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CSC 475 Test 1

Terms in this set (49)

Ivan Sutherland
1963: Sketchpad - first interactive graphics program
1968: Head mounted display

"The ultimate display would, of course, be a room within which the computer can control the existence of matter. A chair displayed in such a room would be good enough to sit in. Handcuffs displayed in such a room would be confining, and a bullet displayed in such a room would be fatal"
Trend towards invisible interfaces
-trend from room scale to invisible computing
-Hide the computer in the real world = Ubiquitous Computing
-Put the user inside the computer = Virtual Reality
Graphical User Interface
Separation between real and digital worlds
Ubiquitous Computing
computing and sensing embedded in real world
ex) RFID, particle devices, motes
Virtual Reality
an artificial world that consists of images and sounds created by a computer and that is affected by the actions of a person who is experiencing it

immersive VR: Head mounted displays, gloves; separation from the real world
Key Characteristics of VR
1) 3D Stereoscopic display
2) Wide field of view display
3) Low latency head tracking
VR Defined in terms of User Experience
Inducing targeted behavior in an organism by using artificial sensory stimulation, while organism has little or no awareness of the interface
Augmented Reality defining characteristics
1) Combines real and virtual images: both can be seen at the same time
2) Interactive in real time: the virtual content can be interacted with
3) Registered in 3D: virtual objects appear fixed in space

ex) navigation, museums, graveyard, etc. and pokemonGo!
AR vs. VR
VR: replaces reality
Scene generation: requires realistic images
Display device: fully immersive, wide field of view
Tracking: low to medium accuracy is okay

AR: enhances reality
Scene generation: minimal rendering okay
Display device: non-immersive, small field of view
Tracking: the highest accuracy possible
Mirror Worlds
Informationally enhanced virtual models of the physical world
ex) google earth, google maps
History: Early History 30,000 BC-
The history of VR is rooted in human's first attempts to reproduce the world around them
History: 1800's - Capturing Reality
-panoramas
-photography
-stereo imagery
-movies
History: 1900's - Interactive Experiences
-early simulators: flight simulation, sensorama(1955)
-early HMDs
-military and university research
-first commercial wave
History: Second Wave 2010-
-Palmer Lucky: HMD hacker, MxR intern
-Occulus Rift
History: Conclusion
-Virtual reality has a long history
-key elements of VR were in place by early 1990's
-first commercial wave failed in late 1990's: too expensive, bad user experience, poor technology etc.
-we are now in second commercial wave: better experience, affordable hardware, large commercial investment, significant installed user base *focus on user experience
Jaron Lainer
-Founded VPL, coined term Virtual Reality
-first commercial VR company
* in the 90's
Virtual Environment
completely synthetic world, could also be a captured real world

Synthetic world - completely invented from geometric primitives and simulated physics.

Captured world - using modern techniques with cameras, panoramic viewpoints, videos
ex) Simultaneous Localization and Mapping(SLAM
Telepresense
refers to a system that enables users to feel like they are somewhere else in the real world
Teloperation
user is able to control anything, like drone
Real World
refers to the physical world that contains the user at the time of the experience
Virtual World
refers to the perceived world as part of the targeted VR experience
Interactivity: Open Loop
the sensory stimulation does NOT depend on the actions taken by the organism
Interactivity: Close Loop
the sensory stimulation DOES depend on the actions taken by the organism
-Organism has partial control over the stimulation, like body motions, eyes, hands, legs, etc.
-Others include, voice commands, heart rate, body temperature, skin conductance
First vs. Third Person
VR developers are comfortable moving back and forth between being the "scientist" and the "lab subject" while evaluating and refining their work

-Bad idea: The creator's body will physically and mentally adapt to whatever flaws are present so that they may soon become invisible.
Universal Stimulation Principle
Any interaction mechanism in the real world can be simulated in VR
Avatars
synthetic representations of ourselves, enable us to interact, maintain a level of anonymity
Uncanny Valley
in which a high degree of realism has been achieved in a avatar, but its appearance makes people feel uneasy
Health and Safety Issues
-simulator sickness
-VR sickness
-careless VR developer: inconsistency in expectations, fatigue, output from other senses
-gorilla arms
Overview of VR Systems
-hardware
-software
-human perception
What is a VR System?
Must account for user and its interactions, head tracking, button presses, controller mechanisms, sensors, eye movements, surrounding physical world
Sensors and Sense Organs
Transducer - refers to a device that converts energy from one form to another
Sensor - special transducer that converts the energy it receives into a signal for an electrical circuit
Receptor - typically a sensor has a receptor that collects the energy for conversion

Sensor is called the sense organ, typically eyes and ears.

As user moves through the physical world, his sense organs move with him
Each sense organ has a configuration space, which corresponds to all possible ways it can be transformed or configured

6 DOF: x, y, z, yaw, pitch, roll
Audio: World Fixed
ex) surround sound
-high quality, multiple people can listen
-expensive, doesn't accomadate to user movements, not portable
Audio: User Fixed
ex) headphones
-portable, less power, cheaper, privacy, user can move around
-not good if multiple people, not as good sound quality
Visual: World Fixed
ex) CAVE
-can share experience with others, more movement
-not portable
Visual: User Fixed
ex)HMD's (Rachel Mahassel is old lady)
-portable
-can't share experience with others, tethered
Vision Sense vs. Audio Sense
Vision Sense is much more powerful and complex than our sense of hearing

VR sickness is more likely to happen if there are problems with your visual display than with the audio
Displays, sensors, computers
Displays - devices that stimulate a sense organ
ex) vibration, pressure, tension

Sensors - devices that extract information from the real world
ex)inertial measurement unit(IMU), gyroscope, depth cameras

Computers - devices that process inputs and outputs sequentially. Needed to create a vr experience
ex) Virtual World Generator. Limitations: tethering
Software
VR Engine: unity and unreal
Software Development Kit: for each device
there isn't an all in one global engine or SDK
Matched Motion
Basic operation of VWG is to maintain a correspondence between user motions in the real world and the virtual world
Matched Zone or safe region
Locomotion
moving oneself in the virtual world, while this motion is not matched in the real world

in games we use maps to help with location
Physics
Collision detection algorithm, time progression
Networked VR Experiences
A shared virtual world is maintained by a server.
Each user has a distinct matched zone
Perceptual Psychology
Our bodies were not designed for vr -> can lead to VR sickness. helps to understand perceptual psychology
- proprioception
- vection
-just noticeable difference (JND)
Proprioception
The ability to sense the relative positions of parts of our bodies and the amount of muscular effort being involved in moving them
ex) phantom leg syndrome, can't tickle yourself
Vection
The illusion of self motion
Senses/Brain think your moving but your not!
Just Noticeable Difference (JND)
Amount that the stimulus needs to be changed so that subjects would have perceived it to have changed in at least 50 percent of trials
Head Mounted Displays
-Most HMDs have a sceen for each eye and are most often LCD (Liquid Crystal Displays)
-Older models use CRT (Cathode Ray Tube)
-Currently LCD's are more compact, lightweight, efficient and inexpensive. Best resolution we can get at the compact size we need
-Many HMD's include speakers or headphones
-Future is wireless HMDs
Know these devices and what they can be used for
-CAVE
-Virtual Reality Workbenches
-Virtual Reality Clothing: human machine interfaces, gloves and body suits
-Virtual Reality Input Devices: omni-directional treadmills, pressure mats
Virtual Reality Tracking Systems
Tracking devices communicate with the systems processing unit(generates signals), telling it the orientation of the user's point of view: 6DOF

-electromagnetic
-acoustic
-optical
-mechanical
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