Simulation architecture
Introduction
A synthetic environment (SE) is a computational simulation that represents activities with a high level of realism, from the simulation of war environments to a wide range of activities, from electronic commerce to data visualization.[1].
These environments can be created on a single computer or on a vast distributed network, connected locally and/or with wide area networks, the simulation being augmented through special super-realistic effects and precise behavioral models.[2][3].
The synthetic environment allows visualization and immersion in the simulated environment, in which the human operator is transported to an interactive environment through devices that display signals to the operator's senses and devices that detect various actions of the operator.[4].
This synthetic environment is also used to describe the virtual environment, teleoperation and augmented reality, including any of the following terms in its definition:[4].
History
To know the beginnings of synthetic environments, we must go back to the origin of virtual reality, beginning in World War II, when the United States Navy contacted the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to create a flight simulator suitable for training bomber pilots. This project is known by the name Whirlwind. Eight years later the United States Air Force took up the project under the name "Claude Project", with the particularity that this 3D technology was also given civil use.[5].
In the 1960s, Sensorama appeared, a multi-sensory simulator invented by Morton Heilig. It was a pre-recorded film in color and stereo, to which binaural sound was added, with smell, wind and added experiences of vibration in the seat. In the 70s, in 1975, Myron Krueger created Videoplace, a new project based on the silhouettes of users captured by cameras and projected on a large screen. In the 1980s, at the University of North Carolina, a new architectural application was designed so that it could be toured and viewed virtually, building several VR devices to achieve the desired effects.
In the 90s, augmented reality appeared, enriching previous experiences, through, among other resources, the HMD (head-mounted display) or transparent virtual reality helmet, superimposing virtual reality objects on real objects, a new system that began to be used with military objectives, with the purpose of training the vision of fighter pilots and, thanks to its great potential, augmented reality became the center of many research projects such as those aimed at improving human vision.[6].