VRML 2.0 PerfToolkit for large-scale virtual environments authoring

This paper presents the PerfToolkit for authoring and navigating a large-scaled immersive virtual environment based on VRML 2.0. It consists of an event handler (authoring manager), a VRML 2.0 Authoring API, a real-time navigator, an icon viewer, a key frame animator, and a smart user interface. Especially, to achieve real-time rendering of large data, we implement the portal and texture method, which is useful to support the complex VE with multiple partitions such as Internet shopping malls. To improve a reality of a virtual environment, we introduce VR I/O devices such as HMD, CyberGlove, CrystalEyes, and Spaceball, as interface for user interactions. Our toolkit is very useful to construct complex VE applications such as visual simulation, interactive entertainment, and architectural walkthrough.