An Integrated Virtual Environment System

Virtual environment research involves a number of related problems from a variety of domains. A joint research at the George Washington University and the Naval Research Laboratory is bringing together issues from these domains to study the factors that contribute to an integrated virtual environment. The research can be divided into three general categories: human factors, motion control, and sound synchronization. Human factors issues involve development of new paradigms for movement and navigation essential for performance of general tasks in virtual spaces. Novel approaches to motion control are being explored to help users of virtual environments interact and control objects in the environment. This involves both interactive control as well as automation through evolutionary approaches. The sounds being generated as a result of these motions are modeled with compositional techniques to parameterize and synchronize them to the events in the environment. The research is being approached from both a fundamental point of view typical of an academic environment as well as from an application oriented point of view of interest to the Navy. The cooperative relationship has benefited both the George Washington University and the Naval Research Laboratory. Additional keywords: Virtual Reality, Soundtrack, Multimedia, Human Factors, Motion Control.