Virtual Reality and 3D Input and Output

From the readings:

"3D Input and Output" from The Computer in the Visual Arts by Anne Spalter, Addison Wesley Longman Inc. 1999, pp 297-316

Virtual Reality and digital modeling go on trial for a federal courtroom design by Alan Joch
http://archrecord.construction.com/features/digital/archives/0501dignews-1.asp

2D input and output devices are restrictive when working with 3D data, but access to 3D input and output equipment is limited because these devices are expensive and not readily available to the general public. There have been various 3D input devices created, but all present different challenges and none have emerged as a standard.

A 3D mouse uses sonar to track its movement through space. While the 3D mouse can perform operations in 3D programs quickly, it is often inaccurate due to noise interference and it can be cumbersome to use over a period of time. Joysticks are commonly used in video games. These devices can navigate 2D and 3D space and buttons can be programmed to perform certain functions, such as jumping or firing in a video game. Gloves are best at performing predefined postures within virtual reality, such as pointing in a direction to move, but are not accurate enough for detailed work. Dials are a very accurate 3D input device that allow the user to control virtually any 3D property. They are not a direct translation of bodily movement and remain removed from the process, similar to using a mouse for drawing, but they do not cause fatigue. Force feedback devices provide tangible information such as the feel of objects and textures in a virtual environment. While extremely convincing, these devices are very expensive and can be very dangerous. Trackers track bodily movement in real space by using six cameras in a golf ball sized device. They are seen quite often in Hollywood special effects studios to map the motions of actors for use on a 3D model. 3D scanners and digitizers create digital 3D data from existing real world forms.

For the most part, 3D digital data is represented on a flat two dimensional screen. The goal of 3D output devices is to create a realistic way to view 3D information. This requires the use of stereo vision, which is how humans perceive depth in the real world. Two different view are brought together in order to see in three dimensions. To simulate this process digitally, two slightly different views are created. These views are called a stereo pair. The viewer can then blend these two images in a few different ways by focusing a distant point (very difficult for most people) or with the help of stereoscopic glasses. These glasses cause each eye to see a different image, and the brain must complete the depth perception.

Virtual reality uses stereopsis but surrounds the user with digital information so that the user is immersed in the digital realm or virtual reality. This can be accomplished with the use of a head mounted display or a binocular omni-orientation monitor. There are also special rooms called CAVEs that allow users to enter into a space with images projected on each wall surface. By using stereoscopic glasses, the users perceive the space as a virtual 3D environment. This is the technology used in the courtroom design, and seems on the surface to prove successful for understanding sightline issues in the courtroom. Lighting design was also refined by using the CAVE but the designers admit that this sort of environment is not very effective at portraying real world lighting and shadow.

I was not fully aware of the technical advances in 3D input and output but with the popularity of the Wii and its controller the Wiimote, it is certainly easy to see the real world application of a 3D input device. The Wiimote offers six degrees of freedom for interaction with the video game. I have always been fascinated by the philosophical issues regarding virtual reality and just last semester read exerpts from Baudrillard's "The Precession of Simulacra." Baudrillard's outlook is so apocalyptic , that somehow the world is disappearing in a haze of imagery and meaning. I tend to relate, rather simplistically I admit, virtual reality to a really good book. Both require the participant to immerse themselves in the world, both can take the participant to alternate realities and both provide entertainment. Neither has of yet become confused with our common shared reality and according to Henry Fuchs, technology may never let us confuse the two. (p. 316) And whose to say we all live in the same reality anyway.