murray@vs2.scri.fsu.edu (John Murray) (08/15/90)
Crossposting to sci.virtual-worlds, since it's probably of interest there. Followups directed back to comp.graphics. In article <104843@convex.convex.com> ddt@convex.COM (David Taylor) writes: >In article <1928@med.Stanford.EDU> rick@hanauma.Stanford.EDU (Richard Ottolini) writes: > >>I would like to see postings about interesting systems and results >>presented at this week's Dallas SIGGRAPH. > >There were literally dozens of spectacular exhibits. However, perhaps the >most interesting, most innovative system was VPI's virtual reality machine. >You may have seen clips about it in the paper or on the news. > [Stuff Removed] mild nitpicking: it's VPL, not VPI. The VPL booth was definitely one of the hits of the exhibition floor. The aisle in front of their booth was usually pretty well blocked by the crowd. My impression of the VPL system: still primitive, but astounding nonetheless. I personally wish they had had a more fully developed environment for the demonstratees to "play" in. I and other willing victims spent quite a bit of time trying to pick up objects that couldn't be picked up, since the world-makers hadn't allowed for it. Also, they need to improve the visual quite a bit. They say that after a certain amount of time in the helmet you don't notice the display resolution anymore, which I fully believe, but it's something they could improve an awful lot. How good/bad is it? Well, take an LCD color display and hold it about 2-3 inches from your eyes... the helmet corrects the focus for you, but the resolution is still pretty bad. If they really spent only 2.5 hours putting one of the playgrounds together, though, they're doing rather well. The best way to describe the "snatching" sound is: a vacuum cleaner. Take the attachment off: The "shshshs" sound is what you hear when you clench your fist. Now pick up one of your kids' rubber balls: The "shshshSHOOP!" sound is what you hear when you pass your closed fist through a "pickable" object. Mind you, I didn't clue into that either, until one of the VPL guys mentioned it over the demo-microphone while I was under the helmet. There was another company, Division, showing a similar interactive environment setup, using Inmos transputers in place of the Mac, 4d's, and Convolution in the VPL system. However, their visual/audio was a VPL Eyephone and their hand sensor was a VPL DataGlove. As far as their "virtual world," they seemed to be even less well developed than VPL. I didn't get an inside- the-helmet view of their system, so I can't really compare them fairly. In their defense, though, they did have "Preliminary" stamped all over their handouts. >Alias, Convex, and many other companies were continuously displaying >animation shorts produced using their software or hardware. > >I was not able to attend any of the courses, panels, or paper presentations. >It really was an impressive exhibit. I'm sure the Virtual Worlds panel and mild fiasco will spark a lot of steamy debate in the appropriate groups. > =-ddt-> >-- > > .,;: (214) 497-4860, ddt@convex.com or ddt@vondrake.cc.utexas.edu :;,. > .,;: Remember, flatulation is only natural :;,. John R. Murray | "They call me Mr. Know-it-all, I am so eloquent. murray@vs2.scri.fsu.edu | Perfection is my middle name! | ...and whatever rhymes with 'eloquent'." - Primus