Components of VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) | Codin india

 The Virtual Reality is basically made up of hardware and software components. Hardware components includes computer or VR engine and I/O devices whereas software components include application software and database.

·       Virtual Reality System Hardware

 The major components of the hardware are the VR engine or computer system, input devices and output devices

       I.            Input Devices

 The input devices are the means by which the user interacts with the virtual world. They send signals to the system about the action of the user, so as to provide appropriate reactions back to the user through the output devices in real time. They can be classified into tracking device, point input device, bio-controllers and voice device.

Tracking devices sometimes referred to as position sensors, are used in tracking the position of the user, and they include, electromagnetic, ultrasonic, optical, mechanical and gyroscopic sensors, data gloves, neural and bio or muscular controllers.

Voice communication is a common way of interaction among humans. So it feels natural to incorporate it into a VR system. Voice recognition or processing software can be used in accomplishing this.

    II.            VR Engine

 In VR systems, the VR engine or computer system has to be selected according to the requirement of the application. Graphic display and image generation are some of the most important factors and time consuming task in a VR system. The choice of the VE engine depends on the application field, user, I/O devices, level of immersion and the graphic output required, since it is responsible for calculating and generating graphical models, object rendering, lighting, mapping, texturing, simulation and display in real-time. The computer also handles the interaction with users and serves as an interface with the I/O devices.

 III.            Output Devices

 The output devices get feedback from the VR engine and pass it on to the users through the corresponding output devices to stimulate the senses. The possible classifications of output devices based on the senses are: graphics (visual), audio (aural), haptic (contact or force), smell and taste. Of these, the first 3 are frequently used in VR systems, while smell and taste are still uncommon.

Two possible common options for the graphics are the stereo display monitor, and the HMD which provides a higher level of immersion. In the HMD, the two independent views produced are interpreted by the brain to provide a 3D view of the virtual world.

Audio or sound is an important channel in VR; its importance is only surpassed by that of visual. 3D sound can be used in producing different sounds from different location to make the VR application more realistic.

Haptic is used to allow the user feel virtual objects. This can be achieved through electronic signals or mechanical devices.

 

·       Virtual Reality System Software and Tools

 Virtual reality system software is a collection of tools and software for designing, developing and maintaining virtual environments and the database where the information is stored. The tools can be classified into modeling tools and development tools.

I.                   VR Modeling Tools

 There are many modeling tools available for VR designing, the most common ones are , 3ds Max, Maya and Creator. Engineering specific applications might use software like CATIA, Pro/E, Solidworks, UG, etc.

II.                VR Development Tools

VR is a complex and integrative technology that borrows from many other technologies, such as real time 3D computer graphics, tracking technology, sound processing, and haptic technology, among others, therefore software development flexibility and real time interaction is needed. Starting the development of a VR system from the basic codes in C/C++, Java, OpenGL, etc, requires a large amount of work and such system reliability is usually low, therefore VR development tools are used.

Careful consideration is needed in choosing VR development tools due to the difference in flexibility provided by different software packages as related to model input available, interface compatibility, file format, animation ease, collision detection, supported I/O devices and support community available to the users.

 VR development tools used in VR content creation include, virtual world authoring tools, VR toolkits/software development kits (SDK) and application program interfaces (APIs). But it is not uncommon to find that some APIs are also toolkits, like OpenGL optimizer.

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