This is a one year funding participation in a joint project of the Committee on Human Factors of the National Academy of Sciences and the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board. The national agenda helps to define and shape the field by describing the current state of the technology and its potential, and to suggest a rationale and priorities for the near-and long-term allocation of R & D resources to further technology development and commercialization. The agenda, based on a comprehensive review of software, hardware, human-computer interfaces, and generic research issues that cut across many application domains associated with this technology, is prepared by a multidisciplinary committee of researchers and developers in the public and private sectors. Several federal agencies are currently considering or already have research and development programs involving one or more aspects of applications of virtual reality research and development including equipment design, scientific visualization, the management of large multifaceted databases, and applications for training and the performance of tasks in remote environments. Also, there are groups doing industrial and academic research in this area. The study increases the shared understanding of the state of the art, of the full range of potential applications, and of the most critical and promising directions for future research. The study takes a broad view of the themes and principles across applications such as examining the issue of how much reality is appropriate to provide maximum benefit. The study committee, as other National Research Council study committees, provides a forum for experts with different perspectives to examine all sides of an issue and present an integrated, balanced and objective view. They bring together sponsor liaisons to share ideas and concerns with committee members and one another. This project, with NSF's participatory funding, produces an NRC report addressing research and development opportunities in the field of virtual reality. The estimated total cost for the committee operation is $468,900 over an 18-month period.
