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From: curtis@key.COM (Curtis Anderson)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: Consumer Markets for VR
Message-ID: <12950@milton.u.washington.edu>
Date: 13 Dec 90 02:51:36 GMT
References: <12617@milton.u.washington.edu>
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Organization: Key Computer Labs, Fremont, CA
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I'd like to expand on a response posted earlier, and make a conjecture of
my own.  First the conjecture.

IMHO, most hypertext systems should be directly applicable to VR.  The
interactive nature of a hypertext system could just as well be supported in
a 3D environment as on a 2D screen.  The "exploded automobile" example where
the system allows taking a car apart, putting it back together, and trying to
tune it up (ie: engine simulations), could be done better in 3D than in 2D.
There may be some inherently text-based hypertext systems that wouldn't
benefit from 3D, but I don't think that they would be hurt either (IMHO).

The other topic is a more fleshed out example of an (almost) near-term use
for a consumer VR system.  It fits into the category of educational worlds,
but I would like to add more detail as an exercise in exploring how VR worlds
could improve on "reality".  This topic may have been explored by other people,
but I'll stick my neck out anyway...  :-)


One can imagine the "In-Line Smithsonian" (On-Line?), a VR museum world.

The "ILS" would be based on a *VERY* large read-only database that contained
information on (potentially) all of the objects in all of the museums in the
world (even those not currently on display).  The ILS would be one BIG museum
that contained everything.  Note that this differs from traveling to the
Louvre Museum by way of a VR interface, then to the Moscow Museum, then to
San Jose (do we have museums? :-).

The interface software would present the view of the museum as a set of
exhibit rooms just like we are used to, but the rooms and their contents
would be generated at run time, not canned.  The generation of rooms and
contents of rooms at run time allows an innovation in museum design: the
ability to change the contents of the museum according to user interest.

The user would initially start outside the building.  They would be able to
interact with a control panel on the outside of the building that controlled
the contents of the building.  For lack of a better (ie: visual) interface,
I'll suggest an SQL relational database query.  The user would write a query
that included all of the topics that (s)he was interested in and their
relationship to each other.  The ILS would then fill the museum building
with rooms and exhibits that satisfy the relationships specified in the
query, and the cybernaut could go exploring.

This type of interface would reduce the amount of non-relevant information
that the researcher (explorer) would have to wade through.  It would also
allow the ILS to build multi-disciplinary exhibits.  An example would be
an exhibit on the human ear from the point of view of human physiology,
comparative biology, art, and home stereo systems.  Hypertext linkages would
allow an explorer to follow trains of thought to related pieces of information.
Those pieces might be on this floor (in the requested set of info), or they
might be in the basement (ie: lead you out of the information you requested
into other wings of the museum).

The ILS could record the SQL query and your path through the museum's rooms
for your later reference.  This facility could also be used to provide
"canned" tours.  The tours could be lead either by generic tour guides or by
"experts" in a given field.  The different "experts" in each field might lead
the tour to different exhibits, reflecting each ones view of the subject
matter and the relative importance of each exhibit.

The ILS would be able to support interaction with the museum exhibits.  This
applies to more than just picking up objects, it means operating them as well.
Again, we get back to the "exploded automobile" example of a hypertext system.
That would be a good exhibit in a virtual museum.

Note that the ILS that I've tried to explore above (pun intended) is really
a hypertext system set in a VR world.

I think that the SQL interface controlling the contents of the building is
an example of one of the ways that VR can "improve" on reality.

Comments and discussion are welcome...

--
Curtis Anderson         curtis@key.amdahl.com           (415)623-2177
-- 
Curtis Anderson         curtis@key.amdahl.com           (415)623-2177