Electronics & Semiconductors

Europe looks to virtual factories in new industrial revolution

EU manufacturers are increasingly embracing digital technologies to improve agility. A plant that makes electric shavers in the northern Dutch town of Drachten is gearing up for a test meant to help European industry thrive ...

Business

Metaverse could put a dent in global warming, says study

For many technology enthusiasts, the metaverse—a virtual 3D environment in which the physical and digital worlds converge—has the potential to transform almost every facet of human life, from work to education to entertainment.

Energy & Green Tech

Educational videos reveal water power's potential on virtual island

Fly over Hydro Heights, where a pumped storage hydropower station stores energy until it is needed on the grid. Dive into Tidal Town, where energy from the ebb and flow of tides drives underwater turbines. Or follow the path ...

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Virtual world

The computer accesses a computer-simulated world and presents perceptual stimuli to the user, who in turn can manipulate elements of the modeled world and thus experiences telepresence to a certain degree. Such modeled worlds may appear similar to the real world or instead depict fantasy worlds. The model world may simulate rules based on the real world or some hybrid fantasy world. Example rules are gravity, topography, locomotion, real-time actions, and communication. Communication between users has ranged from text, graphical icons, visual gesture, sound, and rarely, forms using touch, voice command, and balance senses.

Massively multiplayer online games commonly depict a world very similar to the real world, with real world rules and real-time actions, and communication. Communication is usually textual, with real-time voice communication using VOIP also possible.[clarification needed]

Virtual worlds are not limited to games but, depending on the degree of immediacy presented, can encompass computer conferencing and text based chatrooms. Sometimes, emoticons or 'smilies' are available, to show feeling or facial expression. Emoticons often have a keyboard shortcut. Edward Castronova is an economist who has argued that "synthetic worlds" is a better term for these cyberspaces, but this term has not been widely adopted.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA