Technology more virtual than real.

A medical student training to become a surgeon sits before a computer system equipped to enable her to see, hear, and feel a simulated, or virtual, heart. Without leaving her room, a teenager spends an evening shopping for a dress at her "synthetic environment" station, selecting fabrics and styles, then "trying on" the virtual outfits. An automotive engineer evaluates the control system of a new car by taking its virtual counterpart for a spin on a computer-mediated electronic highway.

Such are the dreams of researchers interested in virtual reality -- systems in which a human operator can interact with a computer-generated world (SN: 1/4/92, p.8). But a National Research Council committee now cautions that a substantial gap exists between the technology available today and the technology needed to bring virtual environments closer to reality.

"Even the demonstrations of what are considered advanced [synthetic environment] research systems that can be seen at various universities, military installations, and industrial laboratories sometimes leave technically sophisticated observers who have no vested interest in the technology unimpressed," the panel asserts in its report, "Virtual Reality: Scientific and Technological Challenges." Nathaniel I. Durlach of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology chaired the committee, and Anne S. Mavor of the National Research Council served as study director.

A key issue concerns user comfort. Most applications of virtual reality to date have involved relatively short demonstrations, generally requiring bulky paraphernalia (especially headgear). If the comfort of this equipment can't be radically improved, "the practical usage of these systems will be limited to emergency situations or to very short time periods," the committee notes.

The panel also points out the need for more information about how people interact with virtual reality systems, especially when sound and touch are added to the visual milieu. For example, even in brief demonstrations of available systems, some people experience motion sickness or become disoriented. Very little is known about the psychological impact of this technology, particularly when the experience elicits powerful emotions from the participant.

Although much commercial development to date has focused on virtual reality systems for entertainment, the technology shows considerable potential in education and training, hazardous operations, medicine and health care, and design, manufacture, and marketing, the committee says. it recommends a wide range of research activities intended to help make virtual reality more practical.

"As with most other technologies, the effects of the advances in synthetic environments are likely to be mixed," the panel warns. "Some effects will be positive and others negative." By funding appropriate research, the federal government can influence the technology's future.