Working the VR magic

ALTHOUGH the VR concept is almost three decades old -- it began with flight simulators -- it is only in the last two years that technology has become cheap enough for it to be exploited as a form of entertainment.

The VR user dons a helmet that cuts off all external stimuli and includes a pair of liquid crystal display (LCD) goggles on which a 3-D image is flashed and headphones that simulate stereophonic sound effects.

The most important technical innovation of VR is the link between the helmet and the computer that helps the computer keep track of the user's head movements. So as you look around, your movements are tracked and fed into the computer, which then transmits the corresponding part of the scene to the LCDs. Just as you see different parts of the room you are in as you move your head, while using the VR, you will find the scene moving in the same direction.

Because the display is computer-generated, the computer can flash different views for each eye, enabling the user a perception of depth. Except for the fact that the picture is a computer graphic, crude by the standards of our every day world, the experience is uncannily real.

To enhance the power of illusion, many VR systems also incorporate a fibre-optic glove, which is linked to the central processor and allows commands to be given. For example, if you point your finger at an object while wearing the glove, it will send a "move forward" message to the computer and you will feel you have come closer to the object at which you had pointed. The glove also allows virtual objects to be manipulated, making the user feel something akin to the occult out-of-body-experience.