1.Multimedia the Complete Guide by Dorling Kindersley – Page 104
2.Computer Confluence by George Beekman
3. Knight.city.ba.k12.md.US/ib/PFPtopics.htm
4. Education.qut.edu.au/lloydm/MDB300/postman.html
As a result, research into VR dramatically increased. And so it was that on 7th June 1989, the Computer Aided Design Company Auto disk and the Eclectic Computer Company V.P.L. announced a new technology to the world called VR. The impact of society is big and have made a lot of changes. For many years’ people thought VR would only run on expensive workstations. However, with the increase in power of personal computer, it is now possible to experience VR technology using an ordinary desktop computer or games console. Now, we have the opportunity to buy low-cost headsets and many software applications. Another way of experiencing it is in arcade machines, in a stereoscopic headset and with a real original VR kit for personal computers and consoles, which consist in a keyboard, a trackball mouse, a speaker and a headset. (3)
Criterion C: Analysing the Impact of the Issue
Technological change is not additive; it is ecological. A new technology does not merely add something; it changes everything.
The development and the revolution of new technologies brought enormous business with the corresponded impact in the economy of different countries: e.g. the giant Microsoft Company with implications in the economy of the U.S.A.
The political decisions in the level of governments have supported the development of the technology. The impact of new technologies have made a revolution in terms of worldwide information, enterprise management, how to deal with education, politically and we can see the change of the world every day with our eyes.
Every technology has a philosophy, which is given expression in how the technology makes people use their minds, in what it makes us do with our bodies, in how it codifies the work, in which of our senses it amplifies, in which of our emotional and intellectual tendencies it disregards. VR provides a cheap and a safe way of simulating environments that would be either expensive or dangerous to replicate in real life.
In recent years VR devices have improved a lot because of new advances in technology. Computers have become more powerful and have a higher memory capacity, they are smaller and they cost much less. The information has to be quickly available but still now there are some that can’t experience the fantastic V.World.
As it is said in The Social Impact of Computers (page 495,496) by Richard S. Rosenberg “We live in age of serious contradictions. Technological development is accelerating, and without doubt the benefits to society have been massive and persuasive. However, there are some countries that are facing such basic issues of survival that the debate over the benefits and dangers of technology is largely irrelevant.
1.Multimedia the Complete Guide by Dorling Kindersley
2.Computer Confluence by George Beekman
3. Knight.city.ba.k12.md.US/ib/PFPtopics.htm
4. Education.qut.edu.au/lloydm/MDB300/postman.html
VR has a lot of advantages that have improved main categories like medicine, architecture, design, entertainment and education. Surgeons use VR systems to plan and practise operations in V.Patients instead of actual human beings. Network VR simulations could enable many people to feel themselves to be present at teleconferences, in V.Surgical operating theatres, even though they may be on different continents. In architecture and design VR stuff lets them see what the real life structure/production will look like before they have even begun construction/production. One of the extreme limit could be designing entire V.cities.
However, I said nothing but good about VR, we have to think that there are still major problems with this new technology and many disadvantages too. Although prices are falling quite rapidly most people think about immersive VR. An immersive system still costs a lot, including headsets that are known to cause irritation, discomfort and diseases. Alternatively, there are the non-immersive VR systems where the V.World is displayed on a computer screen and you use various input devices to move around like a mouse, a trackball and a joystick.
Criterion D: Solutions to Problems Arising from the Issue
As Takaya Endo and Hiroshi Ishii, Senior Research Engineers, NTT, 1989 says: “ We believe human interface technologies will play a crucial role in making communications and computer technologies more easy-to-use and effective. We believe we should take a higher view of communication: inter-personal communication that can’t be captured”.
In what concerns VR I think it has still to improve a lot and to make the material cheaper so that everyone can purchase it. Therefore, in what concerns VR material it still has to improve it in such a way that doesn’t cause diseases and health problems.
The information has to grow in terms of accessibility and in a faster way, so that everyone can be informed about it. There were problems in many areas like in architecture, medicine and education that nowadays are much easier to solve. For example, in medicine they have developed the “Virtual Surgery”, in architecture they have made a way of seeing constructions virtually without doing it in reality. Finally, in education they tried to make V.Schools, this means that the student doesn’t have to attend school; they just have to stay online and have lessons through the computer.
Another major problem is that people can become addicted to the use of computers and VR stuff, so they start forgetting the other normal things and don’t socialize more with other people. If the technology continues to develop at this rate there would be much more man without work because the machines do the work for them. In term of laws it is still needed to establish legal frameworks in order to protect the people in many ways.
Now there is a new economic phase to correspond to the costumer expectations, we can make all kind of business through network and this is called the “e-business”. “Barnes & Nobles” is one of the biggest and popular library known everywhere but recently with this new phase a big and successful enterprise was born, called “Amazon.com”. This is considered the biggest V.Library of our planet. We are living a new era with a new culture, paradigms which needs a revolution in our mentalities and in the way of doing things.
“VR is the hot buzz these days in both high technology and underground pop culture…high-tech, real life adventure story”. -San Francisco Chronicles
Criterion E: Selecting and Using Sources
Bibliography
For this essay I used the following sources of information:
Internet:
Virtual reality: Destroyer of Architecture?
But can you play Frisbee on the virtual quad?
Colonizing Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality applications to work
NCSA VR Lab
Virtual Reality Mentality
Education.qut.edu.au/lloydm/MDB300/postman.html
Virtual Reality advantages and disadvantages
Knight.city.ba.k12.md.US/ib/PFPtopics.htm
Virtual tours
Images
Books:
Computer Confluence by George Beekman
Multimedia the Complete Guide by Dorling Kindersley
The Social Impact of Computers by Richard S. Rosenberg
CD-ROMS:
Microsoft Encarta 97
Articles about Virtual Reality that were in the library
1184 Words