VRML

Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML) is a language for adding 3D to the WWW. VRML is to 3D what HTML is to 2D. While HTML specifies how two-dimensional documents are represented, VRML is a format that describes how three-dimensional environments can be explored and created on the World Wide Web.

Since 2D is really just a subset of 3D, any two-dimensional object can be easily represented in a three-dimensional environment. VRML can be used to specify all aspects of virtual-world display, interaction and Internet working, and its designers intend it to become the standard language for interactive simulation within the WWW. ("it is more natural for us to be immersed in a three-dimensional space than to click our way through hyperlinked pages").

The goal is to create a language which allows participants to create their own systemic universe in a process which is similar to the actual multiple parallel processes of human consciousness. The system will record events (memories) and by drawing inferences from the relations from these memories be able to create cognitive maps of each persons individual universe. In theory this is certainly achievable.

VRML was conceived in early 1994 at the first annual WWW conference in Geneva, where delegates agreed on the need for a common language for specifying 3D scene description and WWW hyperlinks. In other words, they wanted an equivalent of HTML for virtual reality.

The first version of VRML allows for the creation of virtual worlds with limited interactive behaviour. These worlds can contain objects with hyperlinks to other worlds, HTML documents or other MIMEs (Mail Independent Multimedia Extension - a file transfer standard which is independent of computer platforms). When the user selects an object with a hyperlink, the appropriate MIME viewer - a companion application to standard WWW browsers - is launched. If that link is to a VRML document, a VRML viewer is launched.

Future versions of VRML will be increasingly sophisticated, catering for such features as animation, motion physics and real-time multi-user interaction.

BT Laboratories already have a "portal" - a gateway into a VRML environment - on their public World-Wide Web site. Although this interface currently gives access only to the projects (databases) within BT Laboratories, it could in principle be used with any large on-line database. The interface uses the 3-D graphics format not only to present the databases' contents, but also to help users find their way around them. Someone looking up, say, "business" would gain access to the relevant areas by clicking on the 3-D "business" icon, much as they would do with many modern graphics interfaces. What is different, however, is that the icon exploits its 3-D qualities to record people's searches, increasing in size each time it is used, and appearing to move further away from the screen the older the information behind it. In this way the interface helps people to find the information most relevant to their current task, thus reducing time spent on retrieval.

What does VRML do?

VRML is a scene description language that standardizes how three-dimensional environments are represented on the Web. Unlike programming languages such as "C++", VRML does not have to be compiled and run. Rather, VRML files get parsed and then displayed. Since this is a much faster process, the creation of VRML files is much simpler than programming. It also allows for more interactivity and facilitates incremental improvements. Here is how VRML works from the user's perspective.

VRML Browsers

There are quite a few VRML browsers around, including Netscape's Live3D.

For a complete list of browsers and how to download them go to: List 1 or List 2.

Configuring Netscape

Step 1: Select the "Preferences..." item in the "Options" menu.
Step 2: Select the "Helper Apps" tab.
Step 3: Click the "Create New Type. . ." button.
Step 4: In the Configure New Mime type dialog enter:
        For Mime Type: x-world
        For Mime SubType: x-vrml
Step 5: In the "File Extensions" field enter: wrl
Step 6: Under "Actions" choose "Launch the Application" and 
        specify where Pioneer is on your hard drive.
Step 7: Select the "Save Options" item in the "Options" menu.

Books on VRML

There are lots of books about VRML, including VRML: Browsing and Building Cyberspace.

See VRML in action

To see the next VRML examples, you need to have a VRML enhanced browser. You can download one at one of the sites mentioned above.

http://virtualbusiness.labs.bt.com/vrml/portal/home/site_hi.wrl.gz

http://www.sun.co.jp:8080/951201/feature1/vrml/ultra.wrl

http://www.caligari.com/lvltwo/vrml3.html

VRML at NASA

The VRML repository contains lots of Worlds for you to view.

VRML Tutorials, References, and Sites

The next three references contain a set of pointers to tutorials, general information, and VRML in action sites.

For a list of VRML Tutorials go to: Tricks and Techniques.

For a list of VRML References go to: General Reference Sites.

For a list of VRML Sites go to: Operating VRML Sites.

Other Sites

WireFrame Express from Synthonics will help create 3D wire frame models from photographs.

Create Your Own World

http://www.aereal.com/instant

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