This technical seminar report summarizes Sumit Kumar Sharma's seminar on virtual reality. The report includes an abstract, table of contents, and 5 chapters covering the history, types, technologies, architecture, and applications of virtual reality. It was submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Bachelor of Technology degree from Maharishi Markandeshwar University.

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TECHNICAL SEMINAR REPORT
ON
“VIRTUAL REALITY”
A technical seminar report submitted in partial fulfillment of
The requirement of Bachelor of Technology.
By:-
Name: SUMIT KUMAR SHARMA
Roll No: 11142507
Branch: CSE
Year: 2014-2018
MAHARISHI MARKANDESHWAR UNIVERSITY
MULLANA, AMBALA, 133207
DEPT.OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
MM UNIVERSITY, MULLANA, AMBALA

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ACKNOWLEDGENENT
I take this opportunity to express my hearty thanks to all those who individually as well as collectively
helped me in the successfulcompletion of this seminar.
I would like to express my immense gratitude and sincere thanks to prof. Neeraj Mangla, whose co-
operative guidance has helped me in successfulcompletion of this seminar.
Name: Sumit Kumar Sharma
Branch: CSE
Roll no: 11142507

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ABSTRACT
VIRTUAL REALITY
Virtual reality or virtual realities (VR), which can be referred to as immersive multimedia or computer-
simulated reality, replicates an environment that simulates a physical presence in places in the real world
or an imagined world, allowing the user to interact with that world. Virtual realities artificially create
sensory experience, which can include sight, touch, hearing, and smell.
Most up-to-date virtual realities are displayed either on a computer screen or with an HD VR special
stereoscopic displays, and some simulations include additional sensory information and focus on realsound
through speakers or headphones targeted towards VR users. Some advanced haptic systems now include
tactile information, generally known as force feedback in medical, gaming and military applications.
Furthermore, virtual reality covers remote communication environments which provide virtual presence of
users with the concepts of telepresence and telexistence or a virtual artifact (VA) either through the use of
standard input devices such as a keyboard and mouse, or through multimodal devices such as a wired glove
or omnidirectional treadmills. The immersive environment canbe similar to the realworld in order to create
a lifelike experience—forexample, in simulations for pilot or combat training—or it candiffer significantly
from reality, such as in VR games.
Virtual reality is an artificial environment that is created with software and presented to the user in such a
way that the user suspends belief and accepts it as a real environment. On a computer, virtual reality is
primarily experienced through two of the five senses:sight and sound.
The simplest form of virtual reality is a 3-D image that can be explored interactively at a personal computer,
usually by manipulating keys or the mouse so that the content of the image moves in some direction or
zooms in or out. More sophisticated efforts involve such approaches as wrap-around display screens,actual
rooms augmented with wearable computers, and haptic devices that let you feel the display images.

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CERTIFICATE:
It is certified that the work contained in this report titled “VIRTUAL REALITY” is the original
work done by Sumit Kumar Sharma and has been carried out under my supervision.
Prof. Neeraj Mangla
Seminar Supervisor
Department of CSE
MM University, Mullana
Ambala

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CONTENTS
pages
Acknowledgments 2
Abstract 3
Certificate 4
Table of Contents 5
Chapter 1: Introduction 6
Chapter 2: The History of VR 7-8
Chapter 3: Types of VR 9-10
Chapter 4: Technologies of VR 11-13
Chapter 5: Architecture of VR System 14-15
Chapter 6: Application of VR 16-17
Chapter 7: Current Problem & Future Work 18-19
Chapter 8: Summary 20-21
References 22

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION:
The definition of virtual reality comes, naturally, from the definitions for both ‘virtual’ and
‘reality’. The definition of ‘virtual’ is near and reality is what we experience as human
beings. So the term ‘virtual reality’ basically means ‘near-reality’. This could, of course,
mean anything but it usually refers to a specific type of reality emulation.
We know the world through our senses and perception systems. In school we all learned
that we have five senses: taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing. These are however only our
most obvious sense organs. The truth is that humans have many more senses than this, such
as a sense of balance for example. These other sensory inputs, plus some special processing
of sensory information by our brains ensures that we have a rich flow of information from
the environment to our minds.
Everything that we know about our reality comes by way of our senses. In other words, our
entire experience of reality is simply a combination of sensory information and our brains
sense-making mechanisms for that information. It stands to reason then, that if you can
present your senses with made-up information, your perception of reality would also
change in response to it. You would be presented with a version of reality that isn’t really
there, but from your perspective it would be perceived as real. Something we would refer
to as a virtual reality.
Answering "what is virtual reality" in technical terms is straight-forward. Virtual reality is
the term used to describe a three-dimensional, computer generated environment which can
be explored and interacted with by a person. That person becomes part of this virtual world
or is immersed within this environment and whilst there, is able to manipulate objects or
perform a series of actions.
The concepts behind virtual reality are based upon theories about a long held human desire
to escape the boundaries of the ‘real world’ by embracing cyberspace.

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CHAPTER 2
HISTORY OF VIRTUAL REALITY:
In 1950, flight simulators were built by US Air Force to train student pilots. In 1965,
a research program for computer graphics called “The Ultimate Display” was laid out. Until
that time VR was just a concept and was not very popular.in 1988, commercial development
of VR began. In 1991, first commercial entertainment VR system was released.
Virtual reality in the 21st century
The first fifteen years of the 21st century has seen major, rapid advancement in the
development of virtual reality. Computer technology, especially small and powerful mobile
technologies, have exploded while prices are constantly driven down. The rise of smartphones
with high-density displays and 3D graphics capabilities has enabled a generation of
lightweight and practical virtual reality devices. The video game industry has continued to
drive the development of consumer virtual reality unabated. Depth sensing cameras sensor
suites, motion controllers and natural human interfaces are already a part of daily human
computing tasks.
Recently companies like Google have released interim virtual reality products such as the
Google Cardboard, a DIY headset that uses a smartphone to drive it. Companies like Samsung
have taken this concept further with products such as the Galaxy Gear, which is mass produced
and contains “smart” features such as gesture control.
Developer versions of final consumer products have also been available for a few years, so
there has been a steady stream of software projects creating content for the immanent market
entrance of modern virtual reality.

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Fig.2.1
It seems clear that 2016 will be a key year in the virtual reality industry. Multiple consumer
devices that seem to finally answer the unfulfilled promises made by virtual reality in the
1990s will come to market at that time. These include the pioneering Oculus Rift, which was
purchased by social media giant Facebook in 2014 for the staggering sum of $2BN. An
incredible vote of confidence in where the industry is set to go. When the Oculus Rift releases
in 2016 it will be competing with products from Valve Corporation and HTC, Microsoft as
well as Sony Computer Entertainment. These heavyweights are sure to be followed by many
other enterprises, should the market take off as expected

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CHAPTER 3
TYPES OF VIRTUAL RTEALITY:
Windows on World (WoW): With this kind of system, also known as "desktop VR" the
user sees the 3-D world through the 'window' of the computer screen and navigates through
the space with a control device such as a mouse. Like immersive virtual reality, this
provides a first-person experience. One low-cost example of a 'Through the window' virtual
reality system is the 3-D architectural design planning tool Virtus WalkThrough that makes
it possible to explore virtual reality on a Macintosh or IBM computer. Developed as a
computer visualization tool to help plan complex high-tech filmmaking for the movie The
Abyss, Virtus WalkThrough is now used as a set design and planning tool for many
Hollywood movies and advertisements as well as architectural planning and educational
applications. A similar, less expensive and less sophisticated program that is starting to
find use in elementary and secondary schools is Virtus VR (Law, 1994; Pantelidis, nd).
Immersive VR: Usually when we think of virtual reality, we think of immersive systems
involving computer interface devices such as a head-mounted display (HMD), fiber-optic
wired gloves, position tracking devices, and audio systems providing 3-D (binaural) sound.
Immersive virtual reality provides an immediate, first-person experience. With some
applications, there is a treadmill interface to simulate the experience of walking through
virtual space. And in place of the head-mounted display, there is the BOOM viewer from
Fake Space Labs which hangs suspended in front of the viewer's face, not on it, so it is not
as heavy and tiring to wear as the head-mounted display. In immersive VR, the user is
placed inside the image; the generated image is assigned properties which make it look and
act real in terms of visual perception and in some cases aural and tactile perception (Brooks,
1988; Trubitt, 1990; Begault, 1991; Markoff, 1991; Minsky, 1991; Gehring, 1992). There
is even research on creating virtual smells; an application to patent such a product has been
submitted by researchers at the Southwest Research Institute (Varner, 1993).
Telepresence: The concept of cyberspace is linked to the notion of telepresence, the
feeling of being in a location other than where you actually are. Related to this,

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teleoperation means that you can control a robot or another device at a distance. In the
Jason Project, children at different sites across the U.S. have the opportunity to teleoperate
the unmanned submarine Jason, the namesake for this innovative science education project
directed by Robert Ballard, a scientist as the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (EDS,
1991; Ulman, 1993; McLellan, 1995).
Fig.3.1
Augmented VR: A variation of immersive virtual reality is Augmented Reality where a
see-through layer of computer graphics is superimposed over the real world to highlight
certain features and enhance understanding. One application of augmented reality is in
aviation, where certain controls can be highlighted, for example the controls needed to land
an airplane. And many medical applications are under development (Taubes, 1994b).
Recently, for the first time, a surgeon conducted surgery to remove a brain tumor using an
augmented reality system; a video image superimposed with 3-D graphics helped the
doctor to see the site of the operation more effectively (Satava, 1993).

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CHAPTER 4
TECHNOLOGIES OF VR:
Head-Mounted Display (HMD): Head-mounted displays or HMDs are probably the most
instantly recognizable objects associated with virtual reality. They are sometimes referred
to as Virtual Reality headsets or VR glasses. As we might have guessed from the name,
these are display devices that are attached to our head and present visuals directly to our
eyes. At a minimum, if a device conforms to those two criteria we may consider it an HMD
in the broadest sense.
HMDs are not the sole purview of virtual reality, they have been used in military, medical
and engineering contexts to name but a few. Some HMDs allow the user to see through
them, allowing digital information to be projected onto the real world. Something which is
commonly referred to as augmented reality.
When we look at the diversity of HMDs that exist today within the context of virtual reality,
it becomes apparent that there’s much more to these devices than strapping two screens to
our eyes. In order to allow for an immersive experience either as a personal media device
or as a full-on virtual reality interface, there are a number of technologies that can be
incorporated in an HMD.
Fig.4.1
Data Glove: A data glove is an interactive device, resembling a glove worn on the hand,
which facilitates tactile sensing and fine-motion control in robotics and virtual reality .

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Data gloves are one of several types of electromechanical devices used in haptics
applications.
Tactile sensing involves simulation of the sense of human touch and includes the ability to
perceive pressure, linear force, torque, temperature, and surface texture. Fine-motion
control involves the use of sensors to detect the movements of the user's hand and fingers,
and the translation of these motions into signals that can be used by a virtual hand (for
example, in gaming ) or a robotic hand (for example, in remote-control surgery).
Fig.4.2
Display (HMD)
CAVE: A CAVE is typically a video theater sited within a larger room. The walls of a
CAVE are typically made up of rear-projection screens, however flat panel displays are
becoming more common. The floor can be a downward-projection screen, a bottom
projected screen or a flat panel display. The projection systems are very high-resolution
due to the near distance viewing which requires very small pixel sizes to retain the illusion
of reality. The user wears 3D glasses inside the CAVE to see 3D graphics generated by the
CAVE. People using the CAVE can see objects apparently floating in the air, and can walk
around them, getting a proper view of what they would look like in reality. This was
initially made possible by electromagnetic sensors, but has converted to infrared cameras.
The frame of early CAVEs had to be built from non-magnetic materials such as wood to
minimize interference with the electromagnetic sensors, obviously the change to infrared
tracking has removed that limitation. A CAVE user's movements are tracked by the sensors
typically attached to the 3D glasses and the video continually adjusts to retain the viewer’s
perspective. Computers control both this aspect of the CAVE and the audio aspect. There

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are typically multiple speakers placed at multiple angles in the CAVE, providing 3D sound
to complement the 3D video.
Software Packages: There are many software packages available in the market. Most of
them are paid software like virtual reality studio (100$ approx.), Autodesk Cyberspace
Development kit (over 1000$) but there are also some free software like multiverse.
VRML: VRML stands for virtual reality modeling language. It is a standard language for
interactive simulation within the World Wide Web. This allows to create virtual worlds
network via the internet and hyperlinked with the World Wide Web. Aspects of virtual
world display, interaction and internetworking can be specified using VRML without being
dependent on special gear like HMD.VR models can be viewed by Netscape or IE with a
browser plug-in.

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CHAPTER 5
ARCHITECTURE OF VR SYSTEM:
Fig.5.1
Architecture of virtual system consists of input processor, simulation processor,
rendering processor and world database.
Input Processor: Itcontrols the devices used to input information to the computer.
The main objective of input processor is to get the coordinate data to the rest of the
system with minimal lag time. The main components of input processor include
keyboard, mouse, 3D position trackers, a voice recognition system, etc.
SimulationProcessor: The processof imitating real things virtually is called
simulation. This is the core of the virtual reality system. It takes the user inputs
along with any tasks programmed into the world and determine the actions that will
take place in the virtual world.
Rendering Processor: Simulation processor imitates the real things but
sensation are not produced to produce this sensation we use rendering processor .It
creates the sensation that are output to the user. Separate rendering processes are
used for visual, auditory, haptic and other sensory systems. Each renderer take a
description of the world stat from the simulation process or derive it directly from
the world database for each time step.
World Database: This is also known as World Description Files. It stores the
object that inhabit the world, scripts that describes actions of those objects.

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This database contains all the objects which we are going to experience virtually.
For instance if we want to experience the space virtually then the world database
must have all the objects that are in space like the sun, the moon, stars, planets, etc.

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CHAPTER 6
APPLICATIONS OF VIRTUAL REALITY:
Virtual Reality in the Military:
Fig.6.1 Virtual reality parachuting simulation
Virtual reality has been adopted by the military – this includes all three services (army,
navy and air force) – where it is used for training purposes. This is particularly useful for
training soldiers for combat situations or other dangerous settings where they have to
learn how to react in an appropriate manner.
A virtual reality simulation enables them to do so but without the risk of death or a
serious injury. They can re-enact a particular scenario, for example engagement with an
enemy in an environment in which they experience this but without the real world risks.
This has proven to be safer and less costly than traditional training methods.
Virtual Reality and Education:
Education is another area which has adopted virtual reality for teaching and learning
situations. The advantage of this is that it enables large groups of students to interact with
each other as well as within a three dimensional environment.
It is able to present complex data in an accessible way to students which is both fun and
easy to learn. Plus these students can interact with the objects in that environment in
order to discover more about them.
Virtual Reality inHealthcare:

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Healthcare is one of the biggest adopters of virtual reality which encompasses surgery
simulation, phobia treatment, robotic surgery and skills training.
One of the advantages of this technology is that it allows healthcare professionals to learn
new skills as well as refreshing existing ones in a safe environment. Plus it allows this
without causing any danger to the patients.
A popular use of this technology is in robotic surgery. This is where surgery is performed
by means of a robotic device – controlled by a human surgeon, which reduces time and
risk of complications. Virtual reality has been also been used for training purposes and, in
the field of remote telesurgery in which surgery is performed by the surgeon at a separate
location to the patient.
Virtual Reality in Engineering:
Virtual reality engineering includes the use of 3D modelling tools and visualization
techniques as part of the design process. This technology enables engineers to view their
project in 3D and gain a greater understanding of how it works. Plus they can spot any
flaws or potential risks before implementation.
This also allows the design team to observe their project within a safe environment and
make changes as and where necessary. This saves both time and money.
What is important is the ability of virtual reality to depict fine grained details of an
engineering product to maintain the illusion. This means high end graphics, video with a
fast refresh rate and realistic sound and movement.
Virtual Reality inEntertainment:
Virtual reality games are becoming very popular with many teenagers who love the
graphics, animations and best of all, being able to talk to others. After all, what could be
better than the chance to interact with top end technology and without any adults to get in
the way?
These games are available for Xbox 360, PS2 and 3 as well as the Mac and PC so whatever
console you use there is a VR game for that. This is pretty cool when you think about it.

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CHAPTER 7
CURRENT PROBLEM & FUTURE WORK:
Problems:
Simulator Sickness Symptoms: Simulator sickness is by no means a new phenomenon. It
is similar to motion sickness, which has existed for as long as humans have used additional
modes of transportation, but can occur without any actual motion of the subject. The first
documented case of simulator sickness occurred in 1957 and was reported by Havron and
Butler in a US Navy helicopter trainer. The most common identifiable symptoms are general
discomfort, nausea, drowsiness, headache and in some cases vomiting.
Expensive: Virtual reality technology is expensive. Common people can hardly manage to
have such technologies. It requires additional hardwares which are also very expensive.
A big problem with virtual reality is cost: a fully immersive set up such as a CAVE where
someone is able to interact with objects in an enclosed space is expensive. In fact it’s that
expensive that only university research departments and companies with a research and
development (R & D) section are able to afford this type of set up.
Lack of Integration Between application packages: Integrating the virtual reality
hardwares with the application package is a major issue. It requires very precise and expertise
hands to integrate the application package with the hardwares.
Future works:

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Fig.7.1
High Fidelitysystems: Researches are being done to enhance the fidelity of virtual reality
systems. To take a better experience and making vr systems more and more reliable scientists
are trying hard and are developing new tools.
Cost-Saving: Virtual reality technology is not within the reach of common people because
of its high cost and additional hardwares requirement. Developments are going on to make
low cost vr technology. Scientists are trying to develop such tools that require less hardwares
and can generate output with great reliability and accuracy.
Collaborative: Integrating application packages with the hardwares of the vr system was
quite difficult in the early stage of vr technology but now with the efforts and development of
new applications integration problem has been minimized to a great extent and the developers
are trying hard to develop the applications which can be easily collaborated with the vr
hardwares.

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CHAPTER 8
SUMMARY:
Everything we experience in life can be reduced to electrical activity stimulating our brains
as our sensory organs deliver information about the external world. This interpretation is
what we consider to be "reality." In this sense, the brain is reality. Everything you see, hear,
feel, taste and smell is an interpretation of what's outside, and created entirely inside your
head. We tend to believe that this interpretation matches very closely to the external world.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
It is the brain that "sees", and in some important ways what it sees does not reflect the
information it derives from sensory input. For this reason, we are all living in our own
reality simulations - abstractions - that we construct as a result of both what we perceive
with our senses and how our brains modify this perception. Such things as color, smell and
taste, for example are not properties of the outside world itself, but rather a category created
by the process of perception. In order to experience the world in a meaningful way, the
brain must act as a filter/interference between us and the "real" world.
Words have always been a crude method of relaying intent. VR holds out the promise of
allowing us to literally show one another what we mean rather than merely describing it
with crude verbal approximations. The limitation of words is that the meaning they convey
is only as detailed as the definitions the reader or listener attaches to them. For this reason
VR offers the possibility of evolving our communication into a kind of telepathy,
ultimately bridging the gap between our discrete imaginations. "This is what virtual reality
holds out to us - the possibility of walking into the constructs of the imagination." - Terence
McKenna.
VR is the ultimate medium of syntactical intent; the only way to figuratively "show"
someone exactly what you mean is to literally show them. Words are exceptionally
ineffective at conveying meaning, as they are a low-bandwidth, lossy medium of
knowledge transference. VR will let us remove the ambiguity that is the discrepancy
between our internal dictionaries and bypass communication through symbolism altogether.
The result will be perfect understanding, as all parties behold the same information.
The term Virtual Reality (VR) is used by many different people with many meanings.
There are some people to whom VR is a specific collection of technologies that is a Head

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Mounted Display, Glove Input Device and Audio. Some other people stretch the term to
include conventional books, movies or pure fantasy and imagination. The NSF taxonomy
mentioned in the introduction can cover these as well. However, my personal preference,
and for purposes of this paper, we restrict VR to computer mediated systems.
"Virtual Reality is a way for humans to visualize, manipulate and interact with computers
and extremely complex data"
The visualization part refers to the computer generating visual, auditory or other sensual
outputs to the user of a world within the computer. This world may be a CAD model, a
scientific simulation, or a view into a database. The user can interact with the world and
directly manipulate objects within the world. Some worlds are animated by other processes,
perhaps physical simulations, or simple animation scripts. Interaction with the virtual world,
at least with near real time control of the viewpoint, in my opinion, is a critical test for a
'virtual reality'.
Some people object to the term "Virtual Reality", saying it is an oxymoron. Other terms
that have been used are Synthetic Environments, Cyberspace, Artificial Reality, Simulator
Technology, etc. VR is the most common and sexiest. It has caught the attention of the
media.

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REFERENCES:
HTTP://VR.ISDALE.COM/WHATISVR/FRAMES/WHATISVR4.1.HTML
HTTP://VRESOURCES.JUMP-GATE.COM/APPLICATIONS/APPLICATIONS.SHTML
HTTP: HTTP://WWW-VRL.UMICH.EDU/INTRO/
//WWW.MIC.ATR.CO.JP/~POUP/RESEARCH/AR/
FRANCHI, J. VERTUAL REALITY: AN OVERVIEW. ERIC DIGEST, JUNE 1995
HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/VIRTUAL_REALITY
HTTP://WWW.VRS.ORG.UK/VIRTUAL-REALITY/WHAT-IS-VIRTUAL-REALITY.HTML

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