Csci 394 Virtual Reality Exam #1
14 March 2005
1. (20 points) Describe the Sensorama of Martin
Heilig. Explain how this is like the
Holodeck on Star Trek, and how it differs.
Why aren’t we closer to a Holodeck today, given that the Sensorama was built
in the early 1960’s? List the problems
that need to be solved. Choose one
difference and describe it in detail.
Discuss techniques for implementing this feature in a virtual world.
2. (15 points) There are several basic techniques
available for real time tracking of head and other body parts. Name and briefly describe three different
techniques. Be sure and give the pro’s
and con’s of each, and include any restrictions to
their use.
3. (15 points) Vision is perhaps the
dominant human sense. Describe three
different visual display systems for viewing a virtual world. Be sure to include the strengths and
weaknesses of each method, and describe the types of
virtual worlds where each would be most appropriate to use.
4. (20 points)Lag
is a problem in virtual environments.
Describe the places in a virtual reality system where lag occurs. What steps can be taken to minimize lag?
5. (15 points) Describe two techniques for
interacting with objects in a virtual world (selection, manipulation, etc).
6. (15 points) Many VR toolkits represent
the world as a scene graph. Describe
what this is, and explain why it is useful for
representing virtual environments.
Bonus: (10
points) At a recent athletics meeting, five old acquaintances: Fred,
Greta, Hans, Iolo and Jan met together for the first time since leaving
college, so they had a lot of news to catch up on.
It seemed they all lived in different towns:
To round it off, each one was the winner in just one event at the meeting.
These were: 100 metres, 400 metres, 1500 metres, High Jump and Javelin.
The following facts were also known:
1. Hans the shopkeeper from
2. The lawyer was from Eccles and said he was not a runner.
3. Greta was P.E. teacher from Buswick and won the 1500 metres
4. The doctor, who came from
5. The person from
6. Iolo was an engineer from Coalford and did not win the 400 metres.
7. Jan was not a lawyer, but did win the the 400
metres.
8. Fred did not come from
(a) Which event did the person from Coalford win?
(b) Which town did Jan come from?
(c) What was the name of the lawyer?
(d) Which event did the engineer win?
(e) Which event did Fred win?