TECHNICAL SEMINAR REPORT

ON

“VIRTUAL REALITY”

A technical seminar report submitted in partial fulfillment of

The requirement of Bachelor of Technology.

By:-Name: SUMIT KUMAR SHARMA

Roll No: 11142507Branch: CSE

Year: 2014-2018

MAHARISHI MARKANDESHWAR UNIVERSITYMULLANA, AMBALA, 133207

DEPT.OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

1

MM UNIVERSITY, MULLANA, AMBALA

ACKNOWLEDGENENT

I take this opportunity to express my hearty thanks to all those who individually as well as collectively

helped me in the successful completion of this seminar.

I would like to express my immense gratitude and sincere thanks to prof. Neeraj Mangla, whose co-

operative guidance has helped me in successful completion of this seminar.

Name: Sumit Kumar SharmaBranch: CSE

Roll no: 11142507

2

ABSTRACT

VIRTUAL REALITY

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.

3

CERTIFICATE:

It is certified that the work contained in this report titled “VIRTUAL REALITY” is the original work done by Sumit Kumar Sharma and has been carried out under my supervision.

Prof. Neeraj ManglaSeminar SupervisorDepartment of CSE

MM University, MullanaAmbala

4

CONTENTS

pages Acknowledgments 2

Abstract

3

Certificate

4

Table of Contents

5

Chapter 1: Introduction

6

Chapter 2: The History of VR 7-

8

Chapter 3: Types of VR 9-

10

Chapter 4: Technologies of VR 11-

13

Chapter 5: Architecture of VR System 14-

15

Chapter 6: Application of VR 16-

17

Chapter 7: Current Problem & Future Work 18-

19

Chapter 8: Summary 20-

21

References

22

5

CHAPTER 1

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

6

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.

CHAPTER 2

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.

7

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.

Fig.2.1

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

8

CHAPTER 3

TYPES OF VIRTUAL RTEALITY:

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 WalkThrough

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,

9

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 actually are. Related to this,

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).

Fig.3.1

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

10

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).

CHAPTER 4

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. Something

which is commonly referred to as augmented reality.

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.

11

Fig.4.1

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 .

Data gloves are one of several types of electromechanical devices used in haptics

applications.

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.4.2Display (HMD)

12

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 internetworking 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.

13

CHAPTER 5

ARCHITECTURE OF VR SYSTEM:

Fig.5.1

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

14

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 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.

15

CHAPTER 6

APPLICATIONS OF VIRTUAL REALITY:

Virtual Reality in the Military:

Fig.6.1 Virtual reality parachuting simulation

16

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.

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.

17

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.

Virtual Reality in Entertainment:

Virtual reality games are becoming very popular with many teenagers who love the

graphics, animations and best of all, being able to talk to others. After all, what could be

better than the chance to interact with top end technology and without any adults to get in

the way?

These games are available for Xbox 360, PS2 and 3 as well as the Mac and PC so

whatever console you use there is a VR game for that. This is pretty cool when you think

about it.

CHAPTER 7

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.

18

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.

Future works:

Fig.7.1

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

19

developers are trying hard to develop the applications which can be easily collaborated with

the vr hardwares.

CHAPTER 8

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 - abstractions - 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

20

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 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.

21

REFERENCES:

HTTP://VR.ISDALE.COM/WHATISVR/FRAMES/WHATISVR4.1.HTML

HTTP://VRESOURCES.JUMP-GATE.COM/APPLICATIONS/APPLICATIONS.SHTML

HTTP: HTTP://WWW-VRL.UMICH.EDU/INTRO/

//WWW.MIC.ATR.CO.JP/~POUP/RESEARCH/AR/

FRANCHI, J. VERTUAL REALITY: AN OVERVIEW. ERIC DIGEST, JUNE 1995

HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/VIRTUAL_REALITY

HTTP://WWW.VRS.ORG.UK/VIRTUAL-REALITY/WHAT-IS-VIRTUAL-REALITY.HTML

22

23