Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2002 16:33:54 -0500 From: "Guy Vardi" Subject: RE: Is VR dead? Sender: To: <3d-ui@hitl.washington.edu> Message-id: MIME-version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0) Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Importance: Normal X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 X-Authentication-warning: torch.hitl.washington.edu: majordom set sender toowner-3dui@hitl.washington.edu using -f X-Priority: 3 (Normal) Before jumping into the conclusion whether VR is dead or not, I will try to give my two cents regarding the different components of VR Real Time 3D graphics: Real time 3d engines are probably the most successful component of VR (mainly due to the games industry). Both arcade, console and PC games adopt 3D graphics and 3D scenes as a standard feature in existing and new genres. Still there is plenty to achieve here. Poor visual fidelity and lack of distributed environments over existing networks are still a major issue. Authoring tools: The 3D authoring tools market is becoming mature. We can see market segmentation, consolidation, solid users community, etc. Nevertheless the cost of 3D graphics is still extremely expensive. We are still missing authoring tools for verticals markets, and generic features necessary for VR (i.e. production lines for 3D environment). Immressive I\O: Probably one of the most disappointed elements is the lack of wide penetration of immerssive I\O devices. Although RF Optical mice are available as mass product, gloves and HMDS are still owned only by early adapters. Companies that used to offer innovative devices, (smells, tracking devices, etc), went out of business. Navigation models and UI: Another field in which there is a lot more to do. We still don't have a common standard or knowledge how to design an effective navigation model, how can we affect the user experience, what kind of metaphors are reasonable, the number of degree of freedom. We don't have a set of UI conventions, workflow, etc. Applications: We are still looking for the killer application for vr. Gaming and entertainment are definitely the most prominent direction at the moment. The billion-dollar question is whether VR can go beyond gaming to other fields.Before jumping into the conclusion whether VR is dead or not, I will try to give my two cents regarding the different components of VR Real Time 3D graphics Real time 3d engines are probably the most successful component of VR (mainly due to the games industry). Both console and PC games adopt 3D graphics and 3D scenes as a standard feature in existing and new genres. Still there is plenty to achieve here. Poor visual fidelity and lack of distributed environments are still an issue. Authoring tools The 3D authoring tools market is becoming mature. We can see market segmentation, consolidation, solid users community, etc. Nevertheless the cost of 3D graphics is still extremely expensive. We are still missing authoring tools for verticals markets, and generic features necessary for VR (i.e. production lines for 3D environment). Immressive I\O Probably one of the most disappointed elements is the lack of wide penetration of immerssive I\O devices. Although RF Optical mice are available as mass product, gloves and HMDS are still owned only by early adapters. Companies that used to offer innovative devices, (smells, tracking devices, etc), went out of business. Navigation models and UI Another field in which there is a lot more to do. We still don't have a common standard or knowledge how to design an effective navigation model, how can we affect the user experience, what kind of metaphors are reasonable. We don't have a set of UI conventions, workflow, etc. Applications We are still looking for the killer application for vr. Gaming and entertainment a