Simulation

Simulations allows us to do certain thing or see the outcome thereof without actually having to do them. Today there are many different kinds of simulations that are helping people understand certain things or just for amusement. In gaming, there is heavy research being done to improve the player's experience of the game. Ideally the player could see and potentially feel the things in this virtual world that he would perceive around him.

History of computer simulations
Simulations with computers only became possible with the creation of the computer, naturally. Computer simulation developed hand-in-hand with the rapid

growth of the computer, following its first large-scale deployment during the Manhattan Project in World War II to model the process of nuclear detonation. It was a simulation of 12 hard spheres using a Monte Carlo algorithm. Since then, computer simulations have been used more and have been implemented. As computers became more capable, more realistic simulations came to be.

Simulation in education and training
There are countless simulations used for educational purposes. They are usually used in preparation of something, when it is too expensive to do otherwise or just too dangerous to allow inexperienced trainees to use the real equipment. This way they learn in a safe virtual environment that must be similar to a situation in the real world. This way  making mistakes during training for a safety-critical system can be permitted without any negative effects. Training simulations can come in 3 variations:
 * "live" simulation where actual players use genuine systems in a real environment


 * "virtual" simulation where actual players use simulated systems in a synthetic environment

In standardized tests, "live" simulations are sometimes called "high-fidelity", producing "samples of likely performance", as opposed to "low-fidelity", relative, depending on the context. Soci"pencil-and-paper" simulations producing just "signs of possible performance", but the difference between high, moderate and low fidelity is al take the form of civics simulations, in which participants assume roles in a simulated society, or international relations simulations in which participants engage in negotiations, alliance formation, trade, diplomacy, and the use of force. simulations may be used in social science classrooms to illustrate social and political processes in anthropology, economics, history, political science, or sociology courses, typically at the high school or university level. These may, for example, Such simulations might be based on fictitious political systems, or be based on current or historical events. An example of the latter would be Barnard College's Reacting to the Past series of historical educational games. The National Science Foundation has also supported the creation of reacting games that address science and math education.
 * "constructive" simulation where simulated players use simulated systems in a synthetic environment. Sometimes constructive simulation is referred to as "wargaming" because it can be compared to table-top war games in which the player commands armies and makes strategic decisions.

Interaction systems

Virtual simulations use certain equipment to create the simulated world for the user. Virtual simulations make it possible for the users to interact wit the virtual world. Virtual worlds run on platforms of integrated software and hardware components. This way the system can accept input from the user, such as: visual display, aural display, hap-tic display. Virtual simulations use these elements to create a sense of immersion for the user.

There are lots of different kinds of hardware available for interacting with a virtual world, a few of them are briefly explained below.

Body tracking is a method that is used to track the users motions that are then translated into date and used to change or alter something in the virtual world, most likely the representative avatar for the user in the world will also turn its head. There are a number of different ways to accomplish body tracking, such as capture suits or gloves and eye-trackers. They have sensors built in to track the users movements to a very close to realistic accuracy. They can have external devices or marks that can be detected by external ultrasound, optical receivers or electromagnetic sensors. Internal sensors usually transmit data wireless or through cables. Physical controllers provide input to the simulation only through   direct manipulation by the user. In virtual simulations, tactile feedback from physical controllers is very good in a number of simulation environments. Omni directional treadmills can be used to capture the users locomotion as they walk or run.High fidelity controls such as instrument panels in virtual aircraft    cockpits provides users with actual controls to raise the level of immersion. For example, pilots can use the actual global positioning system controls from the real device in a simulated cockpit to help them practice sessions with the actual device in the context of the integrated cockpit system.

Voice recognition is an interaction where the voice of the user is recognized and results an action in the virtual world that was demanded by the user. This could potentially be very immersing to the user but the technology isn't quite there  yet to make this form of command work flawlessly.

Research in future input systems hold a great deal of promise for virtual simulations. Systems such as brain-computer interfaces (BCIs)Brain-computer interface offer the ability to further increase the level of immersion for virtual simulation users. Lee, Keinrath, Scherer, Bischof, Pfurtscheller proved that naive subjects could be trained to use a BCI to navigate a virtual  apartment with fairly easily. Using the BCI, the authors found that subjects were able to freely navigate the virtual environment with not a lot of effort. It is possible that these types of systems will become standard forms of input in future virtual simulation systems. Simulation is a one of the part of an engineering students and also important for main electrical students its come in form of education purpose.