Combining VR paradigms in VRML

Image based rendering (IBR), as implemented by QuicktimeVR/sup (R)/, Ipix/sup (R)/, Live Picture/sup (R)/, etc., is usually not as interactive as traditional VR, not allowing the visitor to move around the exhibit, seldom allowing the inclusion of media such as audio and video, and not implementing complex scripted interactivity in the way that a language such as VRML can. In this paper, the author describes a methodology for combining both types of photographic VR within a photographically-textured polygonal VR environment, using freely available tools and the non-commercial VRML language. This hybrid approach is useful as a way of combining a number of photographically-captured objects within a context, for instance showing a collection of artefacts within the environment where they were discovered, incorporating media and interactivity, while delivering the great convenience and cost saving of image based VR.