Application of Virtual Reality for Planning Flexible Manufacturing Systems

Virtual Reality (VR) or Virtual Environment (VE) is a type of human-computer interface that aims at creating the illusion of the user being immersed in a computer generated reality, providing a more direct communication link between users and the problem environment modelled by the computer system [Figuerido 1993]. Virtual Environments have been used to extend scientific visualisation. VE offer new approaches to training, enhancing the human computer interface and constructing graphically cued real-time simulations [Chuter 1996]. Virtual Reality can be defined also as the way how humans can visualise, manipulate and interact with computers and extremely complex data. For some people, Virtual Reality is any type of interactive simulation, for others Virtual Reality is obtained when they are in a network and several people share their realities between themselves. There are researchers who limit the term Virtual Reality to the use of sophisticated equipment, like head mount devices.