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Chapter written by Nadia BARVILLE-DEROMAS and Marc-Eric BOBILLIER CHAUMON.
3
Virtual Reality: Definitions, Characteristics and Applications in the Workplace
In the context of the Factory of the Future, industries are implementing a number of technologies to improve their production, and to be more innovative and competitive. Virtual reality is one of these technologies. The objective of this chapter is to introduce this technology and explain how it can be used, both generally and in industries. We propose to use definitions of virtual reality that are commonly accepted by the scientific community. In this chapter, therefore, we define virtual reality from three angles: its purpose, its potential functionalities and its technical characteristics. We then present the various devices that constitute a virtual reality system: visual presentation devices, motion and position capture devices, proprioceptive and cutaneous feedback devices, and sound input and presentation devices. The final parts of the chapter are devoted to the applications of virtual reality. We begin with general applications (video games, art, tourism, education, vocational training, design, therapy, research). The last part of the chapter deals with applications of virtual reality in industry, giving examples of use for design and training.
3.1. Introduction
Industries are now entering a new industrial era, referred to as the Industry of the Future or the Factory of the Future. In this context, French companies are seeking, by increasing their level of dematerialization and implementing new technologies, to be more innovative, flexible and competitive. Virtual reality is one of these technologies. The Technologies Clés report (2016) by the Direction Générale des Entreprises identifies it as a technology of the future, alongside 46 other technologies, such as robotics, artificial intelligence or the Internet of Things.
In view of its technical developments, virtual reality now seems easier to implement in companies, especially since head-mounted displays (HMD) are now accessible to the general public, their price has dropped sharply and many virtual reality applications are offered for sale.
The aim of this chapter is to better understand what virtual reality is, to present the type of devices it mobilizes, as well as to illustrate how it is used, particularly in professional contexts.
3.2. Some elements of definition
3.2.1. The term “virtual reality”
The first use of the term is attributed to Jaron Lanier, in 1989, who was then CEO of VLP Research Inc., a company providing computer equipment for virtual reality (gloves, glasses, etc.) (Steuer 1992). In English, the adjective “virtual” can be translated as “quasi, almost”. The expression virtual reality therefore refers to an idea of quasi-reality.
The image given by the media tends to create a shortcut between the use of certain devices and virtual reality. Moreover, we imagine that virtual reality is limited to the use of a head-mounted display and a joystick. We will present definitions of virtual reality commonly accepted by the scientific community.
3.2.2. The purpose of virtual reality
The purpose of virtual reality may allow us to give a definition of it. For Fuchs et al. (2006), its purpose is “to enable one person (or several) to engage in sensory-motor and cognitive activity in an artificial, digitally
