In July 2023, the textbook "Immersive Virtuelle Realität: Grundlagen, Technologien, Anwendungen (Immersive Virtual Reality: Fundamentals, Technologies, Applications)" by Dr. Matthias Wölfel, professor at Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences and director for the Institute for Intelligent Interaction and Immersive Experience (IIIX), was published by Springer Vieweg. The comprehensive textbook is aimed at an interdisciplinary audience, as readers are introduced to the technical, design, social science and psychological aspects of immersive virtual reality (immersive VR for short). The book offers both experts and beginners a comprehensive overview of the field.
The first chapters are dedicated to the theoretical foundations of immersive VR. They deal with the various forms of reality as well as the metaverse as a future vision of the Internet, provide a historical overview, describe relevant senses and deal with interaction, interface and locomotion. In the second part of the book, the underlying technologies such as sensor technology, tracking and output techniques, including stereoscopy and head-related transmission functions, are explained in detail. The last part of the book offers practical insights into various application areas of immersive VR. In addition to sociological and media theory research, projects on the topics of virtual engineering, entertainment, social interaction and teaching and learning are presented.
The special feature of the new textbook by Prof. Dr. Wölfel is the interdisciplinary approach and the easy-to-understand presentation of the complex topic. The work is aimed equally at experts who want to deepen their knowledge and beginners who want to get an initial overview of immersive virtual reality from different perspectives.
Overall, the book succeeds in presenting an extensive collection of knowledge about immersive virtual reality and thus makes an important contribution to the research and practice of this pioneering technology. It serves as a valuable reference work and inspiring reading for anyone who wants to get to grips with the fascinating topic of immersive VR.
The book “Immersive Virtuelle Realität: Grundlagen, Technologien, Anwendungen” by Dr. Matthias Wölfel was published by Springer Vieweg Verlag Berlin on July 26, 2023 and is available as a softcover under ISBN 978-3-662-66907-5 or digitally under DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-66908-2.