From: Tony Healy <thealy@magna.com.au>
Subject: Re: Definitions for Virtual Reality Systems
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Date: December 28, 1995

From: Tony Healy <thealy@magna.com.au>

This clarification adds a new viewing type to accommodate the
particular characteristics of Apple's innovative Quicktime VR.

1. TYPES OF VIEWING: How we see and experience something
========================================================

Rotating Head Presence Emulation:

Presence Emulation where we are able to rotate our head and see
appropriate imagery, but not to move freely and look in any
direction. While systems that implement Rotating Head Presence
Emulation typically allow presence at more than one point, these
points are pre-selected and relatively few, and thus do not meet the
criterion for Active Presence Emulation. Rotating Head Presence
Emulation characterises Apple's Quicktime VR.


4. CATEGORISATIONS: Some applications of virtual reality as they
fit in my system of definitions
================================================================

Quicktime VR:

   Viewing type: Rotating Head Presence Emulation
   World type:   Snapshot World (since uses photographic or pre-rendered
images )
   Depth presentation: Any

Conventional virtual reality ( fully generalised interactive real time
3D)

   Viewing type: Active Presence Emulation
   World type:   Virtual World (Active or Passive)
   Depth presentation: Any

Telepresence:

   Viewing type: Active Presence Emulation
   World type:   Mirror World
   Depth presentation: Any

Augmented reality:

   Viewing type: Active Presence Emulation
   World type:   Mirror World
   Depth presentation: Any

Pre-computed animation (such as those produced using Softimage or 3D Studio):

   Viewing type: Passive Presence Emulation
   World type:   Snapshot World
   Depth presentation: Any

Film:

   Viewing type: Passive Presence Emulation
   World type:   Snapshot World
   Depth presentation: Any

Multimedia video:

   Viewing type: Passive Presence Emulation With Forking
   World type:   Snapshot World
   Depth presentation: Any

Interactive movies:

   Viewing type: Passive Presence Emulation With Forking
   World type:   Snapshot World
   Depth presentation: Any


Tony Healy
Silicon CHiC