Abstract :
Virtual reality is intended to simulate the real world so that the participant in the virtual world is able to experience events as if they were actually happening. Full experiences in the real world rely on the five senses used in an interchangeable and sophisticated manner. The simulation of all five senses presents problems which cannot yet be fully solved in the technological field, though much work is now in progress. The author is interested in developing the software framework and world representation that will ultimately be capable of interfacing to the physical hardware of a fully comprehensive virtual reality system. To this end he has developed a prototype which allows the participant to travel through a simple virtual world. Viewing the environment is possible, and receiving information that is usable by the five senses is enabled so that decisions can be made as to the best or least dangerous route to take to reach any specified goal. The author has concentrated on the representation of this real world, so that when the participant moves around it is possible to use all five senses to perceive the world in a dynamic context. Such elements as wind, flower fragrances, etc. are representable
