Virtual Reality

Seminar Report Submitted in fulfilment of the

requirement for the degree of
Bachelor of Technology In Computer Science and
Engineering
Prepared by
R. Lalchungnunga
Enrolment No: BT20CS013

Department of Computer Science & Engineering

National Institute of Technology, Mizoram

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 ABSTRACT

Virtual reality or virtual realities (VR), which can be referred to as

immersive multimedia or computer- simulated reality, replicates an
environment that simulates a physical presence in places in the real world
or an imagined world, allowing the user to interact with that world. Virtual
realities artificially create sensory experience, which can include sight,
touch, hearing, and smell.

Most up-to-date virtual realities are displayed either on a computer

screen or with an HD VR special stereoscopic displays, and some
simulations include additional sensory information and focus on real
sound through speakers or headphones targeted towards VR users. Some
advanced haptic systems now include tactile information, generally
known as force feedback in medical, gaming and military applications.
Furthermore, virtual reality covers remote communication environments
which provide virtual presence of users with the concepts of telepresence
and telexistence or a virtual artifact (VA) either through the use of
standard input devices such as a keyboard and mouse, or through
multimodal devices such as a wired glove or omnidirectional treadmills.
The immersive environment can be similar to the real world in order to
create a lifelike experience-for example, in simulations for pilot or combat
training or it can differ significantly from reality, such as in VR games.

Virtual reality is an artificial environment that is created with software and

presented to the user in such a way that the user suspends belief and
accepts it as a real environment. On a computer, virtual reality is primarily
experienced through two of the five senses: sight and sound.

The simplest form of virtual reality is a 3-D image that can be explored
interactively at a personal computer, usually by manipulating keys or the
mouse so that the content of the image moves in some direction or zooms
in or out. More sophisticated efforts involve such approaches as wrap-
around display screens, actual rooms augmented with wearable
computers, and haptic devices that let you feel the display images.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

With great pleasure I take this opportunity to express my

heartfelt gratitude to all people who helped in making this
seminar work a grand success.

First of all, I thank God Almighty for giving strength, courage

and blessings to complete this work. I also thankful to my
friends and relatives who helped me to complete this seminar
work.

I am grateful to the Department of Computer Science and

Engineering at the National Institute of Technology Mizoram for
providing an excellent educational environment, fostering a
conducive atmosphere for research, and offering state-of-the-
art facilities.

My heartfelt appreciation extends to my parents, whose

unconditional love, unwavering support, and constant
encouragement have been the driving force behind my
accomplishments. I am eternally indebted to them for their
sacrifices and for nurturing us to this stage of our lives.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
CHAPTER I....................................................................................................................... 5
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 5
CHAPTER II...................................................................................................................... 6
HISTORY OF VIRTUAL
REALITY…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. …………………6
CHAPTER III..................................................................................................................... 8
TYPES OF VIRTUAL REALITY ........................................................................................ 8
CHAPTER IV .................................................................................................................. 10
TECHNOLOGIES OF VR ................................................................................................. 10
CHAPTER V ................................................................................................................... 13
ARCHITECTURE OF VR SYSTEM ................................................................................. 13
CHAPTER VI .................................................................................................................. 15
APPLICATIONS OF VIRTUAL REALITY ........................................................................ 15
CHAPTER VII ................................................................................................................. 17
CURRENT PROBLEMS AND FUTURE WORKS ............................................................ 17
CHAPTER VIII ................................................................................................................ 19
SUMMARY ................................................................................................................ 19

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 CHAPTER - I
INTRODUCTION:

The definition of virtual reality comes, naturally, from the definitions for
both 'virtual' and 'reality'. The definition of 'virtual' is near and reality is
what we experience as human beings. So the term 'virtual reality' basically
means 'near-reality'. This could, of course, mean anything but it usually
refers to a specific type of reality emulation.

We know the world through our senses and perception systems. In school
we all learned that we have five senses: taste, touch, smell, sight and
hearing. These are however only our most obvious sense organs. The
truth is that humans have many more senses than this, such as a sense of
balance for example. These other sensory inputs, plus some special
processing of sensory information by our brains ensures that we have a
rich flow of information from the environment to our minds.

Everything that we know about our reality comes by way of our senses. In
other words, our entire experience of reality is simply a combination of
sensory information and our brains sense-making mechanisms for that
information. It stands to reason then, that if you can present your senses
with made-up information, your perception of reality would also change
in response to it. You would be presented with a version of reality that
isn't really there, but from your perspective it would be perceived as real.
Something we would refer to as a virtual reality.

Answering "what is virtual reality" in technical terms is straight-forward.

Virtual reality is the term used to describe a three-dimensional, computer
generated environment which can be explored and interacted with by a
person. That person becomes part of this virtual world or is immersed
within this environment and whilst there, is able to manipulate objects or
perform a series of actions.

The concepts behind virtual reality are based upon theories about a long
held human desire to escape the boundaries of the 'real world' by
embracing cyberspace.

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 CHAPTER - II

HISTORY OF VIRTUAL REALITY:

In 1950, flight simulators were built by US Air Force to train student pilots.
In 1965, a research program for computer graphics called "The Ultimate
Display" was laid out. Until that time VR was just a concept and was not
very popular.in 1988, commercial development of VR began. In 1991, first
commercial entertainment VR system was released.

Virtual reality in the 21st century

The first fifteen years of the 21st century has seen major, rapid
advancement in the development of virtual reality. Computer technology,
especially small and powerful mobile technologies, have exploded while
prices are constantly driven down. The rise of smartphones with high-
density displays and 3D graphics capabilities has enabled a generation of
lightweight and practical virtual reality devices. The video game industry
has continued to drive the development of consumer virtual reality
unabated. Depth sensing cameras sensor suites, motion controllers and
natural human interfaces are already a part of daily human computing
tasks.

Recently companies like Google have released interim virtual reality

products such as the Google Cardboard, a DIY headset that uses a
smartphone to drive it. Companies like Samsung have taken this concept
further with products such as the Galaxy Gear, which is mass produced
and contains "smart" features such as gesture control.

Developer versions of final consumer products have also been available

for a few years, so there has been a steady stream of software projects
creating content for the immanent market entrance of modern virtual
reality.

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It seems clear that 2016 will be a key year in the virtual reality industry.
Multiple consumer devices that seem to finally answer the unfulfilled
promises made by virtual reality in the 1990s will come to market at that
time. These include the pioneering Oculus Rift, which was purchased by
social media giant Facebook in 2014 for the staggering sum of $2BN. An
incredible vote of confidence in where the industry is set to go. When the
Oculus Rift releases in 2016 it will be competing with products from Valve
Corporation and HTC, Microsoft as well as Sony Computer Entertainment.
These heavyweights are sure to be followed by many other enterprises,
should the market take off as expected

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 CHAPTER - III

TYPES OF VIRTUAL REALITY:

Windows on World (WoW): With this kind of system, also known as
"desktop VR" the user sees the 3-D world through the 'window' of the
computer screen and navigates through the space with a control device
such as a mouse. Like immersive virtual reality, this provides a first-person
experience. One low-cost example of a 'Through the window' virtual
reality system is the 3-D architectural design planning tool Virtus Walk
Through that makes it possible to explore virtual reality on a Macintosh
or IBM computer. Developed as a computer visualization tool to help plan
complex high-tech filmmaking for the movie The Abyss, Virtus
WalkThrough is now used as a set design and planning tool for many
Hollywood movies and advertisements as well as architectural planning
and educational applications. A similar, less expensive and less
sophisticated program that is starting to find use in elementary and
secondary schools is Virtus VR (Law, 1994; Pantelidis, nd).

Immersive VR: Usually when we think of virtual reality, we think of

immersive systems involving computer interface devices such as a head-
mounted display (HMD), fiber-optic wired gloves, position tracking
devices, and audio systems providing 3-D (binaural) sound. Immersive
virtual reality provides an immediate, first-person experience. With some
applications, there is a treadmill interface to simulate the experience of
walking through virtual space. And in place of the head-mounted display,
there is the BOOM viewer from Fake Space Labs which hangs suspended
in front of the viewer's face, not on it, so it is not as heavy and tiring to
wear as the head-mounted display. In immersive VR, the user is placed
inside the image; the generated image is assigned properties which make
it look and act real in terms of visual perception and in some cases aural
and tactile perception (Brooks, 1988; Trubitt, 1990; Begault, 1991;
Markoff, 1991; Minsky, 1991; Gehring, 1992). There is even research on
creating virtual smells; an application to patent such a product has been
submitted by researchers at the Southwest Research Institute (Varner,
1993).

Telepresence: The concept of cyberspace is linked to the notion of

telepresence, the feeling of being in a location other than where you
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actually are. teleoperation means that you can control a robot or another
device at a distance. In the Jason Project, children at different sites across
the U.S. have the opportunity to teleoperate the unmanned submarine
Jason, the namesake for this innovative science education project
directed by Robert Ballard, a scientist as the Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institute (EDS, 1991; Ulman, 1993; McLellan, 1995).

Augmented VR: A variation of immersive virtual reality is Augmented

Reality where a see-through layer of computer graphics is superimposed
over the real world to highlight certain features and enhance
understanding. One application of augmented reality is in aviation, where
certain controls can be highlighted, for example the controls needed to
land an airplane. And many medical applications are under development
(Taubes, 1994b). Recently, for the first time, a surgeon conducted surgery
to remove a brain tumor using an augmented reality system; a video
image superimposed with 3-D graphics helped the doctor to see the site
of the operation more effectively (Satava, 1993).

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 CHAPTER - IV

TECHNOLOGIES OF VR:
Head-Mounted Display (HMD): Head-mounted displays or HMDs are
probably the most instantly recognizable objects associated with virtual
reality. They are sometimes referred to as Virtual Reality headsets or VR
glasses. As we might have guessed from the name, these are display
devices that are attached to our head and present visuals directly to our
eyes. At a minimum, if a device conforms to those two criteria we may
consider it an HMD in the broadest sense.
HMDs are not the sole purview of virtual reality, they have been used in
military, medical and engineering contexts to name but a few. Some
HMDs allow the user to see through them, allowing digital information
to be projected onto the real world.
When we look at the diversity of HMDs that exist today within the
context of virtual reality, it becomes apparent that there's much more to
these devices than strapping two screens to our eyes. In order to allow
for an immersive experience either as a personal media device or as a
full-on virtual reality interface, there are a number of technologies that
can be incorporated in an HMD.

Fig:1.1 [A]

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 Data Glove: A data glove is an interactive device, resembling a glove
worn on the hand, which facilitates tactile sensing and fine-motion
control in robotics and virtual reality
Tactile sensing involves simulation of the sense of human touch and
includes the ability to perceive pressure, linear force, torque,
temperature, and surface texture. Fine-motion control involves the use
of sensors to detect the movements of the user's hand and fingers, and
the translation of these motions into signals that can be used by a virtual
hand (for example, in gaming) or a robotic hand (for example, in remote-
control surgery).

Fig:1.2 [B]

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CAVE: A CAVE is typically a video theater sited within a larger room. The
walls of a CAVE are typically made up of rear-projection screens,
however flat panel displays are becoming more common. The floor can
be a downward-projection screen, a bottom projected screen or a flat
panel display. The projection systems are very high-resolution due to the
near distance viewing which requires very small pixel sizes to retain the
illusion of reality. The user wears 3D glasses inside the CAVE to see 3D
graphics generated by the CAVE. People using the CAVE can see objects
apparently floating in the air, and can walk around them, getting a
proper view of what they would look like in reality. This was initially
made possible by electromagnetic sensors, but has converted to infrared
cameras. The frame of early CAVES had to be built from non-magnetic
materials such as wood to minimize interference with the
electromagnetic sensors, obviously the change to infrared tracking has
removed that limitation. A CAVE user's movements are tracked by the
sensors typically attached to the 3D glasses and the video continually
adjusts to retain the viewer's perspective. Computers control both this
aspect of the CAVE and the audio aspect. There are typically multiple
speakers placed at multiple angles in the CAVE, providing 3D sound to
complement the 3D video.
Software Packages: There are many software packages available in the
market. Most of them are paid software like virtual reality studio (100$
approx.), Autodesk Cyberspace Development kit (over 1000$) but there
are also some free software like multiverse.
VRML: VRML stands for virtual reality modeling language. It is a standard
language for interactive simulation within the World Wide Web. This
allows to create virtual worlds network via the internet and hyperlinked
with the World Wide Web. Aspects of virtual world display, interaction
and internet working can be specified using VRML without being
dependent on special gear like HMD.VR models can be viewed by
Netscape or IE with a browser plug-in.

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 CHAPTER - V

ARCHITECTURE OF VR SYSTEM:

Fig:2.0 [C]

Architecture of virtual system consists of input processor, simulation

processor, rendering processor and world database.

Input Processor: It controls the devices used to input information to the

computer. The main objective of input processor is to get the coordinate
data to the rest of the system with minimal lag time. The main
components of input processor include keyboard, mouse, 3D position
trackers, a voice recognition system, etc. Simulation Processor: The
process of imitating real things virtually is called simulation. This is the
core of the virtual reality system. It takes the user inputs along with any
tasks programmed into the world and determine the actions that will
take place in the virtual world.

Rendering Processor: Simulation processor imitates the real things but

sensation are not produced to produce this sensation we use rendering
processor .It creates the sensation that are output to the user. Separate
rendering processes are used for visual, auditory, haptic and other
sensory systems. Each renderer take a description of the world stat from
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the simulation process or derive it directly from the world database for
each time step.

World Database: This is also known as World Description Files. It stores

the object that inhabit the world, scripts that describes actions of those
objects.

This database contains all the objects which we are going to experience
virtually. For instance if we want to experience the space virtually then
the world database must have all the objects that are in space like the
sun, the moon, stars, planets, etc.

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 CHAPTER - VI

APPLICATIONS OF VIRTUAL REALITY:

Virtual Reality in the Military:

Virtual reality has been adopted by the military this includes all three
services (army, navy and air force) - where it is used for training
purposes. This is particularly useful for training soldiers for combat
situations or other dangerous settings where they have to learn how to
react in an appropriate manner.

A virtual reality simulation enables them to do so but without the risk of

death or a serious injury. They can re-enact a particular scenario, for
example engagement with an enemy in an environment in which they
experience this but without the real world risks. This has proven to be
safer and less costly than traditional training methods. Virtual Reality
and Education:

Education is another area which has adopted virtual reality for teaching
and learning situations. The advantage of this is that it enables large
groups of students to interact with each other as well as within a three
dimensional environment.

It is able to present complex data in an accessible way to students which

is both fun and easy to learn. Plus these students can interact with the
objects in that environment in order to discover more about them.

Virtual Reality in Healthcare:

Healthcare is one of the biggest adopters of virtual reality which
encompasses surgery simulation, phobia treatment, robotic surgery and
skills training.

One of the advantages of this technology is that it allows healthcare

professionals to learn new skills as well as refreshing existing ones in a
safe environment. Plus it allows this without causing any danger to the
patients.

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A popular use of this technology is in robotic surgery. This is where
surgery is performed by means of a robotic device controlled by a
human surgeon, which reduces time and risk of complications. Virtual
reality has been also been used for training purposes and, in the field of
remote telesurgery in which surgery is performed by the surgeon at a
separate location to the patient.

Virtual Reality in Engineering:

Virtual reality engineering includes the use of 3D modelling tools and
visualization techniques as part of the design process. This technology
enables engineers to view their project in 3D and gain a greater
understanding of how it works. Plus they can spot any flaws or potential
risks before implementation.

This also allows the design team to observe their project within a safe
environment and make changes as and where necessary. This saves both
time and money.

What is important is the ability of virtual reality to depict fine grained

details of an engineering product to maintain the illusion. This means
high end graphics, video with a fast refresh rate and realistic sound and
movement.

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 CHAPTER - VII

CURRENT PROBLEM & FUTURE WORK:

Problems:
Simulator Sickness Symptoms: Simulator sickness is by no means a new
phenomenon. It is similar to motion sickness, which has existed for as
long as humans have used additional modes of transportation, but can
occur without any actual motion of the subject. The first documented
case of simulator sickness occurred in 1957 and was reported by Havron
and Butler in a US Navy helicopter trainer. The most common
identifiable symptoms are general discomfort, nausea, drowsiness,
headache and in some cases vomiting.

Expensive: Virtual reality technology is expensive. Common people can

hardly manage to have such technologies. It requires additional
hardwares which are also very expensive.

A big problem with virtual reality is cost: a fully immersive set up such as
a CAVE where someone is able to interact with objects in an enclosed
space is expensive. In fact it's that expensive that only university
research departments and companies with a research and development
(R & D) section are able to afford this type of set up.

Lack of Integration Between application packages: Integrating the virtual

reality hardwares with the application package is a major issue. It
requires very precise and expertise hands to integrate the application
package with the hardwares.

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Future works:
High Fidelity systems: Researches are being done to enhance the fidelity
of virtual reality systems. To take a better experience and making vr
systems more and more reliable scientists are trying hard and are
developing new tools.

Cost-Saving: Virtual reality technology is not within the reach of

common people because of its high cost and additional hardwares
requirement. Developments are going on to make low cost vr
technology. Scientists are trying to develop such tools that require less
hardwares and can generate output with great reliability and accuracy.

Collaborative: Integrating application packages with the hardwares of

the vr system was quite difficult in the early stage of vr technology but
now with the efforts and development of new applications integration
problem has been minimized to a great extent and the developers are
trying hard to develop the applications which can be easily collaborated
with the vr hardwares.

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 CHAPTER - VIII

SUMMARY:
Everything we experience in life can be reduced to electrical activity
stimulating our brains as our sensory organs deliver information about
the external world. This interpretation is what we consider to be
"reality." In this sense, the brain is reality. Everything you see, hear, feel,
taste and smell is an interpretation of what's outside, and created
entirely inside your head. We tend to believe that this interpretation
matches very closely to the external world. Nothing could be further
from the truth.
It is the brain that "sees", and in some important ways what it sees does
not reflect the information it derives from sensory input. For this reason,
we are all living in our own reality simulations that we construct as a
result of both what we perceive with our senses and how our brains
modify this perception. Such things as color, smell and taste, for example
are not properties of the outside world itself, but rather a category
created by the process of perception. In order to experience the world in
a meaningful way, the brain must act as a filter/interference between us
and the "real" world.
Words have always been a crude method of relaying intent. VR holds out
the promise of allowing us to literally show one another what we mean
rather than merely describing it with crude verbal approximations. The
limitation of words is that the meaning they convey is only as detailed as
the definitions the reader or listener attaches to them. For this reason VR
offers the possibility of evolving our communication into a kind of
telepathy, ultimately bridging the gap between our discrete
imaginations. "This is what virtual reality holds out to us the possibility of
walking into the constructs of the imagination." - Terence McKenna.
-
VR is the ultimate medium of syntactical intent; the only way to
figuratively "show" someone exactly what you mean is to literally show
them. Words are exceptionally ineffective at conveying meaning, as they
are a low-bandwidth, lossy medium of knowledge transference. VR will

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let us remove the ambiguity that is the discrepancy between our internal
dictionaries and bypass communication through symbolism altogether.
The result will be perfect understanding, as all parties behold the same
information. The term Virtual Reality (VR) is used by many different
people with many meanings. There are some people to whom VR is a
specific collection of technologies that is a Head
Mounted Display, Glove Input Device and Audio. Some other people
stretch the term to include conventional books, movies or pure fantasy
and imagination. The NSF taxonomy mentioned in the introduction can
cover these as well. However, my personal preference, and for purposes
of this paper, we restrict VR to computer mediated systems.
"Virtual Reality is a way for humans to visualize, manipulate and interact
with computers and extremely complex data"
The visualization part refers to the computer generating visual, auditory
or other sensual outputs to the user of a world within the computer. This
world may be a CAD model, a scientific simulation, or a view into a
database. The user can interact with the world and directly manipulate
objects within the world. Some worlds are animated by other processes,
perhaps physical simulations, or simple animation scripts. Interaction
with the virtual world, at least with near real time control of the
viewpoint, in my opinion, is a critical test for a 'virtual reality'.
Some people object to the term "Virtual Reality", saying it is an
oxymoron. Other terms that have been used are Synthetic Environments,
Cyberspace, Artificial Reality, Simulator Technology, etc. VR is the most
common and sexiest. It has caught the attention of the media.

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 REFERENCES:

https://fortune.com/2017/10/03/samsung-microsoft-windows-virtual-
reality/ [A]
https://cornershop-immersion.com/en/40-data-gloves [B]
https://www.fortech.ro/introduction-virtual-reality-world [C]
https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/virtual-reality
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_reality
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/2617390_Virtual_Reality_-
_History_Applications_Technology_and_Future

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