(Frequently Asked Questions)
version 95.01R
Compilation Copyright (C) 1993,1994
Aaron Kaleva Pulkka, HITLab
revisions by Toni C. Emerson
Last Update: 2/18/95
#
#
Contents
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1.0 Sci.VW Moderator
1.1 Background
1.2 Biographies
1.3 Addresses
2.0 Posting Policy
2.1 Editing
2.2 Rejecting
2.3 Cross-posting
2.4 Subject-line Tags
2.4.1 Announcements
2.4.2 Discussions
2.4.3 Digests
2.5 Digests
3.0 Suggested Readings
3.1 Newsgroups
3.2 Mailing Lists
3.2.1 VIRTU-L
3.2.2 Glove-List
3.2.3 Rend386
3.2.4 Hombrew-VR
3.2.5 HOTT-List
3.2.6 Others
3.3 Periodicals
3.3.1 General
3.3.2 Technical
3.4 Books
3.4.1 General
3.4.2 Technical
3.4.3 Fiction
3.5 Bibliographies
4.0 Glossary
4.1 General
4.2 Technical
4.3 Others
5.0 Archives
5.1 HITLab Knowledge Base
5.2 Others
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Subject: 1.0 Scivw Moderation
#
Section 1.0:
Scivw Moderation
#
1.1 Background
Since sci.virtual-worlds (scivw) was created by Robert "Bob"
Jacobson and Howard Rheingold early in 1990, its estimated worldwide
readership has grown to well over fifty thousand ["USENET Readership
report for Nov 93", news.lists]. Rheingold, the first moderator, saw
scivw as a
...scientific newsgroup for discussing research and
development in virtual reality on a less formal, more
frequent, more highly distributed basis than the welter of
professional organizations, conventions, conferences, and
journals that served as communication media for the individual
disciplines that were converging on VR.
[199-200, Chapter 9: Reality on Your Retina, "Virtual Reality"]
From the beginning, the Human Interface Technology Laboratory
(HITLab) has sponsored the newsgroup by providing the necessary
resources to facilitate and archive its discussions. The director of
the HITLab, Tom Furness, has been eager to foster the exchange of
information between VR researchers and to develop an on-line database
of VR information.
As the newsgroup's scope and readership have grown,
administration has progressed from the single moderatorships of Howard
Rheingold and Steve Aukstakalnis to the moderating group that serve it
today. The switch to co-moderation occurred when Bob Jacobson
promoted Mark DeLoura from the resident moderation software hacker to
full co-moderator, in charge of the archive and FAQ construction. The
growth of scivw has also spawned the need for a new newsgroup,
sci.virtual-worlds.apps, which former moderators Jacobson and DeLoura
co-founded in 1992. A personal reflection on the history of
sci.virtual-worlds, by Mark DeLoura, can be found in the HITLab
Knowledge Base:
ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/virtual-worlds/faq/other/scivw-history.part1
Sci.virtual-worlds.apps was created as a spin-off of
sci.virtual-worlds, "...for the discussion of pending and actual
applications of virtual worlds technology in industrial, commercial,
educational, and entertainment settings" [Bob Jacobson, RFD for
sci.virtual-worlds.apps]. Sci.virtual-worlds remains the general
forum for discussing software/hardware development, interface design,
related conferences/events, philosophical issues, emerging standards,
and other relevant topics.
In 1993, the Scivw Moderating Group was created. The staff included
seven members of the HITLab team (a balance of staff and students) led
by the Research Librarian, Toni Emerson: Michael "Squish" Almquist,
Daniel Pirone, Jerry Prothero, Aaron Kaleva Pulkka, T.M. Ramstad, and
Mark Takacs. The final member of the group, Gregory B. Newby at UIUC,
has been maintaining the newsgroup's email redistribution list since
1991. The group was disbanded later that year, as the majority of the
group had left the HIT Lab and homogenous moderation was difficult.
The current Moderator is Toni Emerson, with the assistance of
Dr. Gregory Newby.
1.2 Biography ##
TONI EMERSON - Since 1991, Toni has
been participating in the HITLab Knowledge Base project. Now she
works full-time as the lab's Research Librarian and caretaker of the
growing ftp site. She has a Master of Librarianship from the
University of Washington and two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Spanish
and Drama. Member of ALA, ASIS, SLA, EFF, IEEE, and ACM. Toni is
obsessed with the Internet and the research of virtual worlds
development.
GREGORY B. NEWBY - Greg is an Assistant
Professor in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science,
and a Research Scientist at the National Center for Supercomputing
Applications, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Greg
has been involved with VR since his days at Syracuse University, where
he received his Ph.D after establishing the VR lab.
1.3 Addresses #
The individuals listed above should not be contacted for
general newsgroup communications.
Newsgroup submissions should be sent to:
Questions, comments, or suggestions should be sent to:
Snail-mail may be sent to:
Scivw Moderator
c/o Toni Emerson, HITLab
University of Washington, FJ-15
Seattle, WA, 98195
USA
------------------------------
Subject: 2.0 Posting Policy
#
Section 2.0:
Posting Policy
#
2.1 Editing
We will not edit portions of submissions to correct spelling,
grammar, or content.
In order to make articles and subsequent quotations more
readable, we may reformat them so that each line contains less than 71
characters and ends with a carriage-return/line-feed [you can save us
some time by doing this before submitting].
Oversized signatures may be truncated [please respect the
general Usenet guideline of 4 lines, maximum].
We may edit the subject-line for clarity and consistency [see
section 2.4].
We may edit the comment portion of followups to previous
postings, if it is too long or not pertinent to the reply.
2.2 Rejecting #
Although we expect most submissions will be posted, we do have
certain guidelines by which we will reject articles.
We will not post:
- articles that are not coherently related to virtual worlds,
- flames (any posting that directly attacks person and/or idea
without objective, analytical content), or
- comments directed to the moderators (unless of general
interest).
If we receive multiple submissions expressing essentially the
same idea, we may only post one.
ANYTIME we decide not to post a submission, we will send a
message to the author indicating why it is not being posted.
2.3 Cross-posting
We do not generally allow cross-posting between
sci.virtual-worlds and other moderated newsgroups, unless the articles
are submitted separately (this is due to a limitation in the way the
Usenet handles moderated newsgroups). Moreover, there is rarely a
need to cross-post between sci.v-w and sci.v-w.apps, since these
newsgroups have different focal points.
We do not allow re-posting of copyrighted material (such as
articles from the ClariNet News Services) without proper permission.
You may, however, submit a summary of, review of, or pointer to such
material -- or contact the author and request that they post directly
to sci.virtual-worlds. Since we are unable to check the copyright
authority of each submission, we rely on you to use good judgement
when posting.
2.4 Subject-line Tags ##
2.4.1 Announcements #
ADMIN: Related to newsgroup administration.
ANNOUNCE: Miscellaneous.
CONF: Conference descriptions, dates, deadlines, etc.
CFP: Call for papers (for conferences/journals).
EDUC: Description of educational opportunity.
EPUB: Electronic publications, reports, papers, etc.
EVENT: Descriptions of various, non-conference events.
JOB-OFFERED: Employment opportunities.
JOB-WANTED: Shameless self-promotion.
NEW-PROD: Product announcements.
ONLINE: Online services, ftp sites, etc.
PUB: Books, journals, etc.
2.4.2 Discussions
APPS: Applications of virtual worlds in various domains.
DESIGN: Human factors, standards, and other design issues.
ENTERTAIN: Entertainment/game applications.
INDUSTRY: Where the industry is, or is heading.
MISC: Items that don't fit into any other category.
PHIL: Philosophical musings about reality, etc.
REV-APPS: Review of experience with an application.
REV-CONF: General review or report on a conference.
REV-ENTERTAIN: Review of experience with an entertainment app.
REV-EVENT: General review or report on an event.
REV-ONLINE: Reviews of online services, publications, etc.
REV-PUB: Review of books, journals, etc.
SCI: Scientific issues such as health, physics, etc.
SOC: Social phenomena and culture.
TECH: Hard technology, data, software, hardware, etc.
2.4.3 Digests #
DIGEST: Weekly digests containing related messages.
DIGEST: Virtual Interface Marketplace
FOR-SALE: Products/items for sale/re-sale.
INVEST: Looking for, or offering, investment ops.
REV-NEW-PROD: Non-commercial reviews of products.
WANTED: Entities wanting to obtain hardware/software.
DIGEST: Virtual-worlds Info Booth
EDUC: Information on educational opportunities.
INFO: General information requests/answers.
REFS: Reference and citation requests/answers.
SPECS: Technical specification requests/answers.
TERMS: Questions/answers about terminology.
WHO: Searching for people involved in the field.
DIGEST: Scivw Request
COMMENT: A comment concerning the admin of scivw.
QUESTION: A question about scivw, of general interest.
SUGGESTION: A suggestion for how things "should" be done.
2.5 Digests
The three digests, "Virtual Interface Marketplace,"
"Virtual-worlds Info Booth," and "Scivw Request," are weekly posts
containing a collection of related messages (posted Monday, Wednesday,
and Friday, respectively). Since we will not post empty digests, a
skipped issue indicates that we received no relevant submissions that
week.
The first part of each digest will include a list of the
subject lines from the posts contained in the digest, allowing for a
quick check to see if the digest contains anything of specific
interest to you. These digests conform to RFC 1153, the internet
standard for digested messages, so you should be able to find an
undigestifier for your platform.
Please be sure to never quote an entire digest when following
up or replying to a message within a digest.
------------------------------
Subject: 3.0 Suggested Readings
#
Section 3.0:
Suggested Readings
#
3.1 Newsgroups
There are many Usenet newsgroups which contain information
relevant to various aspects of the diverse virtual-worlds community.
Members of the Scivw Moderating Group regularly monitor many of the
groups listed below, for items relevant to our discussions.
Newsgroup: Description:
---------- ------------
alt.3d Discussions of 3 dimensional imaging.
alt.cyberpunk High-tech low-life.
alt.cyberpunk.tech Cyberspace and Cyberpunk technology.
alt.cyberspace Cyberspace and how it should work.
alt.education.distance Learning over nets etc.
alt.graphics.pixutils Utilities for viewing computer graphic images.
alt.toys.high-tech High tech toys.
comp.ai Artificial intelligence discussions.
comp.ai.fuzzy Fuzzy set theory, aka fuzzy logic.
comp.arch Computer architecture.
comp.cog-eng Cognitive engineering.
comp.databases Database and data management issues and theory.
comp.dsp Digital signal processing.
comp.graphics Computer graphics, art, animation, image processing.
comp.graphics.* Many other graphics related groups.
comp.human-factors Issues related to human-computer interaction (HCI).
comp.infosystems.www The World Wide Web information system.
comp.multimedia Interactive multimedia technologies of all kinds.
comp.music Applications of computers in music research.
comp.org.eff.news News from the Electronic Frontiers Foundation. (Mod)
comp.os.research Operating systems and related areas. (Mod)
comp.realtime Issues related to real-time computing.
comp.research.japan The nature of research in Japan. (Mod)
comp.risks Risks to the public from computers & users. (Mod)
comp.robotics All aspects of robots and their applications.
comp.simulation Simulation methods, problems, uses. (Mod)
comp.society The impact of technology on society. (Mod)
comp.speech Research & applications in speech science & technology.
comp.sys.sgi.graphics Graphics packages and issues on SGI machines.
comp.theory.dynamic-sys Theory of dynamic systems.
rec.arts.cinema Discussion of the art of cinema. (Mod)
rec.arts.int-fiction Discussions about interactive fiction.
rec.arts.startrek.tech Star Trek's depiction of future technologies.
rec.games.frp.cyber Discussions of cyberpunk related roleplaying games.
rec.games.mud.announce Informational articles about multiuser dungeons. (Mod)
rec.games.mud.misc Various aspects of multiuser computer games.
rec.games.netrek Discussion of the X window system game Netrek.
rec.games.video.arcade Discussions about coin-operated video games.
rec.games.video.misc General discussion about home video games.
rec.games.video.sega All Sega video game systems and software.
rec.parks.theme Discussions of theme parks.
sci.cognitive Perception, memory, judgement and reasoning.
sci.electronics Circuits, theory, electrons and discussions.
sci.fractals Objects of non-intergral dimension and other chaos.
sci.med.telemedicine Clinical consulting through computer networks.
sci.optics Discussion relating to the science of optics.
sci.research Research methods, funding, ethics, and whatever.
sci.virtual-worlds Virtual Reality technology and culture. (Mod)
sci.virtual-worlds.apps Current and future uses of virtual-worlds tech. (Mod)
3.2 Mailing Lists
3.2.1 VIRTU-L #
VIRTU-L is the mailing list mirror of sci.virtual-worlds.
Greg Newby OR is
the administrator for the list and can be contacted if you experience
problems with the automated system.
To subscribe to either list, send an e-mail message to the
automated list server OR , with the following text in the body of the message:
subscribe listname Your Full Name
(of course you need to replace "listname" with either "virtu-l" or
"vrapp-l" and you need to replace "Your Full Name" with your actual
name, do not use quotes and do not use your userid).
For more information consult the lists' FAQ in the HITL
Knowledge Base:
ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/virtual-worlds/faq/other/FAQ-virtu-l
3.2.2 Glove-list #
The glove-list was created in 1991 to provide a rapid
communication channel to hackers adapting the Power Glove for use in
low-cost VR systems. J. Eric Townsend was the
administrator for this list.
The actual PowerGlove Mailing list is nonactive. To quote the administrator,
"The PowerGlove mailing list is dead. (It fell on its head)."
However, there is a great HTML doc available..a current Glovelist FAQ at:
URL=http://wiretap.spies.com/jet/faq-0.3.html
According to J. Eric Townshend,
"This is probably the last version of the PowerGlove-specific FAQ. It
will probably be consumed by a HomeBrew VR FAQ, if things go well. (I
recently (Jul 94) changed jobs. Much of my free time is consumed with
work here at General Magic, Inc., making the world a safer place for
personal communicators.)"
3.2.3 Rend386 #
There are currently two mailing lists related to rend386: one
for announcements, and one for discussion. If you encounter trouble
using the automated server, you may contact the administrators at
. To get the complete instructions
on subscribing, send e-mail to .
To simply subscribe to either list, send e-mail to the
automated list server , with either or
both of the following lines in the body of the message:
subscribe rend386-announce
subscribe rend386-discuss
[For a brief explanation of what rend386 is, see section 4.2]
3.2.4 Homebrew-VR mailing list##
The Homebrew-VR mailing list is a listserv maintained on
sleepless.acm.uiuc.edu by Jonathan Stark (jks@uiuc.edu). The purpose
of the list is to promote the development of homebuilt virtual reality
devices and applications. Through this list, people can exchange ideas
and questions, and hopefully everyone will end up the better for
it.
Subscribing to the Homebrew-VR mailing list is very easy. Simply send
mail to homebrew-vr-request@acm.uiuc.edu with a subject of
"Subscribe". You will automatically be added to the list, and will
receive all mail that is sent to the group.
To post, send mail to homebrew-vr@acm.uiuc.edu. Your mail will then be
resent to all of the people on the list. A copy of your message will
also be sent back to you (since you are on the list!).
3.2.5 HOTT-List ##
3.2.6 Others ##
There are many other mailing lists and discussion groups which
are relevant to the discussions taking place here, such as:
- Iris On-Line
(cross-posted to sci.virtual-worlds each month)
- VIGIS-L
- America On-line: VIRTUS
- CompuServe: CYBERFORUM
- GEnie: Cat 16, Top 6
3.2.5 HOTT-List ##
3.2.6 Others ##
There are many other mailing lists and discussion groups which
are relevant to the discussions taking place here, such as:
- Iris On-Line
(cross-posted to sci.virtual-worlds each month)
- VIGIS-L
- America On-line: VIRTUS
- CompuServe: CYBERFORUM
- GEnie: Cat 16, Top 6
- WELL: VR
- BIX: virtual.world
For more information on these and more, consult the latest
issue of the "Information Resources in Virtual Reality" (IRVR) in
the HITLab Knowledge Base:
URL=http://www.hitl.washington.edu/projects/knowledge_base/irvr/
3.3 Periodicals ##
3.3.1 General #
CyberEdge Journal: The World's Leading Newsletter of Virtual Reality.
Newsletter 6/year. Ben Delaney, editor [Email: bdel@well.sf.ca.us].
Virtual Reality Report: The International Newsletter of VR.
Newsletter 10/year. Meckler Publishing [E-mail: meckler@jvnc.net].
VR Monitor: The Journal of Virtual Reality. Newsletter 6/year.
Matrix Information Services [Email: matrix@well.sf.ca.us].
Wired. Magazine 12/year. San Francisco, CA: Wired USA Ltd. ISSN
1059-1028 [Email: subscriptions@wired.com; high tech culture].
3.3.2 Technical ##
AI Expert. San Francisco, CA: Miller Freeman, Inc [August issues
feature Virtual Reality; they have also been publishing a Special
Report on Virtual Reality in July, for the last two years].
Computer Graphics. Journal published by the Special Interest Group on
Computer Graphics of the Association for Computing Machinery. ISSN
0097-8930.
PCVR: Virtual Reality and the IBM Personal Computer. Magazine+disk
6/year. Gradecki Publishing [Email: pcvr@fullfeed.com].
Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments. Journal 4/year.
Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. ISSN 1054-7460 [Email:
hiscox@mitvma.mit.edu; unsurpassed technical resource].
Real Time Graphics. Newsletter 10/year. CGSD Corporation [Email:
roy_w_latham@cup.portal.com].
3.4 Books ##
3.4.1 General #
Ellis, S.R. (ed.) (1991). "Pictorial Communication in Virtual and Real
Environments." London: Taylor & Francis. ISBN: 0-748-40008-7.
Jacobson, Linda (ed.) (1992). "Cyberarts: Exploring Art &
Technology." San Francisco, CA: Miller Freeman, Inc. ISBN:
0-879-30253-4.
Pimentel, Ken and Teixeira, Kevin. (1993). "Virtual Reality: Through
the New Looking Glass." New York, NY: Intel/Windcrest/McGraw Hill.
ISBN: 0-830-64064-9.
Rheingold, H. (1991). "Virtual Reality: Exploring the Brave New
Technologies." New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Trade. ISBN:
0-671-69363-8.
3.4.2 Technical ##
Jacobson, Linda (1993). "Garage Virtual Reality: The Affordable Way
to Explore Virtual Worlds." Sams/Prentice Hall Computer Books. ISBN:
0-672-30270-5 [includes a 3.5" PC-disk].
Laurel, B. (ed.) (1990). "The Art of Human-Computer Interface Design."
Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. ISBN: 0-201-51797-3.
Sheridan, Thomas B. (1992). "Telerobotics, Automation, and Human
Supervisory Control." Cambridge, MA & London: The MIT Press. ISBN:
0-262-19316-7.
Shneiderman, Ben. (1992). "Designing the User Interface: Strategies
for Effective Human Interaction." 2nd Edition. Reading, MA:
Addison-Wesley. ISBN: 0-201-57286-9.
Stampe, Dave; Roehl, Bernie and Eagan, John (1993). "Virtual
Reality Creations." Waite Group Press. ISBN 1-878739-39-5 [includes
Rend386 executables on a 3.5" PC-disk].
3.4.3 Fiction #
Card, Orson Scott. (1991). "Ender's Game." New York, NY: Tom Doherty
Associates. ISBN: 0-812-51349-5.
Gibson, William. (1984). "Neuromancer." New York, NY: ACE Science
Fiction. ISBN: 0-553-28174-7.
Gibson, William. (1993). "Virtual Light." New York: Bantam Books.
ISBN: 0-553-07499-7.
Jacobson, Karie (ed.) (1993). "Simulations: 15 Tales of Virtual
Reality." New York, NY: Citadel Press.
Stephenson, Neal. (1992). "Snow Crash." New York: Bantam Books.
Vinge, Vernor. (1987). "True Names...and Other Dangers." New York,
NY: Baen.
3.5 Bibliographies ##
For a more complete list of publications, consult the latest
issue of the IRVR in the HITLab Knowledge Base:
ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/VirtualReality/HITL/Papers/tech-reports/irvr.txt
For a list of citations of specific articles on VR, consult
one of the bibliographies in:
ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/VirtualReality/HITL/Bibliographies/
such as "Selected Citations from the Literature" named: emerson-B-93-2.txt
------------------------------
Subject: 4.0 Glossary
#
Section 4.0:
Glossary
#
4.1 General
Many of the terms listed in this glossary do not have a
single, universally accepted definition. The definitions listed below
have been compiled from years of discussions and borrowed from other
glossaries.
"Virtual Reality Terms" (1993), compiled by Joe Psotka and
Sharon Davison, can be found in the HITLab Knowledge Base:
ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/virtual-worlds/faq/other/VR-glossary
Another useful collection of definitions, called the "Virtual
Reality Glossary" (July 1992), was compiled by L. Jacobson for the
Virtual Reality Special Report of AI Expert [see section 3.3.2].
Artificial Reality:
This term was coined by Myron Krueger in the mid-1970s to describe his
non-immersive "computer-controlled responsive environments." The full
body motion of the participant effects the computer generated
environment, displayed on a screen. For more information, see
"Artificial Reality II" (1991).
Augmented Reality:
The use of transparent HMDs to overlay computer generated images onto
the physical environment. Precisely calibrated, rapid head tracking
is required to maintain cohesion.
Cyberspace:
This term was originally coined by William Gibson, in "Neuromancer"
[see section 3.4.3], to describe the shared virtual universe of the
world's computer networks, where both participants and data could be
seen, heard, and touched. This term has come to describe the more
familiar global information space. Our telephone conversations,
Usenet discussions, and ATM transactions all take place in cyberspace.
MUD:
Multiple User {Domain, Dungeon, or Dialogue}. These are typically
text-based environments which allow many users to communicate and
build worlds in "real-time." There are many different types of MUDs:
discussion, fantasy adventure, science-fiction adventure, and others.
For more information, consult the three-part FAQ on Muds and
Mudding in the HITLab Knowledge Base:
ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/virtual-worlds/faq/other/FAQ-mud.1
ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/virtual-worlds/faq/other/FAQ-mud.2
ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/virtual-worlds/faq/other/FAQ-mud.3
Presence:
The feeling of actually being in an environment, whether it is real,
augmented, or virtual. This is a defining characteristic of an
immersive VR system.
Projected Reality:
A computer system which uses projection televisions to provide an
individual or group with windows to a virtual environment.
Teleoperation:
The remote operation of a robotic system. If the human interface
provides an immersive environment, then it can also be called
"telepresence."
Virtual Reality (VR):
This term is attributed to Jaron Lanier, to describe an immersive,
interactive simulation of realistic or imaginary scenes. Common usage
of this term would indicate that the immersive component is not
required. However, many researchers strongly believe that immersion
is as important as interactivity.
Virtual World:
A 3d model of an environment comprised of a set of objects or
entities, which can be experienced as a virtual reality.
4.2 Technical #
6d or 6dof:
Six degrees of freedom can be specified as: pan, zoom, swivel, pitch,
roll, and yaw.
BSX:
Bram Stolk's X-windows based graphical MUD system. Regenesis, built
using the BSX system, was the first publically accessible MUD on the
internet to combine combine text and 2d color graphics.
CyberMan:
A 6d stationary input device made by Logitech. This device measures
only the direction a force is applied, not the magnitude.
DataGlove:
A gesture recognition device developed by VPL Research. Magnitude of
finger flexation is determined by measuring the amount of light that
escapes from the scratched surface of a fiber optic strand in each
finger. Position and orientation of the hand is determined by an
external sensor, such as the Polhemus.
HMD:
A Head mounted display strictly refers to a graphical display device,
although it is usually coupled with position tracking and earphones
for 3d sound.
PGSI:
The PowerGlove Serial Interface provides users the ability to connect
their glove to any personal computer. For more information, consult
the PGSI FAQ:
ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/virtual-worlds/faq/other/FAQ-pgsi
Polhemus:
A sensor device which uses electromagnetic coils to provide a 6d
position and orientation measurement.
PowerGlove:
Gesture recognition device developed for the Nintendo Entertainment
System by Abrahms/Gentile Entertainment and licensed to Mattel Toys
(out of production). Magnitude of finger flexation is determined by
measuring the change in resistance of a piezioelectric strip in each
finger. Position and orientation of the hand are measured by built-in
ultrasonic sensors.
REND 386:
A real-time polygon renderer for Intel 386s and up. Used in
combination with a 3d display device, such as Shutter Glasses, and a
3d input device, such as the PowerGlove, hackers can create virtual
environments at home.
Shutter Glasses:
Liquid crystal glasses which cover each eye alternatively, in sync
with the alternating display of images for each eye, produce a 3d
effect.
Spaceball:
A 6d stationary input device which measures both magnitude and
direction of an applied force.
VEOS:
The Virtual Environment Operating {System, Shell} was developed at the
HITLab as a foundation for building distributed virtual worlds.
VRD:
The Virtual Retinal Display, developed at the HITLab, is a display
approach wherein lasers are used to scan images directly onto the
retina. This has the potential of greatly reducing the size, weight,
and power consumption of displays, while increasing the resolution.
4.3 Others #
CAVE:
An interface characterized by projection devices on the walls used to
facilitate immersion, such as the CAVE "virtual reality theater" in
the Electronic Visualization Laboratory at the University of Illinois
at Chicago.
HITLab or HITL:
Human Interace Technology Laboratory in Seattle, Washington.
UIUC:
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.
UNC-CH:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
------------------------------
Subject: 5.0 Archives
#
Section 5.0:
Archives
#
5.1 HITLab Knowledge Base #
The HITLab Knowledge Base is currently accessible by anonymous
ftp (use the login name "anonymous" and use your email address as the
password) at:
ftp.u.washington.edu
[140.142.56.2]
There are two public hierarchies at that site, that are maintained as
part of the HITLab Knowledge Base project:
ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/virtual-worlds/
ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/VirtualReality/
The first, /public/virtual-worlds/, has been maintained by Bob
Jacobson of WorlDesign and Mark A. DeLoura of the University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill. Many thanks for their efforts. This archive
is now being reconstructed by the new Scivw Moderating Group (Toni
Emerson, Aaron Pulkka, et al.). Much of the information in this area
is out of date, please contact us with corrections. The contents and
organization of this archive will be changing on a daily basis, please
forgive us for any inconvenience this may cause.
Current contents of /public/virtual-worlds/:
Meta-FAQ: Latest version of the sci.virtual-worlds
Frequently Asked Questions post.
Meta-FAQ.z: The previous file, compressed (using gzip).
cheap-vr/: Information on SEGA glasses, cheap PC VR
programs, and the like.
citations/: A bibliography of interesting VR-related material.
faq/: An extended Frequently Asked Questions
directory, which contains product
descriptions, research developments,
conferences, school information
and other useful items.
faq.tar.z: The previous directory, in one file.
fly/: Demonstration code for a terrain database
fly-through software package.
multiverse/: An X-windows based multi-user graphical
environment with sample worlds.
papers/: Papers posted to the newsgroup.
postings/: All past postings to sci.virtual-worlds.
uploads/: Please send mail to the Scivw Moderating Group
before uploading any files.
veos/: Source code to the HITLab's Virtual
Environment Operating Shell.
virtus/: Four demos of Virtus Walkthrough for the Mac.
This hierarchy will eventually only contain the FAQ files and
posting archvies. The rest of the information will gradually be
organized and moved into the second hierarchy,
/public/VirtualReality/. This area is still under construction, so
the contents and organization are subject to change.
Current contents of /public/VirtualReality/:
HITL/: Bibliographies, tech-reports, thesises, data
files and more, from the HITLab.
UNC/: Abstracts and tech-reports from the UNC-CH.
misc/: Various papers and articles.
uploads/: Please send mail to the Scivw Moderating Group
before uploading any files.
5.2 Others
The site listed above is the only one maintained by the Scivw
Moderating Group. For a list of other sites, try the "VR Sites List"
in the HITLab Knowledge Base:
ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/virtual-worlds/faq/other/vr_sites.93.10
Another useful source of information is the Virtual Reality
Internet Resources (VRIR) guide, which can be found in the HITLab
Knowledge Base:
ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/VirtualReality/HITL/Papers/General/VRIR.txt
This posting is sent monthly to sci.virtual-worlds, sci.answers,
and news.answers as well as being available at these locations:
ftp.u.washington.edu/public/virtual-worlds/Meta-FAQ
rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/sci.answers/virtual-worlds/meta-faq
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/virtual-worlds/meta-faq/faq.html
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