The basis of virtual reality is the creation of the illusion of human presence in a virtual environment. A person “goes” into it, identifies himself with the character, “lives” in this game. Whether or not this system provides full immersion of a person in a virtual environment also largely depends on the display system.
At the same time, many types of work with three-dimensional objects may not require “immersion” of a person in the world of this object. For example, when designing parts of a complex configuration or modeling game characters, it is usually sufficient to be able to manipulate the three-dimensional image of the constructed object on the screen of the computer monitor.
The illusion of presence in the virtual world can be greatly enhanced by creating a three-dimensional stereoscopic image of that world. Virtual reality systems create a stereoscopic three-dimensional image by separating the images intended for the left and right eyes. As a result, thanks to the ocular vision a person has a feeling of three-dimensionality of the surrounding space, he can determine the relative position of objects and also estimate the distances to them.
Imaging systems
The following main types of imaging systems for creating three-dimensional virtual environment are known.
- Desktop systems
Uses standard CRT monitors and stereoscopic displays. The user is not immersed in a virtual reality, but sees the virtual world through the “window” of the display. - PowerWall.
A multi-display system where you can get detailed life-size images of large virtual objects. - virtual reality helmets
Can provide full immersion of the viewer in a virtual environment. Separation of images of the right and left eyes in a helmet is made with built-in optical systems. To get a quality picture resolution screens must be high enough. - Projection systems
Under certain conditions give an effect very close to full immersion in a virtual environment. - VR systems
In them the virtual environment is projected onto 4 or 6 walls-screens of a specially equipped room. The system gives the most complete effect of presence in the virtual world, which can be enhanced by sound effects.