Virtual Reality can be defined as a set of hardware and software tools that permits the realistic simulation of an interaction with virtual objects, which are computer models of real objects.

Most often, we take an existing object, whose size can range from a molecule to a plant, and we create a virtual version. Nevertheless, it is also possible to reverse the concept, and to use Virtual Reality to materialize an idea. For example, an architect or an engineer will be able to display on their computer a project of a building or a mechanical part and to interact with this virtual prototype.

This international scientific workshop of the Laval International Virtual Reality Meeting, co-organized by the French Virtual Reality Working Group (PRC ALP-AFIG, I3, ISIS - CNRS / Ministry of Education, Research and Technology), with the scientific support of INRIA (French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control), will gather researchers from the academic and industrial communities to expose new methods, to show the latest scientific results, and to exchange ideas and information about the using of Virtual Reality for prototyping.

The workshop will address, in particular, the following topics:

• How to acquire data from reality.
  
  Some keywords: acquisition device, digitization, segmentation, image processing.
• How to create a virtual prototype. How to model the geometry, physical, and mechanical behaviour. How to deal with models in real time.
  
  Some keywords: CAD, virtual sculpting, modeler, rigid and deformable physical behaviour, contact modelisation.
• How to interact with the virtual prototypes. Which of the senses -vision, hearing, touch- and which interfaces to use. What are are the ergonomical constraints. How to interact in real time.
  Some keywords: realistic image synthesis, stereoscopic visualisation, haptic feedback, sound interface, ergonomy, human-computer interface, parallelism.
• How to augment reality with the virtual prototype. How to integrate it into a real environment.
  
  Some keywords: augmented reality, image registration, motion tracking.
• How to create and interact with a virtual prototype in groups.
  Some keywords: collaborative work, concurrent engineering, distributed Virtual Reality.
• Does the virtual prototype correctly simulate the reality. Is it possible to compare a virtual prototype with a classical industrial prototype.
  Some keywords: reverse engineering, fast prototyping
• What are the industrial applications of virtual prototyping.

The program of the workshop is composed of:

• sixteen 25 minute scientific talks selected by the international program committee,
• two 45 minute state-of-the-art presentations on image synthesis and application programming interfaces proposed by specialists of AFIG (French Computer Graphics Association), and CNET/France Telecom,
• two 1 hour keynote presentations given by international experts of Virtual Reality:
  • Virtual Reality and Prototyping by Roy Kalawsky. Prof. Roy Kalawsky is the Director of the Advanced VR Research Centre and Professor at Loughborough University, United Kingdom. He specializes in the exploitation of multi-sensory virtual environments in scientific and engineering applications. He is the author of the book The Science of Virtual Reality and Virtual Environments: a technical, scientific, and engineering reference on virtual environment published by Addison-Wesley.
  • Haptic Feedback for Virtual Reality by Grigore Burdea. Dr. Grigore Burdea obtained his Ph.D. from New York University in 1987. He is presently an Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA and Director of the Human-Machine Interface Lab. Dr. Burdea's research interests are force feedback for virtual reality and its medical applications. Dr. Burdea has authored the books Virtual Reality Technology, and Force and Touch Feedback for Virtual Reality both published by John Wiley & Sons. He is co-Editor of the book Computer-Aided Surgery published by The MIT Press. Burdea is Senior Member of IEEE, member of the Editorial Boards of several journals including Presence (MIT Press), and Guest Editor of the IEEE Computer Graphics & Applications. In 2000 he will serve as General Chairman of IEEE Virtual Reality 2000 Conference in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.

Write-ups of talks and presentations will be published in the proceedings available during the workshop, and also be made accessible on-line from the Web site. The best contributions will appear in a special issue of the International Journal of Design and Innovation Research.

Some demonstrations will be given during the special visit of the Forum on Thursday afternoon. For more details on the Forum, consult the Web pages of Laval International Virtual Reality Meeting.

An inclusive fee (550 French Francs - 200 French Francs for students) covering the expenses for the meal and for printing the proceedings is requested. A Dīner de Gala is organized on Thursday evening at the Laval castle (not included in the student registration fee).

A registration form is available on this Web site.