Virtual Reality: What It Is And How It Works

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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 ...

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Another problem that is solved is that which
occurs when one turns their head. Nearby objects appear to move more
than distant objects. This is called motion parallax. Lenticular
screens can show users the proper stereo images when moving their
heads well when a head-motion sensor is used to adjust the effect.

Sound is another important part of daily life, and thus must be
simulated well in order to create artificial reality. Many
scientists including Dr. Elizabeth Wenzel, a researcher at NASA, are
convinced the 3D audio will be useful for scientific visualization and
space applications in the ways the 3D video is somewhat limited. She has
come up ...

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