pax

Virtual Reality (VR) environments offer a new kind of human computer as well as human human interaction. The user of a VR system can immerse himself into a computer-generated, multi-sensory, intuitively operable virtual experience space, and interact with virtual objects in real-time. In this thesis, a new model for the description and classification of VR systems is presented. The discussion of basic issues and challenges in the development, operation and maintenance of VR systems leads to a set of new approaches for VR application models and systems. The coupling of VR based systems with conventional database subsystems leads to a new architecture model for VR based information systems. This opens the potential for the design and implementation of very promising new application scenarios such as VR based geographic, medical, or facility information systems at large. Another interesting specific application field is found in tourism. A scenario that has hardly been discussed within the VR community yet. Until now, existing tourist information systems can not sufficiently meet the information-intensive, multimedia, and spatial nature of tourism related services and processes. The application of VR based tourist information systems can significantly contribute to the implemen tation of more appropriate solutions. By the help of a new methodology for systematic analysis and evaluation of VR systems, the system architecture, design rationales, and implemented user interface metaphors of three VR application prototypes will be presented and discussed. These are accompanied by system performance and usability experiments. The first prototype, a Virtual Realiy based Geographic Information System, implements sophisticated methods and techniques for efficient data management in real-time by applying a client-server architecture. They allow the dynamic loading of virtual environment data at runtime and optimize load strategies for increased runtime performance. User interface aspects of VR applications are discussed with the help of the other two protoypes, a cockpit based immersive driving simulator and a VR based holiday house exploration environment. Furthermore, a new software architecture is proposed to improve the integration of additional peripheral devices into an existing VR system environment and to enable the development of software components in parallel. The close relationship of the three application prototypes to the field of tourism allows one to apply the findings to the design of architecture models and user interface metaphors for VR based tourist information systems.

Virtual reality based information systems and their applica...

Virtual reality based information systems and their applications in the field of tourism

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