Virtual Reality - What It Is And How It Works

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Term Paper Title	Virtual Reality - What It Is And How It Works
# of Words	739
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	2.96

Virtual Reality - What it is and How it Works

Virtual Reality - What it is and How it Works

Imagine being able to point into the sky and fly. Or perhaps walk through space
and connect molecules together. These are some of the dreams that have come with
the invention of virtual reality.  With the introduction of computers, numerous
applications have been enhanced or created. The newest technology that is being
tapped is that of artificial reality, or "virtual reality" (VR).  When Morton
Heilig first got a patent for his "Sensorama Simulator" in 1962, he had no idea
that 30 years later people would still be trying to simulate reality and that
they would be doing it so effectively. Jaron Lanier first coined the phrase
"virtual reality" around 1989, and it has stuck ever since.  Unfortunately, this
catchy name has caused  people to dream up  incredible uses for this technology
including using it as a sort of drug. This became evident when, among other
people, Timothy Leary became interested in VR.  This has also worried some of
the researchers who are trying to create very real applications for medical,
space, physical, chemical, and entertainment uses among other things.

In order to create this alternate reality, however, you need to find ways to
create the illusion of reality with a piece of machinery known as the computer.
This is done with several  computer-user interfaces used to simulate the senses.
Among these, are stereoscopic glasses to make the simulated world look real, a
3D auditory display to give depth to sound, sensor lined gloves to simulate
tactile feedback, and head-trackers to follow the orientation of the head.
Since the technology  is fairly young, these interfaces have not been perfected,
making for a somewhat cartoonish simulated reality.

Stereoscopic  vision is probably the most important feature of VR because in
real life, people rely mainly on vision  to get places and do things.  The eyes
are approximately 6.5 centimeters apart, and allow you to have a full-colour,
three-dimensional view of the world. Stereoscopy, in itself, is not a very new
idea, but the new twist is trying to generate completely new images in real-
time.  In 1933, Sir Charles Wheatstone invented the first stereoscope with the
same basic principle being used in today's head-mounted displays.  Presenting
different views to each eye gives the illusion of three dime...

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