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Virtual reality in engineering
296
Book reviews
Virtual Reality in Engineering, Edited by KEVIN WARWICK, JOHN GRAY and DAVID ROBERTS, Institution of Electrical Engineers, 1993, ISBN 0 85296 803 5. This book comprises papers presented at an Institution of Electrical Engineers workshop held at the University of Reading in September 1993. It includes an introductory overview chapter written by members of Reading University's Department of Cybernetics. The remaining twelve papers are a mixture. Five are provided by researchers from UK universities outlining a range of current applications research including areas as diverse as protein modelling, rapid prototyping, building design and the production of manufacturing specifications. Robert Stone, from the National Advanced Robotics Research Centre, contributes with his co-author, A. Connell, an authoritative paper entitled "Real applications--virtual markets" which summarizes state of the art developments in displays, input devices and computing platforms. The authors go on to suggest, "the child's game attitude to VR is disappearing fast", and that technical improvements are gaining pace. They look forward to a time when virtual reality will at last become a technologically acceptable means of designing and implementing human systems interfaces. The remaining six papers are contributions of suppliers and
potential users of VR systems, for the most part slight in content. Taken as a whole the technical content of the book is not great. With the exception of the paper contributed by Robert Stone, there is little international perspective. The book represents, at best, a useful but transitory introduction to a large part of today's U K activity in VR applications research and systems development. The contents, as is the case with most collections of workshop papers, will date very rapidly. It is unfortunate that neither the title nor the presentation of the book makes it clear that this is a collection of independently written workshop papers. Most irritatingly the papers are referred to as chapters. Most of the papers have multiple authors but the "chapter" headings, which give authors' names, give no indication of their respective affiliations. Rather, the affiliations of the each first named author only are listed on a separate page near the front of the book. One supposes that these are steps taken by the publisher to maximize sales of a set of proceedings which would otherwise have a limited uptake.
Department of Mechanical Engineering Heriot- Watt University Edinburgh, U.K.
J. E. L. SIMMONS
Book reviews
Virtual Reality in Engineering, Edited by KEVIN WARWICK, JOHN GRAY and DAVID ROBERTS, Institution of Electrical Engineers, 1993, ISBN 0 85296 803 5. This book comprises papers presented at an Institution of Electrical Engineers workshop held at the University of Reading in September 1993. It includes an introductory overview chapter written by members of Reading University's Department of Cybernetics. The remaining twelve papers are a mixture. Five are provided by researchers from UK universities outlining a range of current applications research including areas as diverse as protein modelling, rapid prototyping, building design and the production of manufacturing specifications. Robert Stone, from the National Advanced Robotics Research Centre, contributes with his co-author, A. Connell, an authoritative paper entitled "Real applications--virtual markets" which summarizes state of the art developments in displays, input devices and computing platforms. The authors go on to suggest, "the child's game attitude to VR is disappearing fast", and that technical improvements are gaining pace. They look forward to a time when virtual reality will at last become a technologically acceptable means of designing and implementing human systems interfaces. The remaining six papers are contributions of suppliers and
potential users of VR systems, for the most part slight in content. Taken as a whole the technical content of the book is not great. With the exception of the paper contributed by Robert Stone, there is little international perspective. The book represents, at best, a useful but transitory introduction to a large part of today's U K activity in VR applications research and systems development. The contents, as is the case with most collections of workshop papers, will date very rapidly. It is unfortunate that neither the title nor the presentation of the book makes it clear that this is a collection of independently written workshop papers. Most irritatingly the papers are referred to as chapters. Most of the papers have multiple authors but the "chapter" headings, which give authors' names, give no indication of their respective affiliations. Rather, the affiliations of the each first named author only are listed on a separate page near the front of the book. One supposes that these are steps taken by the publisher to maximize sales of a set of proceedings which would otherwise have a limited uptake.
Department of Mechanical Engineering Heriot- Watt University Edinburgh, U.K.
J. E. L. SIMMONS