Immersive Virtual Reality

Offering fully realistic experiences in a virtual world: this is the essence of immersive virtual reality. The comprehensive textbook serves as a practical reference for students in computer science, media, engineering, or social sciences, as well as for media professionals and users of immersive environments, covering relevant courses or self-study. The book addresses all aspects of immersive media that are essential for a holistic understanding: the initial chapters introduce the theoretical foundations, discussing various forms of reality and the metaverse as a vision for the future of the internet, providing a historical overview, describing relevant senses, and exploring interaction, interfaces, and movement. The subsequent chapters illustrate the underlying technologies such as sensors, tracking, and output techniques, including stereoscopy and head-related transfer functions. The final part of the book offers practical insights into different application areas: entertainment, social interaction, teaching and learning, development, as well as sociological and media theoretical research.