Virtual Environment Theater

(VETTM)

Description

 The Virtual Environment Theater, or VETTM for short, is an immersive projected environment built into a room-like physical structure. The most common configuration is a three-sided cube where users sit or stand in the center, and perceive images from the front and both sides, providing 270 degrees of panoramic display. Configuration of the screens inside a VETTM can be curved, spherical, or made up of many flat panels, depending upon the application and budget.

The VETTM also utilizes spatialized, three-dimensional sound. Aural cues can be associated in space with graphical objects.

History

 In September 1993, Worldesign set up the first VETTM in its Seattle offices. In it, Worldesign demonstrated for over 20 prospective clients an immersive virtual worlds experience, "Virtual Travel," featuring a virtual worlds model of the Giza Plateau. The GIS-like Virtual Travel demonstration, commissioned by the Foxwoods Casino, featured interactive surround sound and video for up to 10 people at once.

In November 1993, Worldesign provided Sony with software content and technical support for an offsite exhibit at the 75th Anniversary Conference of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) in Los Angeles, an important and well-attended entertainment trade show.

Worldesign, by invitation, then created the centerpiece exhibition for the new Virtual Design Pavilion at the A/E/C SYSTEMS'94 conference and trade show, the largest international gathering of building-industry computer users. The exhibition of Worldesign's first portable Virtual Environment Theater (VETTM), presented a GIS-like virtual worlds model of the Port of Seattle's Central Waterfront Development. The VETTM utilized three 14x10 foot projection walls to immerse up to 20 people in surround sound and video, per five minute presentation.

The VETTM allowed audience members to experience and direct interaction with a "living" Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) of the Port's development. Funding was provided by ARPA and leading hardware and GIS software vendors. The exhibition took place in June 1994, in Washington, DC, and drew over 2,000 visitors in 2-1/2 days, creating the longest lines on the trade show floor, among more than 400 exhibitors.

The portable VETTM and the "living" EIS application won Worldesign rave reviews in the trade press, where it was praised as the highlight of the show, "by far, the most impressive (of numerous) VR display(s)" (Construction Specifier); and as the best demonstration to date of a virtual worlds application showing an order of magnitude improvement over current problem solving techniques. The "Living EIS" application was also nominated for the CyberEdge Journal's 1994 Product of the Year Award.


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