246 Part II • Information Technology
of the human user or users. The ultimate example of VR is
the holodeck aboard the U.S.S. EnterpriseonStar Trek:
The Next Generation, where Data can be Sherlock Holmes
in a realistic setting with realistic characters and where
Jean-Luc Picard can play the role of a hard-boiled private
eye in the early twentieth century.
VR exists today, but with nowhere near the reality of
theEnterprise’s holodeck. You might have played a video
game where you don a head-mounted computer display
and a glove to get directly into the action. The use of VR in
a nonentertainment setting falls primarily into three
categories—training, design, and marketing. Training
examples will be presented first, followed by examples of
the use of VR in design and in marketing.
The U.S. Army uses VR to train tank crews.
Through multiple large video screens and sound, the
soldiers are seemingly placed inside a tank rolling across
the Iraqi desert, and they have to react as if they were in a
real tank battle. In the field of medicine, medical students
are learning through collaboration and trial-and-error on
virtual cadavers, which is much less expensive than using
actual bodies. As an example, researchers have created
3-D animations of hematomas—bleeding between the
skull and brain—of virtual patients who have suffered
head damage in an automobile accident. Using a virtual-
-reality head-mounted display and virtual-reality gloves,
students work together to diagnose and treat the patient
(Hulme, 2002).
Amoco (now part of British Petroleum) has devel-
oped a PC-based VR system, called “truck driVR,” for use
in training its drivers. Amoco believed that the VR system
was a cost-effective way of testing how well its 12,000
drivers performed under a variety of hazardous driving
conditions. This immersive VR system, which cost
approximately $50,000 to develop, employs a helmet that
holds the visual and auditory displays and completely
immerses the user in the virtual world. To make truck
driVR realistic, multiple views are provided to the user,
including views of both left and right rearview mirrors that
are displayed only when the user moves his or her head to
the left or right (I/S Analyzer, 1997). Several manufac-
turers use VR in training for specialized jobs. As an exam-
ple, you can view a short video at http://www.osc.edu/research/
video_library/ford.shtmlshowing Ford’s use of VR in
training a forge hammer operator (Ohio Supercomputer
Center, 2010).
Duracell also employs VR for training. Duracell was
installing new equipment to manufacture a new line of
rechargeable batteries, and the company needed to train its
factory personnel on the new equipment in a safe and cost-
effective manner. The Duracell system, which is nonim-
mersive (no helmet or special glasses), runs on a PC and
incorporates a parts familiarization module, an operations
module, and a troubleshooting module. With this system,
the user is able to completely explore the new piece of
equipment within the desktop virtual world. “With the use
of that special mouse [a Magellan space mouse], the user
can walk around it [the equipment], they can get under-
neath it, they can get on top of it,” says Neil Silverstein, a
training manager at Duracell. “They can fly into the small-
est crevices of the machine, something that you can never
do in the real world because you might lose a finger.”
Duracell is quite pleased with the results. The training is
standardized and completely safe, and there is no need for
on-the-job training (I/S Analyzer, 1997).
On the design side, several automobile manufactur-
ers use VR to assist in the design of new automobiles. As
an example, General Motors created the Envisioning
Center, a three-screened, theater-like room where design-
ers can view 3-D images of car designs. The image can be
rotated to be viewed from any angle, and it is displayed at
such an exact scale that the designers can walk up to the
screen and use rulers to measure the width and height of
any detail. A designer can manipulate the image until it
almost seems that he or she can reach into the interior and
manipulate the steering wheel. “Designers can study how
much headroom a driver has, how ergonomic the
dashboard controls are, and make absolutely sure that
every aspect of the vehicle is perfect,” says Robert
DeBrabant, who runs the Envisioning Center. The center
also has a collaboration capability that permits members of
the design team to participate in VR sessions from remote
sites—even on other continents—and these remote team
members can manipulate the 3-D models as easily as their
on-site counterparts (Konicki, 2002).
Arizona State University has created the Decision
Theater, an immersive 3-D visualization environment that
has many similarities to GM’s Envisioning Center. The
Decision Theater, however, boasts seven screens and has
the goal of “connecting the science of the university with the
needs of the Arizona community,” and thus it often serves as
an aid to policy making (Arizona State University, 2010).
For example, a detailed 3-D model of downtown Tempe,
including Arizona State University, has been built to assist
the city in making zoning decisions (particularly for height
limitations) and to illustrate to all involved (e.g., developers,
city officials, and the general public) the impact that a
proposed multistory office building, condominium project,
or university building would have on the nature of an area
and on sightlines. One of the authors of this book viewed a
demonstration of this model in the Decision Theater—using
3-D glasses, of course—and was amazed at the impact of
changing the angle at which the model was viewed and the
ease of moving around within the model.