PSK308 – Software and Programming in Psychological Sciences

Introduction to Virtual Reality Technology

Res. Asst. Elif Öykü Useoykuus@gmail.com

Baskent UniversityDepartment of Psychology

www.eoykuus.weebly.com

‘‘Being something in essence or effect, though not actually or in fact.’’

‘‘Not physically existing but made to appear by software.’’

• Antonin Artaud’s essay, Le Théâtre et son double (1938)

• ‘‘la réalité virtuelle’’

• The Theater and its double (1958)

• Earliest published use of the term ‘‘virtualreality’’

• Artificial reality

• Coined by Myron Krueger in 1970s

• Stanley Weinbaum

• Pygmalion’s Spectatles (1935)

Virtual Reality

• Attempts to show reality in such a way that it can be perceived as realby the observer

• Panoramic Images• 17th-18th centruies

• The Realist movement• Landscapes, battlescenes…

• Fills the obsever’s entire field of view, often in 360 degrees

The First Usage of Virtual Reality

• Charles Wheatstone (1938)• His research showed that brain processes

the different two-dimensional imagesfrom each eye into a single object of threedimensions

• Viewing two stereoscopic images sideby side through a stereoscope gives theuser a sense of depth and immmersion.

• View-Master scope (1939)• ‘‘Virtual tourism’’

Stereoscopic Photos & Viewers

•Link Trainer (1929)• Edward Link

• Electromechanical device• Connected to motors that mimicked

the feel of controls, turbulance anddisturbances

• A safer way to train pilots• During WWII, over 10,000 Link

Trainers were used by over 500,000 pilots for training!

The First Flight Simulator

•Morton Heilig (1950s)• Cinematographer

• Father of Virtual Reality

•Arcade style theatrecabinet• Stimulates all senses!

• Six short films

Sensorama

•Telesphere Mask• Morton Heilig (1960)

•The foundation forVR headmask

•Stereoscopic 3D images with sound• No motion tracking

The First VR Head Mounted Display

•Headsight• Comeau and Bryan (1961),

• The first precursor to the HMD we know today

• A video screen for each eye anda magnetic motion trackingsystem• Not developed for virtual reality,

but for the military!

The First Motion Tracking HMD

• Ivan Sutherland (1965)• Computer scientist

• Defined a virtual reality conceptwhere the virtual world could not be differed from reality

• Users would interact with thevirtual objects

• His paper was seen as thefundemental blueprint for thevirtual reality

Ultimate Display

• Ivan Sutherland and Bob Sproull(1968)

• The first VR HMD that wasconnected to a computer and not a camera

• Too heavy to wear• Suspended in the ceiling• User had to be strapped to the

device

• It showed computer generated, primitive graphics• They changed in terms of

perspective as user moved theirhead

Sword of Damocles

•Myron Krueger• Coined the term ‘‘Artificial Reality’’ (1969)

• VIDEOPLACE – First interactive VR platform (1975)

•MIT• Aspen Movie Map – The precursor of Google Street View (1977)

•McDonnell-Douglass Corp.• -VITAL helmet – Used by military for pilot training (1979)

•Sandin and Defanti• Sayre Gloves – Beginnings of gesture recognition (1982)

Thea Evolution of the VR Marches On…

•Lanier and Zimmerman: VPL Research (1985)• First company to sell VR equipment

• DataGlove, EyePhone

• Furness• Super Cockpit – A Flight Simulator

(1986)

• Foster• VIEW – VR training for astronauts

(1989)

The Evolution of the VR Marches On…

•Virtuality Group• Virtuality – First mass produced VR entertainment system (1991)

• SEGA• SEGA VR-1 (1994)

• Nintendo• Virtual Boy (1995)

The Evolution of the VR Marches On…

•Georgia Tech and Emory University (1997)• The usage of VR in a clinical setting

• Virtual Vietnam

• War zone scenarios for veterans receiving exposure therapy for PTSD

The Evolution of the VR Marches On…

•Google• Street View (2007)

• Stereoscopic mode for Street View (2010)

• The Creation of Oculus Rift

• Palmer Luckey – The first prototype of Oculus Rift Headset (2010)

• 2014

• A rapid advancement in VR technology

• Steam HTC Vive

• Sony – Project Morpheus

• Google – Cardboard

• Samsung – Samsung Gear

The Evolution of the VR Marches On…

VR Today

•How do humansbehave in virtualreality?

•Can it be possible toelicit realisticreactions in VR?

•How can we use VR in psychologicalscience?

VR in Psychology

• Standford Virtual Human InteractionLab• Has been conducting studies with VR since

it was released to public

• Phobia research and exposure therapy• A safe environment for confronting fears

• A safe space for studying phobias

• SnowWorld• A game which alleviate the pain of the burn

victims

• An escape from pain while getting physicaltreatment

VR in Psychology

•Proteus Effect• Players get the qualities of their

avatars

• Being Freud in the virtual world…• …and giving your avatar advice

• It works better than giving yourselfadvice as yourself!

VR in Psychology

•Moral Dilemmas• The trolley problem

• Only %10 said that they would change thecourse, despite %70 of the individualsengaged in action in virtual reality

• New ways to experiment on perception• Creating new illusions

• The perception of illusions

• Manipulation of the body perceptions

VR in Psychology

•Altruism and helping behavior• We can actually observe the behavior itself in

the virtual world

• Even though there was a time limit, participants were more likely to help if therewere bystanders.

• Would you risk your life for an unknownperson?

• Learning, skill developing and skillassessment• Motor abilities

• Cognitive abilities• Visual processing capabilities

VR in Psychology

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

END