A Hitchhiker's Guide to Virtual Reality brings together under one cover all the aspects of graphics, video, audio, and haptics that have to work together to make virtual reality a reality. Like any good guide, it reveals the practical things you need to know, from the viewpoint of authors who have been there. This two-part guide covers the science, technology, and mathematics of virtual reality and then details its practical implementation. The first part looks at how the interface between human senses and technology works to create virtual reality, with a focus on vision, the most important sense in virtual reality. The second part of the book is tightly integrated with an accompanying CD, which contains the programs for more than 30 virtual reality projects, ranging in scope from a tool that simulates virtual sculpting to a suite of software for the control of a four-projector immersive virtual environment.