Report OL198 A new dimension to Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality ( VR ) uses computers and sophisticated software programs to create artificial three-dimensional worlds which can be explored by the user. A Virtual Reality world can be used to represent anything from the atomic structure of complex molecules to an entire city. Users can 'touch' and interact with the images just as if they were entering their television screens and wandering around. Much emphasis has been put on VR's entertainment applications, creating highly sophisticated computer games; but VR technology has also opened up a whole new dimension of potential applications in business, training and education, because VR offers new levels of interactivity. Three types of VR systems are described in the report, followed by a summary of the limitations of VR.

Over the past ten years the Learning Methods Branch (LMB) has funded or co-funded hundreds of projects which assess or exploit the potential of various new technologies. This has resulted in the Branch working with a large number of business, educational and technical establishments. Many of the projects have produced useful applications or information which could be used by other parties, and for this reason, LMB invests a lot of time and resources exhibiting projects at various shows and events around the country.

The problem is that exhibition space is limited and expensive to hire, and there are a wide range of projects to display. LMB is then faced with the unenviable task of deciding which projects to include in its displays. The initial plan was to put as much information as possible on to a computer, which users could call up on a screen. But LMB then considered the possibility of using Virtual Reality technology to create an exhibition stand on a screen. They contacted Faberushi, a British design company based in Coventry, and decided to co-fund a project to develop the Virtual Exhibition Stand, or VES.

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This page last updated 24 January 1999.