Virtual Reality Course-A Natural Enrichment of Computer Graphics Classes

Abstract

This paper shows how the Virtual Reality (VR) course can naturally extend and practice a wide range of Computer Graphics (CG) principles and programming techniques. Thanks to real-time processing requirements, attention is paid to efficient modeling conventions, time-saving rendering approaches, and user interfaces allowing a smooth navigation in a virtual environment. All these issues play an important role especially when designing virtual worlds targeted to the web, i.e. utilizing VRML/X3D standards. The paper presents a structure and related information of the VR course that has been taught at various universities during the last 6 years. Our experience clearly demonstrates that students appreciate its contents even if they already completed courses on 3D graphics.