Understanding Virtual Reality

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

PART II VIRTUAL REALITY SYSTEMS
3. Interface to the Virtual World-Input user Monitoring (User Input to the Virtual World)
4. Interface to the Virtual World-Output
5. Rendering a Virtual World 
6. Interacting with the Virtual World
7. The Virtual Reality Experience
8. Experience Design. Applying VR to a Problem
9. The Future of Virtual Reality

Understanding Virtual Reality: Interface, Application, and Design, Second Edition, arrives at a time when the technologies behind virtual reality have advanced dramatically in their development and deployment, providing meaningful and productive virtual reality applications. The aim of this book is to help users take advantage of ways they can identify and prepare for the applications of VR in their field, whatever it may be. The included information counters both exaggerated claims for VR, citing dozens of real-world examples.

By approaching VR as a communications medium, the authors have created a resource that will remain relevant even as the underlying technologies evolve. You get a history of VR, along with a good look at systems currently in use. However, the focus remains squarely on 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 classroom
• Examines VR's constituent technologies, drawn from visualization, representation, graphics, human-computer interaction and other fields
• Provides (via a companion website) additional case studies, tutorials, instructional materials and a link to an open-source VR programming system
• Includes updated perception material and new sections on game engines, optical tracking, VR visual interface software and a new glossary with pictures

Advanced undergraduates and graduate students studying virtual reality in a variety of disciplines, including computer science, engineering, medicine, etc.; Professionals interested in Virtual Reality from such fields as computer graphics, engineering, science, education, and art