Collision Detection

Collision detection is one of the enabling technologies in many areas, such as virtual assembly simulation, physically-based simulation, serious games, and virtual-reality based medical training. This chapter will provide a number of techniques and algorithms that provide efficient, real-time collision detection for virtual objects. They are applicable to various kinds of objects and are easy to implement.

Virtual Modelling of Prehistoric Sites and Artefacts by Automatic Point-Cloud Surveys

This chapter presents laser scanner systems as a new method of automatic data acquisition for use in archaeological research. The operation of the equipment is briefly described and results are presented from its application in two Spanish archaelogical sites: Abrigo de Buendía (Cuenca), Atapuerca (Burgos). Together with these systems, point cloud measuring photogrammetric methods are revised. Photogrammetry has been widely used in heritage documentation and in no way is to be relegated by the new scanning techniques. Instead, Photogrammetry upgrades its methods by applying digital approaches so that it becomes competitive in both, operational costs and results. Nevertheless, Photogrammetry and laser scanner systems should be regarded as complementary rather than competing techniques. To illustrate photogrammetric methods their application to generate the Digital Surface Model of an epigraph is described. The authors’ research group endeavours to combine teaching and research in its different fields of activity. Initial data are acquired in project-based teaching situations and international seminars or other activities. Students thus have the opportunity to become familiar with new methodologies while collecting material for analytical studies.

Virtual Reality and Neuroimaging Technologies

Marketers have long been fascinated by the possibility of understanding how consumers think and what factors stimulate favorable reactions to marketing stimuli. Marketers are now beginning to utilize neuromarketing techniques to map patterns of brain activities to ascertain how consumers evaluate products, objects, or marketing messages. Neuromarketing is relatively a new field of marketing that utilizes computer-simulated environments, such as Virtual Reality (VR) or Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) technologies combined with neuroimaging technologies, such as Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Quantitative Electroencephalography (QEEG), Magnetoencephalography (MEG), and other means of studying human neurological responses. Marketers need this information to help gain favorable reactions to their marketing stimuli and to predict which product designs and marketing messages will appeal most and be on consumer’s minds when the prospects are ready to buy.

Implementing Virtual Reality in the Healthcare Sector

This chapter will concentrate on the advantages that VR can offer to the Healthcare Sector. After a brief introduction, the second section will present an analysis of the areas where VR techniques can be successfully applied. Next section will describe some existing VR applications in healthcare. The development of a VR surgery simulator, with all the aspects that make this process challenging, will be presented on the following section. An analysis of the difficulties specific to healthcare environments while dealing with the design and development of VR applications will be covered in the next section. The last section will be devoted to conclusions and future perspectives of VR in the Healthcare Sector.

A Virtual Environment for Machining Operations Simulation and Machining Evaluation

A virtual reality machine shop environment has been developed capable of simulating the operation of a three axis milling machine and it has been integrated with a graphical model for the calculation of quantitative data affecting the machined surface roughness. The model determines the machined surface topomorphy as a cloud of points, retrieved from the visualization system Z buffer. The current study describes the developed model for milling processes simulation in a virtual environment and the determination of the surface roughness of the processed surfaces. Also, the methodology for the verification of the quantitative data acquired by the system is presented. Results were verified with data determined in cutting experiments and by another numerical model that was integrated to the system.

Innovation through Virtual Technologies

Rapid changes are taking place in global economy. It has become a necessity for enterprises to respond to these changes. Innovation in the business is the solution to face these changes. Identifying the right type of technology, knowledge and process are the main elements in designing an innovative method. Two business models are discussed for creating innovation models. Some of the concepts in information and communication technology and management are applied in these business models. Further, this chapter talks about the contribution of global virtual teams in designing and developing ideas for innovation.

Agent-Based Virtual Environments for Marketing

This chapter investigates the use of SecondLife as a virtual environment to help the commercial sector in marketing process. It presents the use of Immersive Virtual Reality concept to design a distributed marketing system for commercial sector based on the Benford’s Mixed Reality boundaries theory and Motivated Learning Agents model. System framework has been proposed in this chapter and boundaries as well as agents factors in this framework have been discussed.

Augmented Reality for Collaborative Assembly Design in Manufacturing Sector

Some speculations regarding the current issues existing in current assembly work have been brought out in this chapter. The theoretical basis behind the idea that Augmented Reality systems could provide cognitive support and augmentation is established. Hence, this chapter analyses the foundations for assembly feasibility evaluation and discusses possible innovative ways to provide an efficient and robust solution for these problems of realism and efficiency in design and assembly processes. The proposed platform considers the multiple dependencies in different manufacturing sectors that allow the work to be conducted in a simultaneous way, rather than sequential order.

Virtual Environment Visualisation of Executable Business Process Models

Business Process Modelling is a fast growing field in business and information technology, which uses visual grammars to model and execute processes within an organisation. However, many analysts present such models in a 2D static and iconic manner that is difficult to understand by many stakeholders. Difficulties in understanding such grammars can impede the improvement of processes within an enterprise due to communication problems. In this chapter, we present a novel framework for intuitively visualising animated business process models in 3D Virtual Environments. We also show that virtual environment visualisations can be performed with present 2D business process modelling technology, thus providing a low barrier to entry for business process practitioners. Two case studies are presented from film production and healthcare domains that illustrate the ease with which these visualisations can be created. This approach can be generalised to other executable workflow systems, for any application domain being modelled.

Soft-Touch Haptics Modeling of Dynamic Surfaces

Virtual Reality applications strive to simulate real or imaginary scenes with which users can interact and perceive the effects of their actions in real time. Adding haptic information such as vibration, tactile array, and force feedback enhances the sense of presence in virtual environments. Haptics interfaces present new challenges in the situation where it is crucial for the operators to touch, grasp and manipulate rigid/soft objects in the immersive virtual worlds. Soft-touch haptics modeling is the core component in feeling and manipulating dynamic objects within the virtual environments. For adding the haptic sensations with interactive soft objects, the authors first present multiple force-reflecting dynamics in Loop subdivision surfaces, and further the haptic freeform deformation of soft objects through mass-spring Bezier volume lattice. The haptic constraint modeling based on metaballs is experimented to intuitively control the interactive force distribution within the dynamically constructed constraint, making the soft-touch simulation of objects simple to manipulate with enhanced realism.