Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
2
A Survey of Some Virtual Reality
Tools and Resources
Moses Okechukwu Onyesolu,
Ignatius Ezeani and Obikwelu Raphael Okonkwo
Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State
Nigeria
1. Introduction
Virtual Reality (VR) technology enables users to interact with three-dimensional data,
providing a potentially powerful interface to both static and dynamic information (Ausburn
& Ausburn, 2003; Ausburn & Ausburn, 2004; Baieier, 1993; Onyesolu, 2011; Onyesolu & Eze,
2011). VR has existed in various forms since its inception. It has been known by names such
as synthetic environment, cyberspace, artificial reality, simulator technology and so on and
so forth before VR was eventually adopted (Onyesolu, 2006; Onyesolu & Eze, 2011). Though
VR has existed from the late 1960s, its latest manifestation, desktop screen-based semi-
immersive type which made its first appearance in entertainment industry, has made it
come within the realm of possibility for general creation and use. As a result of proliferation
of desktop VR, the technology has continued to develop applications that are less than fully
immersive. These non-immersive VR applications are far less expensive and technically
daunting and have made inroads into industry training and development.
There have been a lot of advances in VR and VR is being applied in all areas of human
endeavor (Onyesolu, 2009a; Onyesolu, 2009b; Onyesolu & Eze, 2011; Onyesolu, 2006). Many
VR applications have been developed for manufacturing, training in a variety of areas
(military, medical, equipment operation, etc.), education, simulation, design evaluation,
architectural walk-through, ergonomic studies, simulation of assembly sequences and
maintenance tasks, assistance for the handicapped, study and treatment of phobias,
entertainment, rapid prototyping and much more (Onyesolu & Akpado, 2009). VR has had
impact in heritage and archeology, mass-media, fiction books, television, motion pictures,
music videos, games, fine art, marketing, health care, real estate etc. Today, VR is being used
as powerful tool in education to simulate learning environments. Such VR environments
have been very valuable instructional and practice alternative (Onyesolu & Eze, 2011).
The question is what are the available tools and resources needed for building VR systems
be it non-immersive VR systems, semi-immersive VR systems or immersive VR systems.
There are a lot of companies that offer services in the field of VR and related areas. While
some companies specialize in VR hardware, some specialize in VR software, be it 3D tools,
2D tools, or VR simulation tools. Some of these companies and software tools are provided
in section 3 and section 5.
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