Virtual Reality for E-C Ralph Westfall March, 2009

What Sells Well on the Web? books CDs software financial services (stock trading) travel reservations computers other?

What About? clothing cars houses (purchase without visit) furniture perishables: fresh fruit, vegetables, fresh meat, etc. other?

Conclusions standardized products sell well on web customers know what they are, what they do price & service become major issues less standardized products that vary in quality don't sell as well people want to see and try them before purchasing

Virtual Reality can see things in three dimensions with VR similarities to virtual reality entertainment don’t need a VR headset, gloves, etc. to use use VR equipment with computer in future? could transform HTML into a 3D system 3D environment for 2-D images, text, scripts, and multimedia, instead of 2-D desktop?

3D Images and Movies need to use special glasses with one red lens and one cyan lens (blue green) 3D gif not impressive without glasses do it yourself 3D: imagesimages 3D movies Google's 3D Warehouse3D Warehouse

Can Virtual Reality Help E-C? makes it possible to view an object from all angles but still can't: touch, feel, try on taste sniff and smell

Potential Web VR Applications on Internet or organizational intranets entertainment shopping real estate sales education/training decision support systems (DSS) analysis and decision making

3D Product Demonstrations Dell SAN storage device Cisco carrier routing system "Smart" furniture catalog may need to install to use items note (View>Source) that many of these demos use Java applets and JavaScript

VRML virtual reality modeling language VRML may be pronounced as "vermal" language for creating 3D images standardized 3D data interchange format for other 3D applications

VRML Capabilities translation: change position scaling: change size rotation: 3 different ways to turn (X, Y, Z) lighting/shading perspective (lines converge in distance) texturizing surfaces camera points of view navigating (older IE versions) navigating

VRML 2.0 Code Example #VRML V2.0 utf8 # cone2.wrl (hotlink to this filename)cone2.wrl Shape { geometry Cone { bottomRadius 1.4 height 2.0} appearance Appearance { material Material { diffuseColor }}}

More VRML code image computer integrated manufacturing models (PDF appears to work in both, but.wrl may crash Firefox) models

Using VRML on the Web not built into (even latest) major browsers have to install VRML plugins for Netscape a lot of Microsoft VRML references are oldMicrosoft "Retired KB Content" VRML not supported in Windows 2000 Cortona 3rd party add-on for IE, Mac Cortona

VRML Limitations very difficult to create content without tools based on geometric figures cone, cube, cylinder, sphere VR window not integrated with browser but may have HTML support inside at 1 st, navigation doesn't seem easy, natural poor performance (older machines, slow connections)

VR Demonstrations Interactive 3D Web Presentations 3D page of the week Introducing 3D Examples Tribute to World Trade Center in 3D Cubic VR Gallery (Apple QuickTime) Cubic VR Gallery Microsoft video (avi) Microsoft video

Creating VR Applications different kinds of authoring tools drawing programs generates VRML “stitching” photographs together gaming systems adapted to commercial use Java 3D can create VR images Macromedia Flash can also create 3D free tutorials (below ads) free tutorials

VR Hardware and Equipment Virtual Realities, Inc. Virtual Guidebooks article Google Directory 5DT (Fifth Dimension Technologies) 5DT "augmented reality" (AR)augmented reality Wikipedia article Howstuffworks article

3D Free Trials trueSpace7.6 (bought by Microsoft) trueSpace7.6 Blender (open source) Blender Real2Virtual 3 D includes a Pocket PC image viewer versionPocket PC image viewer Demicron WireFusion Pharus 3D Builder 3ds max Bitmanagement Software (test versions)

VRML Tutorials Introducing VRML VRML Primer and Tutorial Autodesk 3ds Max Crash Course

VRML Conclusions VRML may not be best VR solution OK in specialized niches organizational applications training/education CAD languages rather than VRML? 3ds max is from Autodesk, Inc.

Gaming Systems for VR Unreal Engine3 demo (version 2)

Unreal + VRML create in a 3D authoring tool e.g. 3ds max export as VRML data import into UnrealEd and finish there UnrealEd comes with Epic gamescomes with Epic games

Exercises find examples of VR or 3D on web including 3D gifs find sources of free VRML objects download install VR viewer on a computer and run the code

VR References these are all quite dated Sweeney, T. “Unreal Technology FAQ” University of Michigan Virtual Reality Laboratory (VRL) University of Michigan Virtual Reality Laboratory (VRL) medical uses