Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This volume addresses virtual reality (VR) -- a tantalizing communication medium whose essence challenges our most deeply held notions of what communication is or can be. The editors have gathered an expert team of engineers, social scientists, and cultural theorists for the first extensive treatment of human communication in this exciting medium.

The first part introduces the reader to VR's state-of-the-art as well as future trends. In the next section, leading research scientists discuss how knowledge of communication can be used to build more effective and exciting communication applications of virtual reality. Looking ahead, the authors explore pioneering approaches to VR narratives, interpersonal communication, the use of 3D sound, and the building of VR entertainment complexes. In the final section, the authors zoom out to view the big picture -- the psychological, social, and cultural implications of virtual reality. Thought-provoking discussions consider important communication issues such as:
* How will virtual reality influence perception of reality?
* What are the legal issues defining communication in virtual reality?
* What kind of cultural trends will this technology encourage?

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface
• Part I Virtual Reality as Communication Medium
• The Vision of Virtual Reality
• Virtual Reality as a Communication System
• Defining Virtual Reality: Dimensions Determining Telepresence
• Immersive Virtual Reality Technology
• Part II Designing Virtual Environments
• Communication Applications of Virtual Reality
• Virtual Reality and Passive Simulators: The Future of Fun
• Communication Research on Consumer VR
• Dramatic Narrative in Virtual Reality
• Sound and Communication in Virtual Reality
• Interpersonal Communication and Virtual Reality: Mediating Interpersonal Relationships
• Part III The Social Reality of Virtual Reality
• Virtual Diffusion or an Uncertain Reality: Networks, Policy, and Models for the Diffusion of VR Technology
• I'm Not a Real Doctor, But I Play One in Virtual Reality: Implications of Virtual Reality for Judgments About Reality
• Signal to Noise: On the Meaning of Cyberpunk Subculture
• Harvey Communication Issues and Policy Implications

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

The authors represented in this book explore the premise that communication in the age of virtual reality (VR) is about the transmission of experience. They describe overcoming the limitations of spatial separation in the experiencing of objects and transcending the limitations of the physical body in the kinds of electronic experience now possible. This is a particularly thorough and well-organized collection of essays on subjects ranging from the vision and philosophy of VR to specific VR technologies and the meaning of the cyberpunk culture. It explores VR as communication medium, environmental design, and social reality. It emphasizes the notion of VR as interface to cyberspace and the Internet; it describes various educational, entertainment, and business applications of VR; and it points out the growing tendency to represent information with concrete physical images rather than abstract categories. It also includes insightful treatments of dramatic narrative presented through VR and of VR and interpersonal communication. Not a surface, glitzy treatment of the hot topic of VR, but a solid, comprehensive overview of the domain and its possibilities in the context of communication. Highly recommended. All levels. C. Koch; Oberlin College