From: diego@minerva.st.dsi.unimi.it (Diego Montefusco)
Subject: PUBS: Alan Wexelblat's book
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 93 23:39:08 CET



I got some details abouth Alan's forthcoming book you might be
interested in. The book will be out in July.

Diego

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VIRTUAL REALITY: APPLICATIONS AND EXPLORATIONS

Edited by 

Alan Wexelblat

MIT Media Laboratory
Cambridge, Massachusetts 


The ability of computers to store and manipulate vast amounts of 
data has made it possible to create worlds of pure information, 
drastically redefining the human computer interface.  Virtual or 
artificial reality, a new area of computer science with seemingly 
unlimited potential, is a way of using the computer to create an 
alternative information environment, or cyberspace.  It seeks 
ultimately to eradicate the barriers between human and machine, 
creating environments where users can "live" while accomplishing 
their tasks.

Virtual Reality: Applications and Explorations collects original
essays, including contributions from leaders in the field, that
illustrate the potentially powerful applications of virtual reality in
business, science, and the arts.  These essays examine a broad range
of practical applications of virtual reality, from entertainment and
corporate planning to teleconferencing and computer-supported
cooperative work.  Researchers at the forefront of work in this area
explain the capabilities of some present systems and outline the even
more compelling posibilities they envision for the future.  Ranging
from advanced interfaces for education to visualization of scientific
data for simulated space exploration, the essays make clear the
diverse ways that virtual environemnts can be useful as tools and
suggest exciting directions for the future.
 

CONTENTS:

Foreword by Pat Cadigan
 
Part I SOFTWHERE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE 

Artificial Realities as Data Visualization Environments: Problems and
Prospects
Thomas Erickson.

The Reality of Cooperation: Virtual Reality and CSCW
Alan Wexelblat

Information Management Using Virtual Reality-Based Visualizations
Kim Michael Fairchild

Part II SOFTWHERE IN THE ARTS

Writing Cyberspace: Literacy in the Age of Simularca
Stuart Moulthrop 

The Creator's Toolbox
Brian Gardner

Full-Body Unencumbered Immersion in Virtual Worlds
Susan Wyshynski and Vincent John Vincent

Part III SOFTWHERE IN THE WORLD

An Easy Entry Artificial Reality
Myron W. Krueger

Virtual Reality and Planetary Exploration
Michael W. McGreevy

Summer Students in Virtual Reality: A Pilot Study on Educational 
Applications of Virtual Reality Technology
Meredith Bricken and Chris M. Byrne

Visualization of Information Flows: Virtual Reality as an 
Organizational Modeling Technique
Charles Grantham

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