an online, Web-based, customer service tool that allows the user to creative a computer-simulated environment. This “environment” typically is built with numerous attributes and options for the user to customize based on the goods being sold. Instead of seeing products listed in a catalog, the user can pick individual products in combination with other products to visually see the entire composition together. This tool can be used to customize clothing, sneakers, tabletops, kitchen cabinets, etc. It is perfect for any goods or service that have a permanent installation needing the customer to imagine the final outcome. PBN: Could you give some examples? LEE: Nike.com allows the user to pick a variety of different colors for a custom sneaker. Closetmaid.com allows the user to design their own closet based on their wall dimensions, st
• What problems demand a virtual environment solution? • What are the important issues in designing and building virtual environment interfaces? • An Abridged History • Ivan Sutherland & MIT • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • NASA Ames Research Center • VPL Research • The Man in the Loop • Human strengths and limitations • Perceptual: Visual, auditory, and haptic channels • Cognitive • Motoric • Simulation sickness • Human performance • Navigation • Interaction techniques, Artifacts • Selection, Manipulation, Gesture, Voice • Training • Evaluation • Technological Issues • Hardware • Image generation and Visual displays • Aural displays • Tracking devices • Haptics • Locomotion devices • Networks • Software • Real-time interaction • Multi-modal interfaces • Natural language • Multi-user environments • Autonomous agents and avatars • Applications • Training • Telepresence & Telerobotics • Manufacturing • Entertainment • Design/Build/Evaluate • The importance of evaluation •
• This program loads in your model and lets you look at it and fly around it • these three statements must be included in every SVE program • SVE_init – initialize SVE, give the window a title, set configuration flags • SVE_loadWorld – load in a world file in SVE format • SVE_beginEventLoop – tell SVE to start rendering frames • configuration flags • SVE_NORMAL – flat shaded, no tracking (on screen), no textures • SVE_LIGHTING – use lighting effects • SVE_GOURAUD – use Gouraud shading • SVE_TEXTURES – use textures if specified • SVE_HMD – use the trackers and other VE hardware • SVE_AUDIO – audio is on • etc… • these should be “or’ed” together (e.g. SVE_TEXTURES | SVE_HMD) • world file • list of objects, positions, and attributes • objects are in a “tree” structure – parents and children • simple example: Simple Virtual Object File Format version 1.0 number of objects: 2 object name: couch primitives file: couch.obj transformation matrix: 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 other attribu
