A meta-authoring tool for specifying interactions in virtual reality environments

Abstract

When creating virtual reality environments a large amount of the interaction needs to be programmed. The problem with this is that non-computer expert users lack the programming skills necessary to create useful applications. Specifying interactions remains in the domain of the programmer. Creating a single, generic authoring tool for every different kind of application would be an impossible task -- more so if the authors are non-programmers. A more realistic solution to the problem would be to think of every environment as having a particular context such as a virtual museum or gallery. Creating authoring tools specific to these types of environment contexts greatly reduces the problem. We have produced a progressive meta-authoring system that allows both novice and advanced users to create useful virtual reality applications, allowing the smooth migration of novice users to becoming more experienced. We believe that our system overcomes problems in architecture and support for novice users found in previous systems.