Reality By Design

In Deciphering Reality: Simulations, Tests, and Designs, Benjamin B. Olshin offers a series of essays that examine the detection of computer simulations, challenge visual models of reality, explore Daoist conceptions of reality, and present possible future directions for deciphering reality.

Mixed Reality is moving out of the research-labs into our daily lives. It plays an increasing role in architecture, design and construction. The combination of digital content with reality creates an exciting synergy that sets out to enhance engagement within architectural design and construction. State-of-the-art research projects on theories and applications within Mixed Reality are presented by leading researchers covering topics in architecture, design collaboration, construction and education. They discuss current projects and offer insight into the next wave of Mixed Reality possibilities.

In the first paragraphs of this volume, the author identifies an "authenticity paradox": that the purported real-worldedness of a learning environment, technique, or task is so rhetorically potent that educators frequently call attention to it in pedagogical conversations to legitimize their undertakings, while at the same time, terms such as "real-world" and "authentic" do not require (and even resist) precise delineation. Using the language of authenticity as a keyhole through which to view contemporary educational theory, Petraglia draws on theories of cognition, education, and knowledge to articulate the interdisciplinarity of "constructivism" and to expose the unsettling combination of constructivism's social scientific and epistemological commitments. He argues that a full-bodied embrace of constructivist theory requires that educators forgo "knowledge as we know it" and recommends a "rhetorical" approach to constructivist instruction that recognizes the cultural, social, and behavioral practices which play an enormous role in defining learners' "real worlds." Applying this critique to the field of educational technology, the author does not merely lament constructivist theory's current shortcomings, but offers a means by which these shortcomings can be engaged and, perhaps, overcome.

Virtual Reality systems enable organizations to cut costs and time, maintain financial and organizational control over the development process, digitally evaluate products before having them created, and allow for greater creative exploration. In this book, VR developers Alan Craig, William Sherman, and Jeffrey Will examine a comprehensive collection of current,unique, and foundational VR applications in a multitude of fields, such as business, science, medicine, art, entertainment, and public safety among others. An insider’s view of what works, what doesn’t work, and why, Developing Virtual Reality Applications explores core technical information and background theory as well as the evolution of key applications from their genesis to their most current form. Developmental techniques are cross-referenced between different applications linking information to describe overall VR trends and fundamental best practices. This synergy, coupled with the most up to date research being conducted, provides a hands-on guide for building applications, and an enhanced, panoramic view of VR development. Developing Virtual Reality Applications is an indispensable one-stop reference for anyone working in this burgeoning field. Dozens of detailed application descriptions provide practical ideas for VR development in ALL areas of interest! Development techniques are cross referenced between different application areas, providing fundamental best practices!

Virtual Reality is not real life. Instead it is life-like creations using computer-generated scenarios. Human behavior is replicated in virtual scenarios, where every detail is controlled by computers, and in situations that can be repeated under the same conditions. Based on technology and design, the user can experience presence. In the virtual world, users are embodied in avatars that represent them and are the means to interact with the virtual environment. Avatars are graphical models that behave on behalf of the human behind them. The user avatar is a proxy that also backs interaction with others, allowing computer-mediated interactions. Analyses directed to understand people’s perceptions, personal and social behavior in computer mediated interactions, comprise a multidisciplinary area of study that involves, among others, computer science, psychology and sociology. In the last two decades a number of studies supported by Virtual Reality have been conducted to understand human behavior, in some cases the implications of the technology, or to reproduce artificial human behavior. This book presents a collection of studies from recognized researchers in the area.

Virtual reality (VR) potentially provides our minds with direct access to digital media in a way that at first seems to have no limits.However, creating compelling VR experiences is an incredibly complex challenge.When VR is done well, the results are brilliant and pleasurable experiences that go beyond what we can do in the real world.When VR is done badly, not only is the system frustrating to use, but sickness can result.Reasons for bad VR are numerous; some failures come from the limitations of technology, but many come from a lack of understanding perception, interaction, design principles, and real users. This book discusses such issues, focusing upon the human element of VR rather than technical implementation, for if we do not get the human element correct, then no amount of technology will make VR anything more than an interesting tool confined to research laboratories. Even when VR principles are fully understood, first implementations are rarely novel and never ideal due to the complex nature of VR and the countless possibilities. However, the VR principles discussed within enable us to intelligently experiment with the rules and iteratively design towards innovative experiences.

Understanding Virtual Reality: Interface, Application, and Design, Second Edition, arrives at a time when the technologies behind virtual reality have advanced dramatically in their development and deployment, providing meaningful and productive virtual reality applications. The aim of this book is to help users take advantage of ways they can identify and prepare for the applications of VR in their field, whatever it may be. The included information counters both exaggerated claims for VR, citing dozens of real-world examples. By approaching VR as a communications medium, the authors have created a resource that will remain relevant even as the underlying technologies evolve. You get a history of VR, along with a good look at systems currently in use. However, the focus remains squarely on the application of VR and the many issues that arise in application design and implementation, including hardware requirements, system integration, interaction techniques and usability. Features substantive, illuminating coverage designed for technical or business readers and the classroom Examines VR's constituent technologies, drawn from visualization, representation, graphics, human-computer interaction and other fields Provides (via a companion website) additional case studies, tutorials, instructional materials and a link to an open-source VR programming system Includes updated perception material and new sections on game engines, optical tracking, VR visual interface software and a new glossary with pictures

This book is designed as a learning tool to help the aspiring engineer learn the language of engineering graphics. In this regard, this book is hardly unique, as there have been literally hundreds of books published in the past that had a similar goal. The main challenge faced by engineering graphics books comes from the difficulty of representing and describing three dimensional information on paper, which is a consequence of the two dimensional nature of printed materials. What makes this book invaluable is the use of Augmented Reality, a technology that will allow you to escape the limitations of traditional materials enabling you, the student, to truly visualize the objects being described in full 3D. To take full advantage of this book you will need a smartphone, tablet or computer with a camera, along with the apps provided.* Many parts of the book are linked to specific augmented reality content through a series of black and white markers that have been seamlessly integrated throughout the pages. In order to experience the content, your device’s camera must be pointed at these markers. The main marker, available at the beginning of the book, is used to interact with the augmented reality models, which will be rendered in real time in your device’s screen. * If you do not have an iOS or Android device, or a computer with a webcam, SOLIDWORKS files of the models used throughout the book are available for download. In addition, STL files are available so the models can be opened using your solid modeling CAD package of choice or printed using a 3D printer.