Link http://www.scribd.

com/doc/53096841/1/CONCEPT-OF-VIRTUALREALITY ABSTRACT Virtual Reality (VR) has been claimed to provide a particul a r l y facilitatory environment for people with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in that it offers structure, opportunities for repetition, affective engagement and, control of the learning environment. Virtual reality shares the advantages of computer-based learning, and has the additional advantage of making it more likely that the results will generalise to real-word settings, in that it is a simulation of them. For concept d e v e l o p me n t a n d i ma g i n a t i o n t r a i n i n g , VR o f f e r s i t s e x c l u s i v e a d v a n t a g e o f making it possible to explicitly show imaginary/magic transformations of how an o b j e c t c a n a c t a s i f i t we r e a d i f f e r e n t o n e , w h i c h i s u s e f u l f o r t r a i n i n g i n b o t h abstract concepts and imagination understanding. This paper reviews the relevant issues that need to be addressed when designing and experimentally assessing a tool for this purpose, and concludes with the results of the more relevant research outcomes obtained in this field.

1.INTRODUCTION What is Virtual Reality? V i r t u a l r e a l i t y ( V R ) i s a computer simulated e n v i r o n me n t , wh e t h e r t h a t environment is a simulation of the real world or an imaginary world. Most current virtual reality environments are primarily visual experiences, displayed either on a screener through special or stereoscopic displays, but some simulations include additional sensory information, such as sound through speakers or headphones.

Some advanced, hectic systems now include tactile information, generally known as force feedback , in medical and gaming applications. Users can interact wi t h a v ir t u a l e n v i r o n me n t o r a virtual artifact( V A) e i t h e r through the use of s t a n d a r d i n p u t d e v i c e s s u c h a s a keyboard and mouse, or through multimodal d e v i c e s s u c h a s a wired glove, t h e P o l h e m u s b o o m a r m , and omni directional treadmill. The simulated environment can be similar to the real world, for example, simulations for pilot or combat training, or it can differ significantly from reality, as in VR games. In practice, it is currently very difficultt o c r e a t e a highfidelityv i r t u a l r e a l i t y e x p e r i e n c e , d u e l a r g e l y t o t e c h n i c a l However, those limitations are expected to eventually be overcome as

processor, imaging and data communication technologies become more powerful and cost-effective over time. V i r t u a l R e a l i t y i s o f t e n u s e d t o d e s c r i b e a wi d e v a r i e t y o f a p p l i c a t i o n s , commonly associated with its immersive, highly visual, 3D environments. The development of CAD software, graphics hardware acceleration, head mounted displays, database gloves and miniaturization have helped popularize the notion. In t h e b o o k The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality, M i c h a e l R . Heim identifies seven different concepts of Virtual Reality: simulation, interactio n , a r t i f i c i a l i t y , immersion, telepresence, full-body immersion, and network communication. The definition still has a certain futuristic romanticism attached. People often identify VR with Head Mounted Displays and Data Suits. Virtual Reality (VR) is stimulating the users senses in such a way that acomputer generated world is experienced as real. In order to get a true illusion of reality, it is essential for the user to have influence on this virtual environment.

Interaction with a virtual environment

All that has to be done in order to raise the illusion of being in or acting upon a virtual world or virtual environment, is providing a simulation of the interaction between human being and this real environment. This simulation is -at leastpartly attained by means of Virtual Reality interfaces connected to a computer. Basically, a VR interface stimulates one of the human senses. This has not necessarily got to b e a s c o mp l e x a s i t s o u n d s , e .g . a P C - mo n i t o r s t i mu l a t e s the v i su a l sense; ah e a d p h o n e s t i m u l a t e s t h e a u d i t o r y s e n s e . C o n s e q u e n t l y , t h e s e t w o k i n d s o f interfaces are widely employed as Virtual Reality interfaces.