Emerging Technologies

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Uses of Virtual Reality.
B e low are the tw o main uses of Virt ual R e ality.
◘ Ergonomics (Work Efficiency).
When designing a l a rge mechanical dev ice such as a car, v isibility
and ergonomics are v ery important . Many companies spend a
l arge amount of money making their products interface better w ith
the operators. The cost of buil ding prototypes is v ery expensiv e,
upw ards of a few mil l ion dol l ars for one machine. By using v irtual
real ity, the company coul d check out the v iability and ergonomics
of their machine quickl y and make changes to it w ithout ev er
spending money on buil ding hardw are.
EDS J ack i s a n ex a mp l e o f a co mmerci a lly a va i l ab le vi rt u al reality
so ft wa re p a ckage. It i s ma i n ly u sed fo r vi sib ilit y a n d ergo nomics study.
◘ Simulators.
Another area that V irtual Real ity is heav ily used in is driv ing or fl ying
simul ations. These prov ide the users a chance to gain expertise
operating a v ehicle w ithout the real -world consequences of
making a mistake. Fl ight simul ators are the most common t ype of
machine simul ation. Some other examples w ould be the US Army’s
use of simul ators to train tank sol ders w ith v irtual tank w ars. NASA
al so trains its astronauts on how to l and the space shuttle w ith a
v irtual real ity simul ator.
MP I Vega P rime i s a n examp le o f a so ft wa re p a ckage t h at su ppo rts any
t yp e o f d ri vi ng si mu l at ion. Th e u ser b u i l ds t h e vi rt u al en vi ronment
wi t h i n t he so ft ware p ackage. It b iggest a dva ntage i s i ts realisti c physics
en gi n e wh i ch su p ports co l l isi on d et ecti on.