Virtual Reality
Importance of Virtual Reality
Virtual reality is a powerful tool that has a great impact on the world and people’s lives. Creating the illusion of different space that could meet any desirable requirements virtual reality allows its use for training, communication, and treatment. It is not just a simulator of one or another situation; virtual reality creates a full-immersion effect influencing on the all five senses of a human. It reproduces “the actual experience, combining vision, sound, touch, and feelings of motion engineered to give the brain a realistic set of sensations” [1]. Due to the seeming realness of the modeling processes, virtual reality produces great results in medical and military life spheres. It provides an opportunity for training of doctors and soldiers without real experimental subjects and real weapons. And, even if not talking about these spheres, virtual reality could increase particular skillset of every human; he or she could just choose the desirable practice, and it will be immediately simulated. Virtual reality also provides better interaction between people located in completely different places whether it is a business meeting or just communication between friends. Virtual reality gives an opportunity to simulate real life in many manifestations.
Virtual Reality in Engineering
Virtual reality directly relates to engineering processes. It allows the use of 3D modeling and other visualization techniques that give engineers a chance to look at their projects in 3D and to simulate their work under actual operating conditions or any other required ones. Such opportunities provide a better understanding of the project’s work and can spot potential risks before implementation. Virtual reality engineering allows a building of the prototypes. It saves a significant amount of time and money releasing engineers from the need to build physical prototypes of their projects.
Nowadays, virtual reality has already been used universally, even if not to the possible fullest extent. For instance, different researches and innovations prove advantages of using virtual reality tools for important engineering spheres closely connected to health risks, such as nuclear engineering. Freitas offered the virtual simulator that helped to operate different procedures in radioactive waste deposits [2]. The simulator was developed to introduce the IEN/CNEN radioactive waste deposit and to estimate its radiation rate. It allows modeling allocation and reallocation of waste materials and calculating the dose of radiation for the environment and the workers. The simulator showed a high level of realism and proved satisfactory of the research. Da Silva et al. offered the virtual model that allowed simulating the conditions in a real nuclear facility [3]. The model is based on the game’s development tool. It gives opportunities to observe the facility of the nuclear structure and to plan different action strategies aimed to improve its security. The model shows a high level of realism and allows security training and an implementation of additional safety under different programming conditions. Thus, virtual reality modeling has a great potential for the training operations and security of nuclear facilities and allows escaping from high levels of radioactivity and their possible negative consequences.
References
[1] “Enhance Virtual Reality,” NAE Grand Challenges for Engineering, n.d. [Online]. Available: http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/challenges/virtualreality.aspx [Accessed 18 Mar 2016].
[2] V. G. G. Freitas et al., “Virtual reality for operational procedures in radioactive waste deposits,” Progress in Nuclear Energy, vol. 71, pp. 225-231, Mar 2014.
[3] M. H. da Silva et al., “Using virtual reality to support the physical security of nuclear facilities,” Progress in Nuclear Energy, vol. 78, pp. 19-24, Jan 2015.
[4] J. Jerald et al. “Developing Virtual Reality Applications with Unity” in Virtual Reality (VR) 2014, IEEE, pp. 1-3.
[5] Alan B. Craig, William R. Sherman and Jeffrey D. Will, Developing Virtual Reality Applications. Waltham, MA: Morgan Kaufmann, 2009.
[6] William R. Sherman and Alan B. Craig, Understanding Virtual Reality. Waltham, MA: Morgan Kaufmann, 2002.
