Resumen
Virtual reality (VR) technology was originally developed by the military in the 1960s to help train pilots. This was useful because in VR, dangerous situations could be simulated without risking personal injury or loss of expensive equipment. The interest in VR technology is not driven by its availability or affordability. This work stems from needs of disabled children to acquire skills to function independently in the world. Our initial attempt to use this technology focused on teaching children how to operate motorized wheelchairs. To begin a session, a wheelchair-bound child is placed on a roller platform that permits the back wheels of the wheelchair to rotate at different speeds. When the child moves the joystick forward, the back wheels rotate at a speed proportional to the degree of joystick movement. The computer monitors the pulse rate output from two optical encoders, which are essentially cylindrical bar-code readers that index speed and direction of roller rotation supporting the wheelchair's right and left rear wheels. One disadvantage of this system is that it does not permit realistic simulations of collisions.