Abstract:

In this paper, we sketch the history of artificial reality (AR) that leads from early flight simulators to out-of-this world experiences of the present day virtual environments (VEs).  We discuss issues currently of shared interest to educators, the medical profession, the military and business. The shared interest has come about because developments in military tools, techniques and hardware, have spread into business, health and leisure areas. The VE research has expanded from a focus on hardware to theories of sickness to mental health, recreational games, business, design, building and education. The current literature on VEs is diverse and voluminous.  From the selected research papers, we present a summary of gaps in the literature related to the use of VEs in education settings. We see these gaps as constituting an identifiable research agenda. Among other gaps, we find low cost flight simulators in need of research.