Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 22, 1991 TAG: 9102220049
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SEATTLE LENGTH: Medium
Experts from companies ranging from video-game manufacturers to telephone companies were to convene today for a two-day symposium on the commercial potential of the new "virtual reality" technology.
Virtual reality is a catch-phrase for new ways to let humans think and act with computers.
By making fuller use of vision, hearing and touch, and exploiting computer graphics and sound, designers are able to create artificial electronic worlds that computer users can "virtually" enter.
"This is trite, but it's stepping into a new dimension," said Jim Elias, executive director of US West Communications.
The Human Interface Technology Laboratory at the University of Washington is host of the symposium, the first to explore the commercial applications of the new technology, laboratory director Tom Furness said.
Furness is still groping for a definition of virtual reality.
"It's something you see, you hear or touch that really isn't there, but it appears to be there," he said.
An example, created by Furness' lab and Boeing Co. for the conference, is the "VS-X" program that shows how virtual reality can be used for aircraft design and testing.
Instead of watching a video screen, a user dons goggles that provide a three-dimensional video display. The user then pulls on a special glove that registers hand movements, eliminating the need for a computer keyboard. Electronic sensors detect where the user is standing, facing and pointing.
The view inside the goggles is of a three-dimensional aircraft. By turning his or her head, the user can look at the plane from different angles. By gesturing with the glove, the user can open a hatch and go inside the plane, reconfigure the cabin by moving windows or seats, and move into the cockpit. There the user can check the control panel, start the engines, take off and fly.
Another program, "Virtual Seattle," allows users to experience the sensation of flying over the city.
Flight training is simple: Point your finger where you want to go, two fingers to reverse, an open hand to stop. Make a hitchhiker's thumb and you get to ride on a ferry.
After spotting a killer whale and her calf, users can experience splashing in the Puget Sound with the whales.
Furness set up his lab in 1989 at the university through the Washington Technology Center, a state agency that funds research.
Among the lab's early projects is 3-D sound: manipulating sound by computer so it appears to come from a certain location. A possible application is sorting out voices during telephone conference calls.
The lab also is exploring ideas for air traffic controllers. Instead of staring at blips on a screen, a controller wearing special goggles and control gloves would be part of an artificial sky and would "see" the aircraft flying about. To talk to a plane, the controller would simply "touch" it; another gesture would indicate where it should fly.
by CNB