From: Mike Bevan Subject: ANNOUNCE: VR LAB VR NEWS ANNOUNCES 'VR LAB' an international testing service for virtual reality products VR Lab contracts placed with EDS Virtual Reality Center, Detroit; University of Michigan Virtual Reality Laboratory, Ann Arbor; and the UK National Centre for Virtual Environments. VR NEWS, the Virtual Reality industry magazine, has announced the launch of 'VR Lab', an international VR product testing and reporting service for the Virtual Reality industry and its various markets. Product testing will be carried out in the USA by the EDS Virtual Reality Center, Detroit, with specialist support from the University of Michigan's Virtual Reality Laboratory, and in the UK by the National Centre for Virtual Environments, located on the campus of Salford University. VR Lab contracts have been placed by VR NEWS with these organisations. Bob Voiers, Director of the EDS VR Center, says "VR Lab is a brilliant idea, and exactly what the international VR industry needs. We are delighted to have been appointed as the primary US testing house". Prof. Peter Beier, head of the University of Michigan VR Laboratory adds "we have a wide range of practical experience in the industrial and commercial application of VR technology, and we are looking forward to working with EDS on the VR Lab program". Prof. Robert Stone, Director of the National Center for Virtual Environments, and one of the world's leading VR researchers, comments "VR Lab is one of the most important new initiatives in the VR industry for many years, and we are giving it our full support. We are undertaking an increasing variety of industrially sponsored VR projects, and will be able to carry out a rigorous testing schedule with inputs not only from our VR and human factors specialists, but from the potential end users as well". The initiative is in response to the accelerating rate of introduction of innovative VR hardware and software products, and the scarcity both of market experience of specialised VR technologies, and of relevant performance and functionality standards and benchmarks. VR Lab reports will be published internationally by VR NEWS, in the form of individual product reports, and as part of comparative product analyses. The first tests are planned to commence during September. Testing will focus initially on assessing the extent to which a product conforms to its specification, in terms of functionality, speed, accuracy, etc., on its general suitability for the purpose for which it is sold, on the quality of its documentation, and on its ease of installation and use. Consideration will be given to the introduction of formal ergonomic and health and safety testing procedures in due course, and to the appointment of additional specialist testing organisations where appropriate. Each VR Lab contractor comprises a product-independent and extensively-equipped commercial VR centre, closely supported by the special facilities and resources of a nearby university faculty with a substantial commitment to applied VR research. Each contractor has appointed a VR Lab Contract Manager, who will be responsible for planning and managing the testing program. Overall coordination of the VR Lab program will be the responsibility of Dr Keith MacKenzie, a consultant to VR NEWS, who has been appointed VR Lab Director. Dr MacKenzie has had a long and distinguished career in the British computer industry, and is a highly respected senior technical project manager. The VR Lab initiative, which has taken some six months of planning and organisation, has won widespread acclaim from the international virtual reality industry. Around 15 of the world's leading VR product development companies have already agreed in principle to support the program, including Ascension Technology, Crystal River Engineering, Division plc, Fakespace Inc., Kaiser Electro-Optics, Liquid Image Corp., Paradigm Simulation, SensAble Devices, Superscape plc, Virtual Presence, Virtual Research, and Virtuality plc. Additional Information The EDS Virtual Reality Center is believed to be the world's largest commercial VR centre. It was opened in April 1995, and serves as an evaluation, demonstration and application development centre for the EDS group and its clients. The University of Michigan Virtual Reality Laboratory conducts a variety of VR-related research, but is perhaps best known for its work in supporting the automobile industry with the introduction of virtual reality as a concurrent engineering tool. The National Centre for Virtual Environments is a collaboration between the University of Salford, and the Virtual Reality Division of Intelligent Systems Solutions Ltd (formerly Advanced Robotics Research Ltd), Europe's longest established VR applications development company. The Centre focuses on industry-driven VR projects in three broad areas - engineering, the built environment, and medical technology. VR NEWS is published in London, and mailed to subscribers worldwide. It was launched in 1991, and has an average monthly readership of around 10,000, in some 40 countries. It is the largest circulation VR publication. END For further information contact: Mike Bevan Managing Editor - VR NEWS Tel: +44 (0)181-292-1498 Fax: +44 (0)181-292-1346 Dr Sandra K. Helsel US Editor - VR NEWS Tel: +1 602/887-4485 Fax: +1 602/887-3267 Bob Voiers Director - EDS VR Center Tel: +1 313/974-1657 Fax: +1 313/974-0724 Prof. Peter Beier University of Michigan Tel: +1 313/764-4296 Fax: +1 313/936-8820 Prof. Robert Stone National Centre for Virtual Environments Tel: +44 (0)161-745-7384 Fax: +44 (0)161-745-8264