1. Concepts and applications

1.1 Definition and purpose of virtual reality

As with any new technology, before it took off, there were related scientific fields that enabled its development.

• Previous applications

  • In the entertainment sector, computer-generated images were used in film and animation long before the advent of virtual reality.

  • In professional fields, CAD and the simulation of physical phenomena are studied virtually through digital modeling.

    But in all these sectors of activity, the user of these virtual worlds is a spectator: he or she does not instantly (inter)act on these virtual entities. The reader may, however, retort that, in video games,...