Obstacles Author: Ricki Lewis
The subject of two television shows (Fox's "VR5" and ABC's "Sliders"), monthly conferences and exhibitions, and proliferating articles, VR is very much in the public and scientific eye. And this month marks the debut of the Journal of Medicine and Virtual Reality, published by New York-based Virtual Reality Solutions Inc., reflecting increasing interest in that very applied market. The technology "will become a basic scientific research tool, as soon as the price comes down," predicts Andrew Belmont, an assistant professor of cell and structural biology at the University of Illinois, Urbana- Champaign.
A recent report from the National Research Council (NRC), Virtual Reality: Scientific and Technological Challenges (Washington, D.C., National Academy Press, 1995), concludes that the field is still fledgling, citing an "extremely high 'excitement-to- accomplishment' ratio." The report-- produced by a committee of computer scientists, engineers, and psychologists from universities, private foundations and companies, and ...
