Virtual Science Center

Is it possible to enjoy an artwork in VR or AR as much as seeing the real thing? Well, some scientists and curators tried to find out! They invited participants with no particular art background to wear electrodes on their foreheads and view the original painting in a museum, and then view it in AR, VR, on an iPad. The winner was ... AR, at least in terms of being able to remember the artwork for the longest time. Surprised?

We created a giant trompe l'oeil (French for "deceive the eye") for our exhibition "Reinventing Reality: Explore the Science of Virtual Reality". Trompe l'oeil art is amazing for creating the illusion of 3D from one viewing location. If you move even a little bit the illusion is gone. But, in VR you can walk around and, incredibly, the illusion will work from any viewpoint!

One of the earliest VR systems, dating from the early 1990s, is called the CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment), the name inspired by the allegory of Plato's cave. Wearing special goggles with a head tracking device, the user is surrounded by stereoscopic images displayed on surrounding walls. These systems are still in use today, especially for product development such as engineering cars.

This is a great comment about the effectiveness of VR over other traditional forms of training: Virtual reality training puts the user in a scenario, not in a classroom where you are zoning out and on your cellphone ... https://www.nytimes.com//politics/air-force-vr-virtual-rea

It's nearly time for AAM again, and Virtual Science Center will be exhibiting with our science-rich and fun traveling exhibit, "Reinventing Reality: Explore the Science of Virtual Reality". #AAM2021 #virtualreality