"A computer terminal is not some clunky old
television with a typewriter in front of it.
It is an interface where the mind and body can
connect with the universe and
move bits of it about."
Douglas Adams, Mostly Harmless
Virtual Reality: History
Curs
Realitate virtuala in robotica
DUGULEANĂ Mihai
duguleanamihai@yahoo.com
mihai.duguleana@unitbv.ro
Site: mihai.duguleana.com
Virtual Reality: History
Conditii de promovare
Curs - prezența nu este obligatorie
- 1 punct = prezenta la mai mult de 7
cursuri
Laborator - prezenta este obligatorie
- lucrarile de laborator – 2 puncte - min 50%
Proiect - 3 puncte - min 50%
Examen - 4 puncte - min 50%
Virtual Reality: History
Programul modulului
Virtual Reality
Visual Channel
2
Modelling
Real-time Rendering
Virtual Humans
1
History
Technologies
Applications
Tools
Acoustical Channel
3
3D Audio
Virtual Reality: History
What is Virtual Reality ?
The term Virtual Reality was born in 1988, in an interview
to Jaron Lanier “A Portrait of the Young Visionary”.
Lanier:
“VR is a technology that uses computerized clothing to
synthesize shared reality. It recreates our relationship with
the physical world in a new plane, no more, no less. It
doesn't affect the subjective world; it doesn't have anything
to do directly with what's going on inside your brain. It
only has to do with what your sense organs perceive.
In VR there's no need for a single metaphor, whereas there
is a need for a single design metaphor in a computer. We
are used to switching contexts in real life.
There's simply no need for one unified paradigm for
experiencing the physical world, and there's no need for
one in Virtual Reality either. “
Virtual Reality: History
What is Virtual Reality?
- Neo, I imagine you know something about Virtual Reality.
- Essentially, it's a hardware system that uses an apparatus to
make you feel that you are in a computer program.
- If the VR apparatus controlled all of your senses, would you be
able to tell the difference between the virtual world and the real
world?
- You might not, no.
- No, you wouldn't.
[The Matrix - WACHOSKI 1999]
- A show. Then who am I?
- You're the star.
- Nothing was real.
- Nothing was real. That's what made you so good to watch.
[The Truman Show – NICCOL 1998]
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Virtual Reality properties
Prezenţa, ca senzaţie mentală de a exista într-un spaţiu, este legată de implicarea
utilizatorului, şi se bazează pe îmbinarea eficientă a senzaţiei de imersie cu cea de
interacţiune. Astfel, consecinţă a calităţii reprezentării mediului virtual precum şi a
interfeţelor om-calculator folosite, se pot atinge nivele ridicate de prezenţă cu
următoarele caracteristici: perspectivă dinamică legată de mişcările capului,
stereoscopie, păstrarea dimensiunilor obiectelor virtuale în limita celor reale,
randarea cu feedback haptic pentru o interacţiune îmbunătăţită, controlul audio,
sinteza de stimuli olfactivi etc
Senzaţia de imersie se exprimă prin sentimentul operatorului de a fi în interiorul
unui spaţiu virtual. Imersia, ca percepţie a lumii virtuale de către operator, se
realizează prin intermediul interfeţelor, cu precădere, video şi audio.
Interacţiunea în mediile de RV este reprezentată de capacitatea utilizatorului de a
modifica mediul virtual şi de a primi feedback din partea acestuia. Capacitatea de
interacţiune dă nivelul de realism al unei procesări virtuale.
Virtual Reality: History
Virtual Reality is many things…
Some types of Virtual Reality:
Text VR :
Can be even strongly interactive,
but not immersive
Desktop VR:
Variable interaction,
immersion usually low.
Immersive VR:
High immersion, interaction
strongly depends on the
system complexity.
Virtual Reality: History
Immersive Virtual Reality
Un punct slab al aplicaţiilor de RV destinate
desktop-ului este slaba senzaţie de imersie =>
platforme complexe de tip CAVE.
Some features commonly available:
- Dynamic perspective linked to the head movements.
- Stereoscopic vision
- Virtual Environment realized with realistic scale and properties
- Realistic interaction with the VE through interface for the
manipulation, operation, control
- Possible audio, haptic and motion feedback
- Shared environments
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The need of real-time
To pursue these objectives, and in particular to allow a
natural interaction between the user and the VE, we need
computers able to execute in real-time all the calculations
needed to produce the response to user actions without
perceivable delays.
The rate at which the feedbacks are generated must be high
enough to create the illusion of continuous movement.
Splitting feedbacks over different sensorial channels helps,
as requirements are different:
- Visual channel: images should be recomputed with a frequency of
over 24 Hz to be realistic
- Haptic channel: forces should be provided with a frequency of
about 1 KHz
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Legatura RA / VA / RV
Conform taxonomiei acceptate pe plan mondial, axa realitate-virtualitate este
divizată în trei clase distincte de reprezentare (Realitate Augumentată, Virtualitate
Augumentată, Realitate Virtuală), cu nivele descrescătoare de aproximare a
realităţii:
Virtual Reality: History
Augmented Reality

Real Environment

Augmented Reality

Augmented Virtuality

Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality: History
VR History
In 1956 Morton Heiling launched an attraction called
SENSORAMA, a kind of passive simulator of motorvehicle.
-Vibrating seat and handles
-Stereoscopic movie of Manhattan
-Wind feedback with a fan
-Scent of car gas
Virtual Reality: History
VR History
“For the price of 25 cents, «Sensorama» would offer multisensorial impressions of a virtual, ten-minute-long motorcycle
ride through New York City. ”
The experience was not interactivce,
therefore it cannot be properly defined
as VR.
Sensorama was not a big deal (“It was
maybe too revolutionary for its
times”).
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First HMDs
In 1969, at the University of Utah, Ivan Sutherland, the father
of computer graphics, implemented a stereoscopic HMD.
These images were displayed on two
tiny monitors, one for each eye. The
monitors were mounted on a apparatus
suspended from the ceiling and
strapped to the user’s head. The head
movements were detected by the
apparatus and relayed to the computer
which generated the correct view, that
is the view that the person would see if
he were in the room, looking in the
same direction.
Virtual Reality: History
First HMDs
The project was name “The Damocle sword“ !!!
The BOOM (Binocular Omni-Orientation Monitor)
from Fakespace is a head-coupled stereoscopic
display device.
Virtual Reality: History
Interaction and Computer Graphics
Sutherland himself got his degree nel 1962 at Stanford
presenting the Sketchpad system, a graphical system where
the user was able to interact with using an optical pen.
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Artificial Reality
There was enough stuff to define a new entity. In 1970 Myron
Kreuger coined the term Artificial Reality
“A full-body participation in computer
events that were so compelling that they
would be accepted as real experience.”
Artificial reality promise is NOT that of
reproducing the conventional reality, but the
possibility of creating SYNTHETIC realities that do
not have actual corresponding entities.
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Force-feedback
In 1976 P.J..Kilpatrick, at UNC, connected a manipulator (used to
handle radioactive materials) to a simple graphic world. The
environment consisted in a table and object on the top of it and a
replica of a graphic manipulator, seen from a stereo display. It the user
tried to move the graphic manipulator through the table, she felt the
physical arm resist the motion. If the user tried to pick up a book, she
felt the weight of the book as she raised her hands. The manipulator
prevented also to close fingers, giving the grasping sensation.
Virtual Reality: History
3D Graphics
The first hypermedia and virtual reality system was the Aspen
Movie Map which was created at MIT in 1977.
The program was a crude virtual
simulation of Aspen, Colorado in
which users could wander the streets
in one of three modes: summer,
winter, and polygons. The first two
were based on photographs -- the
researchers actually photographed
every possible movement through the
city's street grid in both seasons -and the third was a very crude 3-D
model of the city.
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Sensors
In 1979 the Polhemus 3SPACE was presented, a system of
magnetic sensors used to retrieve the absolute position and
orientation of a point in the space.
Initially conceived to be used
together with a HMD, it had a number
of additional uses.
Polhemus was far from being perfect
and did not work correctly in
presence of metal structures. Yet, it
allowed to substitute complex
mechanical devices to track 6 DOF,
which was needed in VR applications.
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Advanced interfaces
Nel 1984 NASA transformed a HMD used as “virtual cockpit”
(created in ’66) reducing its cost from $1M to $20K.
A magnetic 6-dof sensor was added to
determine where the user were looking.
Subsequently the helmet display was
reduced in size to become reality goggles.
NASA contracted also VPL Research
(California) to build a hi-res version of that
company’s existing bend-sensing glove. NASA
added the Polhemus magnetic 6 dof sensor.
VPL, went beyond NASA demos using a
powerful Silicon Graphics workstation for 3D
real-time graphics.
Virtual Reality: History
Cyberspace
Science Fiction was already dealing with similar topics,
although VR was not actually born yet.
One of the moral fathers of VR is Philip K.
Dick, with UBIK (1969).
VR is directly created with sensorial
stimula on bodies in suspended animation
(like what?)
In1984 Gibson writes Neuromancer and
introduces Cyberspace, the set of
information of a computer network.
Nowadays, Cyberspace is commonly
meant as the VE that Internet forms
together with its services and
information.
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Finally, Virtual Reality
With the foundation of VPL from Jaron Lernier (1984), VR
becomes a commercial reality: systems where all of the
technologies previously described are integrated (sensorized
gloves and suites,, HMD, 3D graphics), can be sold at
affordable prices.
In 1989 Lanier himself in an interview
(http://www.well.com/user/jaron/vrint.html) finds a name for this set of
technologies and for the related experience: Virtual Reality
was finally officialy born.
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VR and Cinema
DISCLOSURE (1995, Barry Levinson)
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VR and Cinema
NIRVANA (1997, Gabriele Salvatores)
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VR and Cinema
13th floor (1999, Josef Rusnak)
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VR and Cinema
MATRIX (1999, Wachoski Bros.)
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Why VR is not a mass phenomenon?
Safety issues:
sometimes VR is scaring because of its interfaces and their invasiveness.
Moreover, long lasting uses of some devices may induce sickness.
Hardware costs:
VR requires expensive and
dedicated components, not
always affordable.
Interface components:
Resolution, complexity,
speed, latencies, space,
encumbrancies: hw must
be improved
Virtual Reality: History
Why VR is not a mass phenomenon?
It is more difficult to trick users:
first movies were perceived as realistic. Todays users are smarter and
notice every incoherence with the reality.
Involvement:
Although perceptual stimula are provided on the main sensorial channels,
some stimula are still non sufficient or not existing (full body FF, tactile
feedback, olfactory information, ….).
Virtual Reality: History
Why VR is not a mass phenomenon?
Single user:
Whilst cinema and TV are multiuser, VR is (mainly) monouser with some
notable exceptions.
Purposes:
In spite of its various applications, it is often not perfectly clear where and
how to insert VR in our life and how to proficiently use it.
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Challenges
Natural interaction:
Full and correct actions interpretation
Realism of representation:
Realistic feedback on all sensorial and motor channels. In particular,
address the issues related to
- Tactile feedback: wearable interfaces
- Movement: locomotion interfaces
- Olfact: olfactory analysis and synthesis olfattivo (problems: evacuation
times etc.)
- Direct nerve stimulation: exciting but disturbing (ego suppression?)
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Prezenta
Virtual Reality: History
Imersie
Virtual
Reality
Interactiune
Prezenta
Virtual Reality: History
O clasificare hardware a VR
Interactiunea
Non-interactive
Device based interaction
Desktop Devices
Mouse
Keyboard
Joystick
Touch
Screen
Natural interaction
Wired sensors
Desktop Wearable
Haptics
Haptics
Optical
MoCap
Wireless sensors
Wearable
MoCap
Brain
Computer
Interfaces
No sensors
Gesture
Recognition
Speech
Recognition
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O clasificare hardware a VR
Imersia
Non-immersive
Low Immersion
Desktop Devices
External devices
Wearable devices
Visual
Monitor
Acoustic
Desktop
Speakers
Headphones
Haptics
Desktop
Haptics
Wearable
Haptics
Motion
Workbench
High Immersion
HMD
Retinal
Display
Whole Body
Motion Interface
Powerwall
Panoramic
Powerwall
CAVE
Multichannel
Speakers
Encountered
Haptics
Treadmill
Real
Objects
Motion
Platform
Virtual Reality: History
Prezenta in VR
Oversimplifying, interaction and immersion can be
considered as variables, placed on a two
perpendicular axes, which concur to create the
sense of user presence.
 The stronger emotional involvement triggered by
immersion helps the establishment of perceptual
mechanisms that, by increasing the user’s ability of
interfacing with information, facilitate an effective
conveying of contents
 Suspension of disbelief
 Subjective factors

Virtual Reality: History
Prezenta in VR
Interdependenţa dintre prezenţă,
interacţiune şi imersie
Virtual Reality: History
Prezenta in VR

Subjective factors can be (hardly) descrived in quantitative
terms (through sensors recording physiological paramters) and
qualitative (questionnaires)
The Pit experiment
The Virtual Milgram Experiment
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Prezenta in VR
An immersive Virtual Environemnt requires a strong
presence feeling, in order to make the interaction
natural and to improve user’s perception of it.
 The feeling of presence is determined by three
factors:

– Quality of sensorial information:


Modeling
Rendering
– Sensors mobility and control
– Environment control
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Presence: low-quality sensorial info
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Presence: high-quality sensorial info
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Presence: sensors low comfort
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Presence: sensors high comfort
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Presence: low environment control
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Presence: high environment control
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Presence in Virtual Environments
According to David Zeltzer, a discussion about presence
is meaningless without specifying the application
domain and task requirements. He also claims that it is
not possible to simulate the physical world in all its
detail and components.
There should be research done to identify the different
sensory cues that must be provided to complete a task.
Virtual Reality: History
Presence in Virtual Environments

Zeltzer’s assertion, though almost trivial at a first
glance, is indeed very important because it suggests
a way to reduce the complexity of the environment
to be simulated. Depending on the task to be
performed, it is possible to define the optimal level
of the factors in stake:
– the sensorial channels to be stimulated
– the cues to provide on the selected channels
– the level of details of the VE, across the selected channels
– the relevant information which have to be exchanged
between the user and the VE
Virtual Reality: History
Logical modules of a VE
Sampling
Synthesis
Modeling
Behaviours
Properties
Virtual Environment
Management
Rendering
Interaction
USER
Virtual Reality: History
Virtual Environment Data Flow
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT
VISUAL
CHANNEL
ACOUSTICAL
CHANNEL
HAPTIC
CHANNEL
INERTIAL
CHANNEL
USER
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Virtual Environment Components
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT
SW modules of visual
modelling & rendering
VISUAL
CHANNEL
ACOUSTICAL
Graphical
CHANNEL
Feedback
HAPTIC
CHANNEL
INERTIAL
CHANNEL
HW devices
of visualization
USER
Virtual Reality: History
Stereo pairs




Our eyes see the world in a slightly different way
Each eye provides a perpective 2D vision of the world.
Combining these two perspectives forms a stereo pair which
inherently contains information about the three dimensions
Beware! The term “3D” is often
misused. What is commonly called
3D graphics is, usually, a 2D perspective representation
Virtual Reality: History
Depth cues

We can perceive the three dimensions thanks to a series of
information (depth cues)

To effectlively simulate a 3D environemnt, it is necessary
to provide as many depth cues as possible, or at least the
most significant ones.
Virtual Reality: History
Monocular Depth cues



Some very important depth-cues are:
– Occlusion: if an object occludes another
object it is perceived as closer
– Shading: provides info about the
orientationa and the position of surfaces
related to a light souce.
– Perspective: an object with a known size
can provide information about its depth
depending on its apparent size
– Parallax: objects place at different
distances move with different apparent
speed
These depth-cues are well simulated also from
an appropriate 2D image.
Anyway, although they are necessary, they
cannot be sufficient.
Virtual Reality: History
Binocular Depth Cues

Other important depth-cues :
– Dynamic perspective: when we move,
even slightly, our point of view, the
perspective of the world changes. We
need to track position and orientation
of our head to correctly update the
perspective.
– Ocular Separation: our eyes are
separated by a certain offset. This
implies that perspectives are different:
objects are separated from an offset
growing when the distance decreases.
We need to build two different images
for the two eyes.
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Binocular Depth Cues
– Depth of field: objects at different distance are focused

differently.
– Field of view: human field of view is about 180°x120°.
The presence of a border at the edges of a stereo image
“destroys” the 3D illusion (monitors have FOV=35°x27°)
– Non visual clues: provide additional information, like
the ones coming from the vestibular apparatus or
kinaesthetic data from the neck etc.
Important: if badly implemented, conflicting depth-cues
can damage the entire 3D effect and create discomfort in
the perception.
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Stereo pair

A system for the stereoscopic visualization must be
composed of:
– Software able to generate two monoscopic bi-dimensional images,
one for each eye, created and synchronized in order to give back
the opportune depth cues
– Hardware able to let each eye perceive only its correspondent
image

“Stereo-crosstalk” (or ghosting):
– Ghosting is the permanence, on an
eye, of the image produced for the
other eye. This produce the vision of
a ghost silhouette together with the
correct image.
Virtual Reality: History
Stereo image
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Stereo image
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Active Stereo

For each frame two images are
projected sequentially; therefore
there’s a continuous hi-frequency
(about 120Hz) switching between the
images for the right eye and the images
for the left eye.

Users wear a special active device,
shutter glasses, synchronized with the
image switcher and able to make lenses
opaque or transparent. When the image
for the right eye is present, the left
lens is completely opaque, otherwise it
is transparent. The same happens for
the right lens. The human brain,
actually, receives a sequence of images
but they are so quickly presented that
it believes to perceive them at the
same time. In other words the brain
merges the images and can reconstruct
depth from them
Virtual Reality: History
Passive Stereo
Both images are projected at the
same time but, thanks to a system
of optical filters only the correct
image reaches each eye.
 Different implementations:
– Anaglyphs
– Polarization filters
– Infitec filters
 There are advantages and
disadvantages for both
technologies: active stereo is more
expensive and requires dedicated
hardware, passive stereo presents
the problem of ghosting (or stereo
crosstalk), which means that one
eye perceives also a small fraction
of the image presented for the
other eye.

Virtual Reality: History
Anaglyphs





Historically, the first stereo pairs
The two images are coded with
blue (or green or cyan) and red
filters.
The same filters decode images
Cons: Destructive filtering (good
for greyscale images, not so good
for color images)
Pros: does not necessarily need
projectors, works on
TC/monitors, easy to produce,
very cheap
Virtual Reality: History
Light polarization







A lightwave rotates in all the directions
The specific orientation, at a given time t, determines its
polarization
To polarize a light means to let a specific orientation emerge
Human eyes are not so sensitive to polarization changes.
Two kind of polarization:
– Linear (stereo pairs with horizontal/vertical pol.)
– Circular (stereo pairs with cw /ccw pol.)
Pros:
– Limited costs, any graphical hardware
Cons:
– Sensitiveness to rotations (LP) or to ghosting (CP)
– Needs special screens
Virtual Reality: History
Infitec solution
Left Eye


Based on spectrum split:
Pros:
–
–
–

Almost no ghosting
Excellent image separation
Works on any surface
Right Eye
Cons:
–
–
Filters/Glasses are expensive
Colors are modified, a gamma correction is needed
Virtual Reality: History
Powerwall

A Powerwall is a back-projected screen, usually large
sized, able to visualize stereoscopic images.
Virtual Reality: History
Workbench


Similar to Powerwall, but smaller (low immersion) and variable
orientation
Useful in contexts (es.surgical simulators) where it is not needed
the full immersion in a VE but rather is preferrable to insert
virtual content in a real context.
Rendering
CAVE

CAVE is a recursive acronym (CAVE Automatic Virtual
Environment).

A CAVE is a multi-user
environment, a cubic room
where some or all the walls
are powerwall synchronized
among them and, optionally,
with the user movements.
Virtual Reality: History
CAVE – 6 screens
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Autostereoscopic displays

These display do not use lenses, glasses, screens etc.

Volumetric displays:
Display information in a volume. Voxel,
not pixels.
Emissive: the volume is filled up with a medium
able to emit light in specific directions depending
on how it is excited.
Rotating: a flat screen rotates at 600 rpm.
Depending on the angular position of the screen,
an optical system projects on it a “slice” of the
object corresponding to the perpective related
to that angle.
Rendering
Autostereoscopic displays

Parallax displays:
Images are separated by means of parallax barriers, realized
through two overlapping screens alternated by columns-
Cons: there is a limited range of correct positions (swap risk)
Rendering
Autostereoscopic displays

Lenticular Displays:
They make use of lenticular sheets, a set of cylindric lenses
that allow to focus only a portion of the back image.
Rendering
Head Mounted Display
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Head Mounted Display





A helmet provided with 2 small LCD displays, wearable
from the user.
Optionally with headphones and tracker
Best image separation (no ghosting, each eye receives only
one image)
Pros:
- Total immersion (no contact with
external reality)
Cons:
- Costs
- Resolution
- FOV
- Encumbrance, weight
- Sickness (latencies)
Rendering
AR HMD: Video See-Through
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AR HMD: Optical See-Through
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AR HMD: Retinal Displays
 Nuova frontiera: retinal-displays
 Nascono all’Università di
Washington nel 1993
 Proiettano un fascio di luce
direttamente sulla retina
 L’osservatore ha l’illusione di
vedere l’immagine come se
fosse a 50 cm da un display 14”
 Caratteristiche:
 Alta Risoluzione
 Luminosità
 Consumi
Virtual Reality: History
Virtual Environment Components
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT
VISUAL
CHANNEL
ACOUSTICAL
CHANNEL
HAPTIC
CHANNEL
Audio
Feedback
INERTIAL
SW modules of audio
modelling & rendering
CHANNEL
HW audio
devices
USER
Virtual Reality: History
Audio technologies
Virtual Reality: History
Dispositive acustice

STEREOPHONY:
Sounds are distributed on two channels. A virtual
source can be created, but only on the line
connecting the two loudspeakers.

MULTICHANNEL SPEAKER ARRAY:
Adding more channels enlarges the space where the
virtual source is placed.
Virtual Reality: History
Crosstalk
In speakers-based audio system crosstalk a phenomen similar to
ghosting in stereoscopy may occurs: a fraction of the sound
intended for the right ear arrives to the left ear and vice versa.
 It is possible to use upstream filters able to precondition the
signal so as to cancel crosstalk, provided the user is in a well
specified point (sweet spot).
 Crosstalk is perceived as more as getting far from the sweet
spot. Human ear is more sensitive to crosstalk on the LR
direction rather than on the FB one.
 Increasing the number of speakers allows
to extend the sweet spot to an area (if
the array is planar) or to a volume .

Virtual Reality: History
Headphones





Like the HMD in vision, headphones provide the best acoustical
separation: each ear gets only the correct signal.
The signal must be pre-processed so as to arrive already
trasformed with the opportune Head Related Transfer Function
This way a headphone can provide binaural sound, where the
directionality is perceived (more LR than FB, as masking effects
are simulated and not real)
Surround headphones actually virtualize
channels and not sound sources (same
difference as between precomputed 3D
movies and real-time graphics)
In order to compute a correct binaural
real-time feedback for moving listeners,
it is needed to track their 6DOF
Virtual Reality: History
Virtual Environment Components
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT
VISUAL
ACOUSTICAL
CHANNEL
SW modules of haptic CHANNEL
HAPTIC
CHANNEL
INERTIAL
CHANNEL
modelling & rendering
Haptic
Feedback
Haptic Interfaces
USER
Virtual Reality: History
Haptic interfaces: desktop
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Haptic interfaces: antropomorphic
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Haptic interfaces: antropomorphic
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Virtual Environment Components
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT
VISUAL
CHANNEL
ACOUSTICAL
CHANNEL
HAPTIC
CHANNEL
INERTIAL
CHANNEL
Motion
Feedback
USER
Virtual Reality: History
Motion Feedback
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Integrating feedbacks: co-location issues
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Randare olfactiva
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT
…
OLFACTORY
CHANNEL
CANAL
GUST
…
Utilizator
Virtual Reality: History
Olfactory channel

SMELL GENERATION
 Differently from the other senses (sensitive to physical stimula),
smell is sensitive to chemical stimula.
 A theory (Amoore 1963) asserts that any smell can be considere as
the combination of seven primary smells. Although approximative,
the theory can be considered acceptable.

Odore primario
Esempio
Canforaceo
Naftalina
Muschioso
Muschio
Floreale
Rosa/Lavanda
Mentolato
Mentolo
Etereo
Alcool
Pungente
Aceto
Putrido
Uova marce
Scent Display
PARALLEL WITH GRAPHICAL DISPLAYS:


Direct distribution in the nose with pipes ↔ HMD
Distribution in a space within the rang of nose ↔ HW projection
Virtual Reality: History
Olfactory rendering
ATR Media Information Science Laboratories
Dept. of Information Media Technology, Tokai University
Japan
Virtual Reality: History
Taste rendering

TASTE GENERATION
 Also in this case, a taste can be approximated by the combination
of five primary tastes.
Sapore primario
Esempio
Salato
Sale
Acido
Aceto
Dolce
Zucchero
Amaro
Caffè
Umami
Glutammato
(es. Parmigiano, Salsa
di soia etc.)

TASTE DISPLAY

So far, the only proposal comes from Tsukuba University which
developed “food simulator”, a haptic interface returning the force
feedback related to chewing and using a combination of primary
elements to generate the desired taste. The result is injected as a
liquid (0.5 ml) and injected on the tongue through a pipe placed
at the border of the HI.
Virtual Reality: History
Taste Rendering
Hiroo Iwata, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Virtual Reality: History
Virtual Environment Components
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT
SW modules of tracking
and data acquisition
VISUAL
CHANNEL
ACOUSTICAL
Interaction
CHANNEL
INERTIAL
HAPTIC
CHANNEL
Tracking and CHANNEL
motion capture
devices
USER
Virtual Reality: History