2010
Visualizing a New Reality-Virtual Reality
Siddhartha Goutam
Praxis Business School
11/7/2010
Praxis Business School
A Term Paper
On
Visualizing a New Reality- Virtual Reality
Submitted to
Dr. Prithwis Mukherjee
In partial fulfillment of the requirements of the course
Business Information System
On
07/11/10
By
Siddhartha Goutam(B10030)
2|Page
ABSTRACT
One of the primary desires that drives a man is the need to create and control. It was this desire that lead
to the creation of a computer stimulated reality called Virtual Reality. Today virtual reality is a powerful
tool that touches almost all spheres of life be it social, economic or political. Not only does it touch upon
them but slowly with the development of technology it has started to influence them in its own way. Virtual
reality in the future is going to be so immense and all consuming that life without it will become
impossible.
INTRODUCTION
From time immemorial Man has always dreamt of playing GOD be it its desire to control the mighty
oceans of the planet or its need to purge the various diseases that inflict us, mankind has always wanted
to be in control of its own fate. Virtual Reality (VR) was the answer to this quest of mankind as like GOD
this reality is created and controlled by Man. Virtual Reality from its first conception in mid 1800’s through
360 degree panoramic murals to Second Life of 21st Century has given computer programmers and
innovators a platform in which they can be for all intent and purpose be gods. The origin of the term
Virtual Reality can be traced back to the French playwright Antonin Artaud who first used this term in his
book The Theater and Its Double (1938), there
Artaud describes theater as “la realite virtuelle”
a virtual reality ‘in which characters, objects and
images take on the phantasmagoric force of
alchemy’s visionary internal dramas’1. In the
words of P.A Mayer ‘Virtual Reality is just not a
tool; it is at once technology, medium and
engine of social relation. It not only structures
social relations, it is the space within which
relations occur and the tool that individuals use
to enter that space. It is more than the context
within which social relations occur, for it is
commented on and imaginatively constructed
by symbolic processes initiated and maintained
by individuals and groups’2.
Image-1: Photo Safari into the world of war by Maurice Benayon
Image Courtesy: http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/works/world-skin/images/4/
In simple words Virtual Reality is a computer simulated environment that can simulate places in real as
well as in imaginary worlds. This artificial environment is primarily experienced by the user with the help of
two of the five senses i.e. sight and sound. Under the influence of the stimulation the users starts
accepting that what they are experiencing is the real world.
3|Page
IMPORTANCE OF VIRTUAL REALITY
Today the Web 2.0 revolution is sweeping the globe with social media gaining more and more importance
in the lives of people all over the planet. Facebook, Twitter, Orkut and the lot have all gained large
number of followers but they are all operating under one huge restriction- interaction amongst the users is
limited to the two dimensional this is where Second Life comes in with its virtual reality enabled
environment where users known as residents can not only interact with each other through avatars but
also explore, socialize and participate in group as well as individual activity. Thus it can be said that
virtual reality enabled social media is the next big thing on the horizon. The potential of this concept is so
huge, that even part of Barrack Obama’s presidential campaign was on Second life.
Even if we don’t integrate virtual reality with social networking and view the concept of virtual reality as a
standalone entity then also the facilities and the functions offered by it are staggering. One of the most
revolutionary uses of virtual reality environment has been undertaken by the US military forces where
some of the more hazardous training sessions like parachute training are done with the help of virtual
reality environment. One of the other things which they have done is stimulate different battle terrains and
battle field scenarios to make their armed personnel familiar with different kinds of hostile environment.
Airports all over the world are using flight stimulators to make the pilots accustomed to various dangerous
scenarios like artificial decompressions, hijack situation, storms etc. this has enabled the pilots not only
be familiar to the these type of situation but also know how to react to them to maximize the safety of the
passengers. Thanks to these virtual environment enabled stimulators air travel is the safest way to travel
these days. Even doctors are using the virtual environment to stimulate high risk operations to practice
before doing the actual thing.
One of the biggest money spinners to arise out of the entire concept of virtual reality are the high
definition games like World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, Battle for the Middle Earth etc where players can
create and play as actual characters in the game. The gaming industry is predicted to hit around $ 68
billion dollars by 2012 and this has been possible only due to the large scale integration of the virtual
reality in games by the game developers. Virtual environments through various online portals like Second
life have started their own system of economy where people can do business and earn virtual as well as
real world profit. As per the latest statistics 64,000 people on Second life earned real world profits by
selling virtual goods, renting lands and offering a host of services.
Virtual reality enables the reconstruction of heritage sites with extreme accuracy so that these recreated
images can be used in various media.
Sam Bourne in his book The Last Testament showed how sensitive political negotiations can be done
through the neutral platform offered by a virtual environment. Political leaders or at least the negotiators
of various countries should use this platform to solve various issues that need a truly neutral ground to be
breached.
The impact that virtual reality has on various facets of our society is so huge, that today we stand on the
cusp of a world that in the days to come is all set to embrace virtual reality in all its glory.
4|Page
HOW DOES IT WORK?
For many of us born during the mind 1980’s the first thing that strikes us when we hear the term VR is
Jonny Quest and Quest world. Quest world was the digital world that could be accessed through a
computer program and a special headset. It was a move on the part of Hanna-Barbera productions to
introduce the concept of VR to children. So how does VR really work? Quest world captured its essence
beautifully but there is much more to it. Today there is a lot of argument on what exactly constitutes a VR
experience with many people coming up with their own points but the in general it includes

Three dimensional images that appear life size from the perspective of the viewer
The ability to track a user’s movement especially his/her eyes and head movement and adjust the
image on the display to reflect the change in perspective
Now the question arises how does virtual reality work for this we
have to trace its origin to the person who opened the Pandora’s
Box- Ivan Sutherland. In the year 1968 Sutherland and his student
Bob Sprull created the first ever virtual reality head mounted
display (HMD) system. This piece of machinery was known as the
Sword of Damocles given its formidable appearance . Following
closely on the heels of the first ever HMD came the the world’s
first ever data glove which was invented by Dan Sandin, Richard
Sayfre and Thomas Defanti which allowed interaction through
body movement in the year 1977. Finally in the year 1983 Myron
Krueger came up with the first ever virtual environment called the
video space.
Image-2: The Sword of Damocles
Image Courtesy: http://www.insightsinretail.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/ivan-sutherlands-sword-of-damocles-virtual-realityhead-mounted-viewer.jpg
The 1990’s experienced a huge boom in VR technology development and those are the research that has
given us the three primary models of virtual reality systems used today


Desktop Virtual Reality: This is the simplest of the lot. It works on the principle of a viewer
viewing a virtual world through one or more computer screens. The user can interact with the
environment but is not completely immersed in it.
Video Mapping Virtual Reality: In this method cameras are used to project an image of the user
into the computer program creating a 2D computer character. The user is fully immersed in the
environment but finds it difficult to interact with its surroundings
Immersive Virtual Reality: This model uses a HMD to project a video directly in front of the
user’s eyes and play audio directly into the user’s ear. The HMD can track the user’s movement
and compensate accordingly. It also uses a Data Glove or to track the user’s movement and
duplicate them in the virtual world. In this type of virtual reality the user experiences complete
immersion- the feeling that the user is inside and a part of the world. He/She is also able to
interact with the environment in meaningful ways. This sense of immersion and interactivity is
called telepresence. If the user is unable to distinguish between the real and virtual environment
then the immersion has succeeded.
The basic requirements of a virtual reality system:
5|Page

One or more powerful computers: Computers are the means through which a virtual
environment can be stimulated. Today’s computers are so powerful that a PC can run the
software required to create a virtual environment. The graphics card created keeping in mind the
video game industry are today one of the primary tools from creating advanced and sophisticated
virtual environment.

Input or Sensory devices: Input devices play a vital role in the virtual environment they are the
device with which the user interacts with its surroundings. Today sensory devices include data
glove, body suit, joysticks and voice recognition. Research is still going on to enable the input
devices to be as natural as possible to increase the experience of telepresence.
Image-3 Data Glove
Image-4: Body Suit
Image-3 Courtesy: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/virtual-reality-pictures6.htm
Image-4 Courtesy: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/virtual-reality-pictures7.htm
6|Page

Output or Display devices: The most common of all display devices in the virtual environment is
the HMD. HMD’s are headsets which consist of two monitors one for each eye. The two monitors
give a stereoscopic effect which gives the feeling of depth. There are some virtual environment
system which projects images on the wall, floors and ceiling of the room and are known as Cave
Automatic Virtual Environments (CAVE). Users can move around a CAVE display wearing special
goggles which complete the illusion of moving through a virtual environment. CAVE also gives a
wider view which helps in the feeling of immersion. Also many people can have the experience
together.
Image-4: HMD
Image-5: CAVE
Image-5 Courtesy: http://www.inition.co.uk/inition/images/product_hmd_cybermind_visette45sxga.jpg
Image-6 Courtesy: http://cb.nowan.net/images/vr/cave.jpg

Tracking System: Tracking systems are closely related to the display techniques if display
techniques are the eyes then the tracking system is the mind in a virtual environment. Tracking
systems track the movement of the body and send the right image to the display units so that the
experience of telepresence is maximized. The development of tracking system lags behind other
virtual reality enabled technology as the tracking system is only virtual reality focused.

Virtual Reality Software: The HMD, the tracking systems and the computers all need to interact
with each other to give the user the complete virtual environment. Also the computer needs an
interface to create a virtual world which can interact with the user. This need can be fulfilled by
various virtual reality enabling software. This software is the connecting link between the
hardware and also allows the user to interface with the virtual reality system. Some of the popular
virtual reality software available today are: panaroma2 flash, tourweaver, panoweaver, world of
warcraft etc.
7|Page
Image-6: A complete VR system with limited movement facility
Image Courtesy: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/other-gadgets/virtual-reality7.htm
Since the days of Sutherland till today all the development that have occurred have been limited to the
realm of sight and sound as under the present technology they are only two senses which can be best
used to stimulate reality. In the nearby future development will reach such a level that visual realism in
HMDs will be achieved and in the realm of audio three dimensional sounds will be the next big thing as
this will add to the virtual reality experience. Currently research is going on to stimulate smell and use it in
the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by exposing combat veterans to stimulated combat
environment complete with smell. With virtual reality technology reaching smell the other two senses that
are left over are taste and touch. In order to stimulate them also the brain must be manipulated directly, if
and when it is achieved it will the entire concept of virtual reality will give way to simulated reality in many
a way similar to the brain interface port shown in The Matrix. But even before stimulated reality can be
achieved there is a lot of work to be done in the arena of virtual reality like development of better tracking
systems, more powerful processing systems to minimize the total lag time etc. Thus in the present day
scenario virtual reality is not only a socio-economic tool of immense importance but it is a technology that
will be instrumental in changing the future.
8|Page
ECONOMIC POTENTIAL OF VIRTUAL REALITY
Virtual reality has been for a long time a darling of the entertainment, aviation and military industries but
with the advent of the 21st century many other industries are slowly waking up to realize the potential that
virtual space holds for them. Some of the potential economic uses of virtual reality can be listed as
follows:

A Houston energy company is going to use seismic data to sink virtual probes through a virtual
crust looking for salt domes which will be an indication of where oil can be found. This will save
the company millions of dollars in drilling costs.

Architects are using virtual reality to create virtual models of their designs which clients can view,
inspect and even suggest alterations to the design. A virtual model gives a higher clarity than a
miniature model. This leads to huge cost savings for the client as they know exactly how their
house will look like once completed and any changes that are required will have taken place even
before the foundation has been laid. Thus cost to correct any flaw in the design will be
minimized.

Automobile manufacturers are using virtual prototypes in place of physical prototype to perfect
the design and rectify any flaws before producing a single physical part. The development
process is becoming more & more efficient and reduce development costs as prototypes no
longer need to be scrapped once a flaw is detected.

In recent years virtual reality has taken the medical world by a storm as these days medical staff
is being trained in everything from diagnostics to surgery through virtual worlds. Surgeons are
using virtual reality to train for high risk surgical procedures and gain confidence before operating
on a real patient where the slightest mistake can cause death. This not only helps the patients but
also provides the doctor a shield against lawsuits as with practice the margin of error decreases.

Virtual environment is also used for psychological therapy. It is used basically as a means of
exposure therapy to treat phobias. Patients are exposed to the condition that causes them
distress in a controlled environment. It has two main advantages: (i) it is more convenient and (ii)
the patients are more willing to try it as they know it isn’t the real world. This has opened up a
new field of treatment in Psychiatry.

The US military has been using simulators to provide training to its staff since World War II.
These stimulators and the virtual environment under which they work have been providing the US
military with tangible results they are expanding the use of virtual reality training and investing
more in the virtual reality research so that even more sophisticated systems can be developed
which will stimulate war scenarios in even greater detail.

Virtual reality’s greatest money making ability are the development of Massively Multiplayer
Online Games (MMOGs). In these users are able to create and interact with other avatars. This
phenomenon is known as shared virtual environment (SVE). With computer hardware getting
cheaper and gaming industry all set to hit a phenomenal $68 billion by 2012. Virtual reality’s
economic potential is no longer in doubt.
9|Page

Liden labs developed a social environment known as the Second Life and companies like IBM
saw the immense potential that a social networking site with virtual reality as its basic platform
can deliver and started using it for business purposes. The primary forms of revenue generated
by Liden is virtual advertisements and conversion of real world money into Liden dollars which
then can be used to buy land, building and start your own business in the virtual world of Second
Life.

Forterra Systems Inc. is developing SVE’s tailored to specific requirements of various
organizations, Forterra’s product Online Interactive Virtual Environment (OLIVETM) provides
private virtual worlds for employees to train in and make mistakes so that they can avoid them in
the real world.

Virtual reality also creates an effective mediated communication platform with a high degree of
social presence which increases the efficiency of virtual teams. The higher media richness
creates a viable communication tool to efficiently collaborate and accomplish tasks without faceto-face contact.
With the fall in hardware costs, decrease in the size of virtual reality tools and the movement of the world
towards the next phase of social networking companies have realized that if they have to retain the
competitive advantage in the future they have to start their adventure in the world of Virtual Reality as
soon as possible.
THE USUAL SUSPECTS

Liden Labs: In June 23 2003 Liden Labs revolutionized the concept of social media by
integrating social networking with virtual reality and giving the world Second Life. Second life is a
virtual world which can be accessed by the viewers through internet. A free client software called
the Viewers enables the resident to interact with each other through their virtual presence known
as Avatars. As on January 2010 Second life had around 22 million registered users.

Club Penguin: Club Penguin is a massively multiplayer online role playing game(MMORPG)
which involves a virtual world. It was developed by Club Penguin Entertainment and was
subsequently purchased by Walt Disney. At the time of its purchase by Walt Disney it had around
12 million registered users out of which 700000 were paid subscribers.

World of Warcraft: World of Warcraft created by Blizzard entertainment is the most subscribed
MMORPG around with more than 12 million subscribers as on October 2010. It also holds the
distinction of being in the Guinness Book of World Records for the being the most popular
MMORPG around. With the third expansion of the game all set for a December 2010 release
World of Warcraft has sent a signal to all its competitors that it was here first and it is here to
stay.

Flight Safety International: Flight Safety International is one of the biggest providers of flight
stimulation equipments in the world today. For nearly six decades it has been the market leader
in the world of aviation training.
10 | P a g e

IBM: IBM has been one of the major players in the development of virtual reality equipments and
software. With the launch of IBM Sametime 3D- a web messenger with virtual reality platform
IBM announced that it was all set to take on this new white whale called Virtual Reality as well.

Lockheed and Martin: One of the largest weapon manufacturer’s in the world and now one of
the biggest user of virtual reality to not only augment its product but also use it to create variety
of stimulators which is used by military forces who can afford the services of Lockheed & Martin.
The Human Immersive Lab used by Lockheed & martin is one of the most advanced in the world
and is used from variety of purposes ranging from product design to development as well as fine
tuning the product by improvising on the design befor it goes in for actual production.
CHALLENGES AND CONCERNS
Virtual Reality is not without its own challenges and concerns. It is true that there has been giant leap
forward in terms of technological advancement in both hardware and software but sadly they have been
limited to specific fields of virtual reality. Today the biggest challenges that are faced in the field of virtual
reality are:

Development of Tracking Systems: Tracking systems as a tool are unique to the field of virtual
reality. That is the primary reason why it always lags behind other hardware developments. There
are few companies that have been developing these systems since the earliest days of virtual
reality but they are both small in size and number. Thus the uniqueness of the product and the
strength of the companies who develop it are the biggest hindrance to the faster development of
Tracking systems which in turn is a major concern in the world of virtual reality as tracking system
is like the brain of the system without this the entire concept of virtual being real goes to pieces.

Natural Ways of Interaction: Like the development of tracking systems there aren’t many
companies which are working on developing input devices uniquely for virtual reality. The virtual
reality developers have to rely on products and technology discipline. Thus the natural feel that
the user should have got by now while interacting with its surrounding is still not there.

Time taken to create Virtual Worlds: Virtual worlds take a long time to create. The more
realistic the world is the more time it will take for its development. It will take a team of
programmers more than twelve months to recreate a room in all its details in the virtual world

Cyber sickness: It is a huge challenge on the part of a virtual environment developer to create a
system that avoids bad ergonomics. Many systems are limited in the virtual environment due to
the hardware involved. Without proper hardware in place an user could have trouble with his
sense of balance with decrease in the sense of telepresence or he could be affiliated with cyber
sickness which results in disorientation and nausea.
11 | P a g e

Psychological Effects: There’s a fear amongst Psychiatrists that children who are perpetuator of
violence in a virtual environment will turn out to be sociopaths in the future. Another concern
which has been raised is that virtual environment will lead to cyber addiction. Yet another point of
concern is virtual crime. At what point do authorities charge a person engaging in virtual crimes in
the real world?
Virtual reality today is in a Catch 22 phase when it comes to over-coming the challenges faced by the
developers. Take for instance the challenge of lowering the time taken to create a virtual world with the
help of the powerful computers being developed today but with these computers developer tend to create
richer and more realistic worlds which in turn leads to their development taking more time. Also when it
comes to development of better tracking and input systems companies are wary that by going for their
large scale development and production now when virtual reality as a business concept hasn’t taken hold
in that big a way will have them making a loss. But what they don’t realize that if these systems aren’t
developed fast then virtual reality will never reach the stage where they will be able to make a profit out of
it.
SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF VIRTUAL REALITY
Virtual Reality gives us a new reality to inhabit, it gives us the power to do in there things which we
wouldn’t even have dreamt of in our real life. It is a technological marvel that with the passing of days
slowly but steadily becoming a reality for people all around the globe. From the time when Sutherland
came out with his Sword of Damocles there has been a huge debate on the effect that virtual reality will
have on human kind. Whether it will be have a wide spread positive impact or a negative impact is still
open to debate and the answer is hidden away in the elusive fist of time. But one thing is certain Virtual
Reality has arrived and it is here to stay and with the future becoming the present it will have an
increasingly important role in our private as well as public life. Some of the biggest advantages of using
virtual reality are:

It more personal than instant messaging and email gives a feeling of belonging.

It can be considered as a great social leveler as it finds a common ground across age, gender,
cultural and linguistic orientation.

It will enable people with common interests to come together irrespective of geographical
barriers.

It will enable communication to be more effective and productive.

It will open up new markets as geography won’t be a barrier any longer.
With every positive these is a negative it is the case with virtual reality also, it offers a great deal in terms
of social networking, economy, political mileage, health care but it is not without its own brand of evil
which arises due to the nature of the technology offered. Some of the major cons to over all acceptance
of this technology are:
12 | P a g e

There’s a fear that people will slowly be cut off from reality as they start living more and more in
a virtual world.

There is a chance by undertaking various violent deeds in the virtual world there’s the chance
that people will develop aggressive impulses which will affect their real lives.

A distinction will be drawn between countries with the technology to implement virtual reality
and countries which do not.

Virtual reality might end up remaking the world into one which is run by technocrats and
sociopaths and driven by commercialism.

Community will at one point of time or another will be substituted for interaction which in turn will
lead to low self esteem, feelings of worthlessness and self destructive acts

With the physical exercise reduced to a bare minimum as people start spending more and more
time in the virtual world their real life health will be affected.
Keeping in mind the pros and cons arising out of the wide spread use of virtual reality, it has been aptly
described by Kelly Kershner as “It could be a life saving godsend, a ground breaking educational tool a
means of becoming our best selves. Or it could be a mindless energy sapping diversion an off ramp to
electronical isolation, a playground of immorality. Chances are it will be all of these things.”3
THE WAY FORWARD
All technologies go through the various stages of development and if we look at virtual technology then it
is just about to hit its growth phase. The world today stands on the brink of a tidal wave which will not only
wash away many of our conventionally held norms but will usher in an era that will make all the
technological innovations that have occurred in the so called age of information technology as those
made in the stone ages. All this depends on how fast and how effectively virtual reality is integrated into
our lives. One of the most exciting phenomenon that is hiding within the concept of Virtual Reality is the
development of Stimulated Reality.
What is Stimulated Reality? Stimulated reality is the evolution of Virtual reality into an environment where
the user has no idea of what is real and what is virtual. In this type of environment all the senses: Sight,
Sound, Taste, Smell and Touch are simulated by directly manipulating the brain of the user. This
technology is still in its nascent stages with only a theoretically development of the premise but there is no
doubt in the minds of those who follow the development of virtual reality through ages that simulated
reality is the only way to go. But before stimulated reality becomes a reality virtual reality still has got a
long way to go. But we can be sure that in the coming days that like the fabled power rings of the Green
Lantern Corps of the comic book lore, virtual reality will be limited only by the imagination of the user.
13 | P a g e
REFERENCES
I. Quotes from books and journals:
1. The Theatre and its Double by Antonin Artoud
2. Computer media and communication: A Reader by P.A Meyer
3. Virtual Reality: Danger Ahead by K. Kreshner
II. Web sites referred:
1. www.wikipedia.org
2. http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/other-gadgets/virtual-reality.htm
3. http://www.bilawchuk.com/mark/index.html
4. http://www.lockheedmartin.com/aeronautics/labs/human_immersive.html
5. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16599296/
6. http://www.marietruman.com/portfolio/7-business-adoption-of-virtual-realitytechnologies.html?showall=1
7. www.kzero.co.uk
8. http://www.easypano.com/virtual-reality-software.html
9. http://secondlife.com/
10. http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/index.xml
11. http://static.briansolis.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/virtualworld.jpg
14 | P a g e