Virtual Reality in the Sciences

Why virtual reality?

• For those times when you'd like to say ``you just have to be there'', virtual reality can offer that option.
• When you don't know exactly what you want to show, i.e. you want the reader to develop an intuitive feel for the problem.

When is it worth the effort?

• When a clear understanding of complex geometric objects is needed, because that is best achieved through interactive exploration.
• When you need to communicate that understanding to a wide, varied audience.

Current Applications

Limited to relatively simple geometries by common technology

Training

For help/training in operating machinery (e.g. for owners of Sony Camcorder, surgical procedures, ...)

Marketing

Virtual tours of real-estate (e.g. Vienna tower apartments) and other settings that ``must be experienced''

Architecture/Tourism

Immersion in tourist or anthropological settings, usually geometrically simple (e.g. Tenochtitlan simulation)

Topographic/Geographic Tours

Immersion in a locality, usually based on USGS DEMs (e.g. Wyoming Geologic Database, Mars Lander)