Foreword
Walking onto the Holodeck
Airplanes to Arcades: The Development of Virtual Reality
Imagine an underground chamber like a cave, with a long entrance open to the daylight and as wide as the cave. In this chamber are men who have been prisoners since they were children, their legs and their necks being so fastened that they can only look straight ahead of them and cannot turn their heads.
Goggles, Gloves, and CAVEs: The Technology of Virtual Reality
If viewers could look inside Star Trek's Holodeck, they would probably find advanced versions of the same kinds of equipment and software that virtual reality systems contain today. The heart of the system would surely be a powerful computer with programs that produce complex, three-dimensional images.
The Virtual Classroom: Virtual Reality in Training and Education
Parents often complain that their children spend too much time playing video games, but some army leaders say they should not be in such a hurry to gripe. Three-dimensional video games are proving to be an ideal tool for training soldiers.
Custom-Made Worlds: Virtual Reality in Science and Business
Meteorologists (scientists who study weather and climate) would like to step into a hurricane to find out how the winds inside it behave—and come back out alive. Chemists and drug designers would like to examine the shape of complex molecules and build new ones, atom by atom.
Arcades to Avatars: Virtual Reality in Art and Entertainment
Aviewer floats through a mysterious, semitransparent landscape, like a diver underwater. Breathing in, the person rises through the bare branches of a huge tree.
Which World Is Real? The Future of Virtual Reality
Someday, every home may have its own Holodeck. If that happens, how will virtual reality change people's lives?