Book excerpt: Virtual Environments and Advanced Interface Design is a volume of original chapters to introduce the reader to the technology of virtual reality. The research presented in this book examines the impact of the new technology of virtual reality on the field of human factors. The first editor, Barfield, is head of the Human Factor Laboratory at the University of Washington in the USA, and he has assembled contributions from experts in key laboratories around the US to discuss their basic approaches to this new field. Some of the topics discussed are computer graphics, eye tracking, tactile and kinesthetic input, interface design, and applications in medicine and aerospace.