THE UNIVERSITY
OF BIRMINGHAM		Computer Science

SYLLABUS PAGE, 2003/04

06-02645
Virtual Reality

Level 3

Dr L Jankovic
10 credits in Sem2

Programmes | Modules | Updates | Outline | Aims | Outcomes | Prerequisites | Teaching | Assessment | Books | Detailed Syllabus | Links

The School of Computer Science Module Description is a strict subset of this Syllabus Page. (The University module description has not yet been checked against the School's.)

Changes and Updates

No major changes during the current academic year.

2 July 2003: Most recent update.

Outline

This module introduces the concepts of virtual reality, using Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML) and enables the students to gain hands-on experience by developing their own applications.

Aims

The aims of this module are to:

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module, the student should be able to:Assessed by:
Demonstrate conceptual understanding of virtual reality, regardless of the programming language used.Practical work
Develop virtual reality models in VRML.Practical work
Combine VR and numerical modelling using VRML and Java/JavaScript.Practical work
Apply the knowledge to modelling in a wide range of disciplines.Practical work

Restrictions, Prerequisites and Corequisites

Restrictions:

None

Prerequisites:

None

Co-requisites:

None

Teaching

Teaching methods:

2 hrs lectures/tutorials per week

Contact hours:

22

Assessment

Continuous assessment (100%).

The continuous assessment consists of a mini-project.

Recommended Books

TitleAuthor(s)Publisher, DateComments
The Annotated Vrml 2.0 ReferenceR. Carey, G. Bell Addison-Wesley, 1997Written by the language's designers, this is an essential reference
Reality Architecture: Building 3D Worlds In Java and VRMLM. McCarthy, A. DescartesPrentice Hall, 1998Useful in putting VRML into perspective, but not sufficiently detailed with reference to coding
Distributed Virtual Worlds : Foundations and Implementation Techniques Using Vrml, Java, and Corba.S. DiehlSpringer Verlag, 2001From editorial review: The book not only provides and explains source code which can be used as a starting point for own implementations, but it also describes the fundamental problems and how currently known solutions work.

Detailed Syllabus

  1. Introduction to the Module. What is Virtual Reality? Sensing in VR and VR Hardware. VR Development Languages. VR past, present, and future. Examples of Virtual Worlds.
  2. Development issues - Development cycle and development tools. Organising the code. Scenes and scene graphs. Creating and navigating the virtual world. Gravity and collision. Geometry, standard units, co-ordinate systems and transformations. Examples.
  3. Adding user interaction - Events and time, sensors and routes. Examples.
  4. Object oriented nature of VRML programming - Prototypes, nodes, fields. Structure of a VR Object. Creating Prototypes and Objects. Interface declaration semantics. Definition semantics. Rules for mapping. Scoping rules. External prototype semantics. Static and dynamic instantiation. Examples.
  5. Adding processing capabilities to VR models - Scripting. Script languages. Script execution. Initialize and shutdown. Events processed. Scripts with direct outputs. Asynchronous scripts. EventIn handling. Accessing fields and events. Accessing fields and eventOuts of the script. Accessing eventIns and eventOuts of other VRML nodes. Sending eventOuts. Examples.
  6. Adding audio-visual effects 1 - Animation and Light. Interpolators. Common principles. Colour interpolator. Scalar Interpolator. Orientation Interpolator. Position Interpolator. Dynamic scaling. Directional, point, and spot light. Examples.
  7. Adding audio-visual effects 2 - Texture and Sound. Textures and texture maps. Application of textures to different geometric objects. Level of Detail. Sound and its spatial aspect. Examples.
  8. Creating VR models with emergent behaviour. Examples.
  9. Using Java with VRML - Scripting in Java. Creating and driving a virtual world from an external Java code - External Authoring Interface. Examples.
  10. Resume and preparation for project submission.

Relevant Links

None.

Programmes | Modules | Updates | Outline | Aims | Outcomes | Prerequisites | Teaching | Assessment | Books | Detailed Syllabus | Links

Page maintained by:Dr L Jankovic
Content last updated:2 July 2003
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