From: John Wann Subject: Re: HUMAN-FACTORS: Immersion Studies Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 16:40:51 +0000 Message-ID: Ed Lantz In engineering terms, VR is the classic "solution in search of a >problem." Where > is the demand for immersive environments? We are stuck with a solution >looking for > a problem! I recognise that Ed has a point. I would argue there are a number of applications that could benefit from wide FoV or immersive displays, but the list, at present, is not extensive. Where I disagree is in the manner in which immersive displays might be realised: Ed wrote: > Is an HMD the best solution? Probably not. A wide FOV > projection display such as the Reality Centre will suffice. I like the word "suffice" Hands up everyone who has/had, or may be acquiring an HMD Hands up everyone who's got a CAVE/SID SIDs are grossly INEFFICIENT in their use of physical space and computational resources and can only be justified if their usage is very high (e.g. entertainment) or if the novelty value outweighs the cost (e.g. did Nintendo really need a display based on 8 hughes JVC projectors to launch their new game?? No, but they probably didn't care, provided that it had impact). If a large corporation wants to provide elegant demo's of their products, irrespective of cost, then a dedicated large screen-multiple projector system may be a worthwhile investment. If architects and clinicians are going to use VR as a routine visualisation aid they are not going to have access to such systems. By locking the displays to the users perceptual systems (e.g. HMDs) you make a very efficient use of both space and computational resources. Which is why you can generate quite a nice HMD immersive display based around a PC for $3,000 and you need in excess of $100,000 and a large dedicated space to contemplate a SID. If you are trying to sell the SID-VR to business then sure you need a pretty convincing case (and I haven't heard one yet) that justifies how VR will bring "added value" that offsets the capital cost in a very short time. Its much easier to justify investing =A310,000 in dual seat HMD syste= m so that companies can monitor their usage and put a "toe-in the water" of taking the technology on-board. As the VR industry moves away from HMDs it will severely limit the market-place in which it can operate. JW ********************************************************* Dr John P. Wann < J.P.Wann@rdg.ac.uk> ********************************************************** Action Research Laboratory: Development, Rehabilitation, Immersive Virtual Environments (Wann, Mon-Williams, Langaas, Smyth , Swapp, Wallis, Wadsworth) Supported by: Action Research; EPSRC: European Commission ARL - DRIVE Department of Psychology University of Reading PO Box 238, Reading RG6 6AL, UK +44 1734 318532 =46x +44 1734 316604 ***********************************************************