Virtual Reality

1 Pages 300 Words

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) is the use of a computer to create an artificial environment that

appears and feels like a real environment and allows users to explore a space and manipulate the

environment. In its simplest form, a VR application displays what appears to be a three-

dimentional view of a place or object, such as landscape, building, molecules, or red blood cell,

which users can explore. For example, architects can use VR software to show clients how a

building will look after a construction or remodeling project.

In more advanced forms, VR software requires that users wear specialized headgear,

body suits, and gloves to enhance the experience of the artificial environment (Vance and Reed

34-58). The headgear displays the artificial environment in front of a users eyes. The body suit

and the gloves sense motion and direction, allowing a user to move through, pick up, or hold

items displayed in the virtual environment. Experts predict that eventually the body suits will

provide tactile feedback so users can experience the touch and feel of the virtual world.

Many games, such as flight simulators, use virtual reality. In these games special visors

allow users to see the computer-generated environment. As the user walks around the game's

electronic landscape, sensors in the surrounding game machine record movements and change
the view of the landscape accordingly.
Companies increasingly are using VR for more practical commercial applications, as

well. Automobile dealers, for example, use virtual showrooms in which customers can view the

exterior and interior of available vehicles. Airplane manufacturers use virtual prototypes to test

new models and shorten product design time. Many firms use personal computer-based VR

applications for employee training (Shelly Cashman Series®Microsoft Word 2000 Project 2).

As computing power and the use of ...