Virtual Reality

The purpose of virtual reality is to make possible a sensorimotor and cognitive activity for a user in a digitally created artificial world. Recent advances in computer technology have led to a new generation of VR devices such as VR headsets. Accordingly, virtual reality poses many new scientific challengesmore » for researchers and professionals.
The aim of this book, a manual meant for both designers and users of virtual reality, is to present the current state of knowledge on the use of VR headsets in the most complete way possible. The book is divided into 13 chapters. The objective of the first chapter is to give an introduction to VR and clarify its scope. The next chapter presents a theoretical approach to virtual reality through our Immersion and Interaction methodology also known as "3I² model’’. Then, a chapter about human senses is necessary to understand the sensorimotor immersion, especially vision. These chapters are followed by several chapters which present the different visual interfaces and the VR headsets currently available on the market. These devices can impart comfort and health problems due to sensorimotor discrepancies. A chapter is devoted to these problems, followed by a chapter that gives a detailed discussion of methods and 32 solutions to dispel, or at least to decrease, VR sickness. The following three chapters present different VR applications that use VR headsets (behavioural sciences, industrial uses and Digital Art) and the final chapter provides conclusions and discusses future VR challenges. « less

As virtual reality approaches mainstream consumer use, a vibrant development ecosystem has emerged in the past few years. This hands-on guide takes you through VR development essentials for desktop, mobile, and browser-based applications. You’ll explore the three go-to platforms—OculusVR, Gear VR, andmore » Cardboard VR—as well as several VR development environments, programming tools, and techniques.
If you’re an experienced programmer familiar with mobile development, this book will help you gain a working knowledge of VR development through clear and simple examples. Once you create a complete application in the final chapter, you’ll have a jumpstart on the next major entertainment medium.
* Learn VR basics for UI design, 3D graphics, and stereo rendering
* Explore Unity3D, the current development choice among game engines
* Create native applications for desktop computers with the Oculus Rift
* Develop mobile applications for Samsung’s Gear VR with the Android and Oculus Mobile SDKs
* Build browser-based applications with the WebVR Javascript API and WebGL
* Create simple and affordable mobile apps for any smartphone with Google’s Cardboard VR
* Bring everything together to build a 360-degree panoramic photo viewer « less

Summary
Oculus Rift in Action introduces the powerful Oculus Rift headset and teaches you how to integrate its many features into 3D games and other virtual reality experiences. You'll start by understanding the capabilities of the Rift hardware. Then you'll follow interesting and instantly-relevantmore » examples that walk you through programming real applications using the Oculus SDK. Examples are provided for both using the Oculus C API directly and for using Unity, a popular development and 3D graphics engine, with the Oculus Unity integration package.
About the Book
Virtual reality has long been the domain of researchers and developers with access to specialized hardware and proprietary tools. With the appearance of the Oculus Rift VR headset, the game has changed. Using standard programming tools and the intuitive Oculus SDKs, you can deliver powerful immersive games, simulations, and other virtual experiences that finally nail the feeling of being in the middle of the action.
Oculus Rift in Action teaches you how to create 3D games and other virtual reality experiences for the Oculus Rift. You'll explore the Rift hardware through examples of real applications using the Oculus SDK and both the Oculus C API and the Unity 3D graphics engine. Along the way, you'll get practical guidance on how to use the Rift's sensors to produce fluid VR experiences.
Experience with C++, C#, or another OO language is assumed.
What's Inside
* Creating immersive VR
* Integrating the Rift with the Unity 3D SDK
* Implementing the mathematics of 3D
* Avoiding motion-sickness triggers
About the Authors
Brad Davis is an active VR developer who maintains a great set of example Rift applications on Github. Karen Bryla is a freelance developer and writer. Alex Benton is a lecturer in 3D graphics at the University of Cambridge and a software engineer at Google.
Table of Contents
1. PART 1 GETTING STARTED
2. Meet the Oculus Rift
3. PART 2 USING THE OCULUS C API
4. Creating your first Rift interactions
5. Pulling data out of the Rift: working with the head tracker
6. Sending output to the Rift: working with the display
7. Putting it all together: integrating head tracking and 3D rendering
8. Performance and quality
9. PART 3 USING UNITY
10. Unity: creating applications that run on the Rift
11. Unity: tailoring your application for the Rift
12. PART 4 THE VR USER EXPERIENCE
13. UI design for VR
14. Reducing motion sickness and discomfort
15. PART 5 ADVANCED RIFT INTEGRATIONS
16. Using the Rift with Java and Python
17. Case study: a VR shader editor
18. Augmenting virtual reality « less

This book constitutes the thoroughly revised papers of the First International Conference on Augmented and Virtual Reality, AVR 2014, held in Lecce, Italy, in September 2014. The 28 papers, 2 tutorials and 3 keynotes presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 76 submissions. They include topicsmore » from virtual/augmented/mixed reality to 3D user interfaces and the technology needed to enable these environments to a wide range of applications (medical, entertainment, military, design, manufacture, maintenance, arts and cultural heritage). « less