This comprehensive textbook offers a scientifically sound and at the same time practical introduction to Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR). Readers will gain the theoretical foundation needed to design, implement or enhance VR/AR systems, evaluate and improve user interfaces and applications using VR/AR methods, assess and enrich user experiences, and develop a deeper understanding of how to apply VR/AR techniques. Whether utilizing the book for a principal course of study or reference reading, students of computer science, education, media, natural sciences, engineering and other subject areas can benefit from its in-depth content and vivid explanation. The modular structure allows selective sequencing of topics to the requirements of each teaching unit and provides an easy-to-use format from which to choose specific themes for individual self-study. Instructors are provided with extensive materials for creating courses as well as a foundational text upon which to build their advanced topics. The book enables users from both research and industry to deal with the subject in detail so they can properly assess the extent and benefits of VR/AR deployment and determine required resources. Technology enthusiasts and professionals can learn about the current status quo in the field of VR/AR and interested newcomers can gain insight into this fascinating world. Grounded on a solid scientific foundation, this textbook, addresses topics such as perceptual aspects of VR/AR, input and output devices including tracking, interactions in virtual worlds, real-time aspects of VR/AR systems and the authoring of VR/AR applications in addition to providing a broad collection of case studies.

Storytelling for Virtual Reality serves as a bridge between students of new media and professionals working between the emerging world of VR technology and the art form of classical storytelling. Rather than examining purely the technical, the text focuses on the narrative and how stories can best be structured, created, and then told in virtual immersive spaces. Author John Bucher examines the timeless principles of storytelling and how they are being applied, transformed, and transcended in Virtual Reality. Interviews, conversations, and case studies with both pioneers and innovators in VR storytelling are featured, including industry leaders at LucasFilm, 20th Century Fox, Oculus, Insomniac Games, and Google. For more information about story, Virtual Reality, this book, and its author, please visit StorytellingforVR.com

As virtual reality approaches mainstream consumer use, new research and innovations in the field have impacted how we view and can use this technology across a wide range of industries. Advancements in this technology have led to recent breakthroughs in sound, perception, and visual processing that take virtual reality to new dimensions. As such, research is needed to support the adoption of these new methods and applications. Cases on Immersive Virtual Reality Techniques is an essential reference source that discusses new applications of virtual reality and how they can be integrated with immersive techniques and computer resources. Featuring research on topics such as 3D modeling, cognitive load, and motion cueing, this book is ideally designed for educators, academicians, researchers, and students seeking coverage on the applications of collaborative virtual environments.

Understanding Virtual Reality: Interface, Application, and Design, Second Edition arrives at a time when the technologies behind virtual reality have advanced dramatically. The book helps users take advantage of the ways they can identify and prepare for the applications of VR in their field. By approaching VR as a communications medium, the authors have created a resource that will remain relevant even as underlying technologies evolve. Included are a history of VR, systems currently in use, the application of VR, and the many issues that arise in application design and implementation, including hardware requirements, system integration, interaction techniques and usability. - Features substantive, illuminating coverage designed for technical or business readers and the classroom - Examines VR's constituent technologies, drawn from visualization, representation, graphics, human-computer interaction and other fields - Provides (via a companion website) additional case studies, tutorials, instructional materials, and a link to an open-source VR programming system - Includes updated perception material and new sections on game engines, optical tracking, VR visual interface software, and a new glossary with pictures

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 challenges 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.

Virtual reality is the next frontier of communication. As technology exponentially evolves, so do the ways in which humans interact and depend upon it. It only follows that to educate and stimulate the next generation of industry leaders, one must use the most innovative tools available. By coupling education with the most immersive technology available, teachers may inspire students in exciting new ways. Emerging Tools and Applications of Virtual Reality in Education explores the potential and practical uses of virtual reality in classrooms with a focus on pedagogical and instructional outcomes and strategies. This title features current experiments in the use of augmented reality in teaching and highlights the effects it had on students. The authors also illustrate the use of technology in teaching the humanities, as students well-rounded in the fields of technology and communication are covetable in the workforce. This book will inspire educators, administrators, librarians, students of education, and virtual reality software developers to push the limits of their craft.

This exciting collection tours virtual reality in both its current therapeutic forms and its potential to transform a wide range of medical and mental health-related fields. Extensive findings track the contributions of VR devices, systems, and methods to accurate assessment, evidence-based and client-centered treatment methods, and—as described in a stimulating discussion of virtual patient technologies—innovative clinical training. Immersive digital technologies are shown enhancing opportunities for patients to react to situations, therapists to process patients’ physiological responses, and scientists to have greater control over test conditions and access to results. Expert coverage details leading-edge applications of VR across a broad spectrum of psychological and neurocognitive conditions, including: Treating anxiety disorders and PTSD. Treating developmental and learning disorders, including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Assessment of and rehabilitation from stroke and traumatic brain injuries. Assessment and treatment of substance abuse. Assessment of deviant sexual interests. Treating obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. Augmenting learning skills for blind persons. Readable and relevant, Virtual Reality for Psychological and Neurocognitive Interventions is an essential idea book for neuropsychologists, rehabilitation specialists (including physical, speech, vocational, and occupational therapists), and neurologists. Researchers across the behavioral and social sciences will find it a roadmap toward new and emerging areas of study.

Virtual and augmented reality is the next frontier of technological innovation. As technology exponentially evolves, so do the ways in which humans interact and depend upon it. Virtual and Augmented Reality: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications is a comprehensive reference source for the latest scholarly material on the trends, techniques, and uses of virtual and augmented reality in various fields, and examines the benefits and challenges of these developments. Highlighting a range of pertinent topics, such as human-computer interaction, digital self-identity, and virtual reconstruction, this multi-volume book is ideally designed for researchers, academics, professionals, theorists, students, and practitioners interested in emerging technology applications across the digital plane.

EPUB and EPDF available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Since the mid-2010s, virtual reality (VR) technology has advanced rapidly. This book explores the many opportunities that VR can offer for humanities and social sciences researchers. The book provides a user-friendly, non-technical methods guide to using ready-made VR content and 360° video as well as creating custom materials. It examines the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches to using VR, providing helpful, real-world examples of how researchers have used the technology. The insights drawn from this analysis will inspire scholars to explore the possibilities of using VR in their own research projects.

"Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality in Industry" collects the proceedings of the 2nd Sino-German Workshop on the same topic held in Shanghai on April 16-17, 2009. The papers focus on the latest Virtual Reality (VR) / Augmented Reality (AR) technology and its application in industrial processes and presents readers with innovative methods, typical case studies and the latest information on VR/AR basic research results and industrial applications, such as 3D rendering, innovative human-machine design, VR/AR methodology and new tools for assisting in industry, virtual assembly, virtual factory, training and education, etc. The book is intended for computer scientists, IT engineers as well as researchers in Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Dengzhe Ma and Dr. Xiumin Fan are both professors at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China; Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Gausemeier is a professor of Computer-Integrated Manufacturing at the Heinz Nixdorf Institute, University of Paderborn, Germany; Dipl.-Ing. Michael Grafe is a senior engineer in the Product Engineering Research Group at the Heinz Nixdorf Institute, University of Paderborn.