Simulated And Virtual Realities

11 Summary and conclusions

Karen Carr

A brief summary of the main points made in each chapter is presented here, followed by a discussion of future directions in research for virtual reality.

Stephen Ellis outlines the history of the various branches in the evolution of virtual environments and provides an overview of many applications being developed today. With this broad point of view, he sees the need for a systematic approach to future development and suggests the following taxonomies:

1. Definitions of virtual space, virtual images and virtual environments and the concept of ‘virtualization’.
2. An analysis of the components of an environment, real or virtual.
3. A functional breakdown of the technology required for virtual environments.