VR: past, present, and future [virtual reality

Abstract

Summary form only given. The Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) has partnered with dozens of computational scientists and engineers to create visualization and virtual reality (VR) devices and applications for collaborative exploration of scientific and engineering data. Since 1995, our research and development activities have incorporated emerging high bandwidth networks like the vBNS and the Internet2 in an effort now called tele-immersion. As a result of our six years' experience in building first and second-generation VR devices to support these applications, we consider third-generation VR devices that will provide desktop/office-sized displays. Since no current technology is yet configurable with ideal resolution and size, we first simulate these devices with available parts, and then build more advanced prototypes. We believe that the devices we propose to build using the new display technologies form a set of desirable human/computer interface requirements for successful tele-immersion adoption. A goal of this research is to develop clearly compelling prototypes so that these devices can be improved and reproduced by the private sector.