Page 152 - Intelligent Communication Systems

CHAPTER ! i /TELESENSATION I 3 I
street or go through a mountain area. Special glasses present a front view. Turn-
ing to the right makes the scene on the right visible; turning to the left shows the
left view. In the molecule visualization system, various kinds of molecules are
shown in virtual space, and the viewer can enter the space and observe them. In
the modeling system, a viewer can handle objects and lay them out in the virtual
space. Using components of a city landscape, such as buildings, bridges, highways,
and roads, he or she can construct an urban scene in virtual space. In the streetcar
driving system, the viewer can drive a streetcar along a street while viewing the
scene in front. The experience is realistic and enables the user to improve driving
skill

11.5 APPLICATIONS OF VIRTUAL REALITY

Medicine: VR can be used to simulate a medical operation and can provide
tools for training.
Education: VR can be used for teaching a variety of subjects, such as geo-
graphy, history, and chemistry. A viewer can experience a virtual museum
scene or a virtual historical monument as if physically there. VR can reproduce
architecture or ruins that have been lost and no longer exist on earth. In
chemistry, students' understanding of molecular structures can be enhanced
by visualizing and reproducing molecules in virtual space.
Telecommunication: The integration of VR and telecommunications results in
Telesensation services, such as a virtual space teleconferencing system.
With such a system, participants who are in reality at different sites have
their images brought together through communication links so they can
meet as if gathered in the same place. In a conventional video conferencing
system, participants at remote locations—in reality their images—are
brought through the communication links and displayed on screen so they
can hold a meeting. However, their images are not displayed stereo-
scopically, they cannot have eye contact with one another, and they are
unable to handle an object displayed on the screen. In the virtual space
teleconferencing system, by comparison, participants' images are brought
together in virtual space and displayed stereoscopically, allowing them eye
contact as if they were gathered in the same room. This system was
developed by the Advanced Telecommunication Research Institute (ATR).
Through Telesensation, people at different sites can join together in virtual
space and interact to carry out a job or simply to play. Telesensation can
break the bonds of time and space.
Entertainment: Using VR, people can play a game with realistic sensations.
A 3D virtual space is created where people participating in the game are
displayed. A viewer can enter the space and enjoy games with the other
participants.