Virtual Reality

Higher education teachers: Mihelj Matjaž
Collaborators: Beguš Samo, Podobnik Janez

Subject description

Prerequisits:

Enrollment in the third year

Content (Syllabus outline):

Introduction (virtual environment, presence, sensory feedback, interactivity, multimodal virtual environments), human factors (visual, acoustic, haptic and vestibular perceptions, motor system), creation of virtual environment, visual modality (graphical modeling, animation, visual rendering , 3D displays), auditory modality (acoustics, surround sound, audio rendering), haptic modality (kinesthetic and tactile haptic interfaces, haptic rendering), dynamics of virtual environment (motion, deformation, collision detection, virtual environment modeling), motion tracking (user’s pose and motion tracking, measurement of interaction forces, environment sensing), interaction (manipulation of objects, virtual navigation, interaction with other users), cooperation and interaction in multi-user virtual environments, presence (mental and physical immersion and presence, creating conditions for presence, measuring presence), augmented reality, virtual reality systems ("cave" environment, platforms, man/machine interfaces), virtual prototypes, use of virtual reality in industrial and medical applications and design.

Objectives and competences:

The course addresses the interaction between a human and a computer-generated virtual environment. It analyzes physical background, technological challenges as well as opportunities and constraints related to the construction of multimodal virtual environments. The emphasis is on concepts necessary for understanding virtual environments and user’s responses to synthetic visual, auditory and haptic stimuli. Students acquire practical knowledge in the laboratory while completing interdisciplinary research projects.

Intended learning outcomes:

Understanding of human visual, acoustic, tactile and kinesthetic perceptions; measurement and analysis of human movement; knowledge necessary for synthesis of visual, auditory and haptic artificial stimuli, as well as integration of these stimuli into a multimodal virtual environment that allows the user to feel physically and mentally present within the environment.

Learning and teaching methods:

Students have access to a book with the course content. In the lectures, the emphasis is on theoretical basics of multimodal virtual environments. Due to the specificity of the course, lectures are mostly conducted with the help of multimedia presentations. Latest developments in the field of virtual environments are presented in the form of “video lectures". Practical exercises are conducted in the laboratory, which is equipped with a number of different haptic robots, surround sound systems and 3D stereoscopic graphical displays. Students work in interdisciplinary project teams, where each student engages in a particular modality of virtual environment.

Study materials