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Virtual reality is an artificial environment that is created and maintained by a computer and that is at least partly shaped and determined by the user. A virtual reality system allows the user to "leave" the real world and step into a world whose sensory inputs (sights, sounds, smells, etc.) are provided not by natural objects but by computer-created means. The things that happen in that virtual world can then be manipulated to a large extent by the user.

Components

In its most basic form, virtual reality systems consist of a computer and software—known as the reality engine—and input and output sensors. A sensor is a device that responds to some physical stimulus. A human eye, for example, is a sensor that responds to light rays.

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