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Synthetic Worlds Spring to Life |
| Section: NATURAL SCIENCE / AT THE EDGE |
| Author: Klaus-peter Beier |
| Publication:
The World & I Online |
| Issue Date: 1/1/1998 |
| Size: 2,632 Words, 19,252 Characters |
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Fancy yourself strolling freely through the architectural wonders of the world without having to go there. Or taking a heart-stopping journey on a roller coaster before it's built. Or training to fight a fire or fly an airplane without endangering yourself. If you prefer the abstract worlds of science, would you like to look, close up, at the distribution of forces in a magnetic field, or to inspect huge, three-dimensional structures of proteins? All this and more can now be achieved, thanks to a combination of technologies referred to as virtual reality, or VR.vbcrlf What is virtual reality? As with many developing disciplines, a concise definition is still pending. In its original meaning, VR refers to computer-generated scenarios of a three-dimensional (3-D) world in which a user becomes fully immersed. With the aid of special devices, a fairly convincing effect can be produced. Professionals, however, prefer to use terms such as virtual environments, synthetic environments, or virtual worlds. They shy away from the "reality" component, which is thought to be both too ambitious and too restrictive in light of the technology's potential uses.vbcrlf The ideal of VR is to set up a virtual experience that is indistinguishable from a real one. The holodeck in Star Trek: The Next Generation is often considered the "holy grail" of VR. While it is doubtful that this goal will ever be reached, experts believe that VR will revolutionize the interface between people and information technology, offering creative ways to express ideas, exchange information, visualize processes, train for work, and entertain oneself.vbcrlfCreating a virtual environmentvbcrlf As early as the 1960s, Ivan Sutherland demonstrated the first 3-D immersive visualization device, called a ...
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...m that VR will "revolutionize society" just an overstatement to grab attention? Or will VR make a sweeping impact like the telephone or TV set? The combination of excitement and unease about this new frontier in cyberspace is currently expressed in only some circles. This new technology certainly deserves greater attention as it continues to develop and expand well into the next millennium. vbcrlf
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Publication Details
(The World & I Online) |
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The World & I Online is a
comprehensive academic resource that encompasses a broad range of
articles by scholars and experts in the areas of Global Studies,
Liberal Arts, Fine & Applied Arts, General Science, and Spanish.
Originally published monthly in print as The World & I, our site
includes the complete contents since 1986 and continues to publish
a new issue online each month. |
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