From: burgess@cc.gatech.edu (David Burgess)
Subject: Re: INDUSTRY: VR is passe?
Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1993 14:21:37 GMT
Organization: Georgia Tech Multimedia Computing Group



In article <1uj7g6INN345@news.u.washington.edu>, mtj@babar.asd.sgi.com
(Michael Jones) writes:

|> In article <...>, cyberoid@u.washington.edu (Bob Jacobson) writes:
|> 
|> |> In article <1uhe63INNi5v@news.u.washington.edu> bobp@hal.com (Bob
|> |> Pendleton) writes:
|> |> 
|> |> >At the 3cyberconf I heard Bob Jacobson say that workstation vendors
|> |> >have decided that VR is passe. That they aren't interested in building
|> |> >products that support VR. I hope that's a valid interpretation of what
|> |> >he said.
|> |> 
|> |> Just to clarify, the main purveyor of the "passe'" evaluation was
|> |> Olivetti, not itself a leader in workstation platforms but something
|> |> of a player in transaction systems for banks, etc.  I have since heard
|> |> from Samsung, who also attended the Meckler conference, that they do
|> |> not believe "VR" will be a mature technology for another five to seven
|> |> years (by which time it may be passe', etc.).
|> |>  
|> |> I do not condone these points of view, but only suggest that if not
|> |> forcefully contradicted, they may become de facto Big Lies.

Within Sun, there seems to be a good deal of interest in
teleconferencing and telepresence.  The OS and hardware support for
these will be directly applicable to VR applications - real-time OS
support, better network bandwidth, better audio, etc.  There is also
interest in developing REAL multimedia workstations, which would also
mean more VR-applicable technology in the standard workstation
package.

Of course, I don't work for Sun, and certainly don't speak for them.

Also - it seems that there is an undue obsession with photo-realistic
rendering in the discussions on this group.  In my meager experience,
low latency and the use of MORE human senses (like 3d audio) are at
least as important as a good-looking rendering and usually cost a lot
less.

					
				-David Burgess (burgess@cc.gatech.edu)