Reality BytesAn overview of Virtual and Augmented Reality

A Word From Our Sponsor

The MIT Libraries provide support for all researchers at MIT.

Research consulting:bibliographic information management; literature searches; subject-specific consultation

Data management:data management plan consulting; data archiving; metadata creation

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Scholarly publishing:open access publication & licensing

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A Word From Our Sponsor

Thanks to Micah Altman, Kelly Hopkins, and everyone else for their feedback and guidance during the investigation so far.

The Program on Information Science has funded the acquisition of much of the equipment that we’ll talk about here.

http://informatics.mit.edu/labs

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Goals

• Review terms like “virtual reality”, “augmented reality”, and where they fit into longer term trends in computing and media.

• Provide an overview of the hardware and software that helps create this set of technologies, both for content viewing and content creation.

• Share first-hand experience with these technologies.

• Introduce some principles for what determines a good (and poor) application for VR/AR.

• Invite those interested in learning more to visit our Information Lab.

vr-lib@mit.edu

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Questions

• What preceded the current VR/AR moment?

• How does someone consume – and create – this type of content?

• What makes something a good candidate for virtual reality? What is already being done?

• What should be avoided?

• Where can I try out this technology myself?

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About Matt

• Web Developer, MIT Libraries

• Master of Architecture, Ohio State, 1999

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About Matt

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About Matt

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FramingDefining terms

History of the technology

Defining “Virtual Reality”

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Defining “Virtual Reality”

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Defining “Augmented Reality”

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Defining “Augmented Reality”

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Defining “Augmented Reality”

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Background – Second Life

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Background – Games

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Background – Movies

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Framing VR and AR

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Framing VR and AR

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Content Viewing Platforms

Google Cardboard

• ~$15 simple headset

• Free or paid smartphone apps

• “Head in a beachball” content

• Phone gyroscopes to determine view direction

• Only click in center of your vision

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Google Daydream

• ~$80 less simple headset

• Free or paid smartphone apps

• “Head and hand in beachball”

• Hand-held wand to separate looking and clicking

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Oculus Rift

• ~$500 hardware kit

• Powerful computer required

• Free or paid software applications

• Cubicle-sized space

• One body sensorsHandheld wand or controllerHeadset with speakers

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HTC Vive

• ~$800 hardware kit

• Powerful computer required

• Free or paid software applications

• Cubicle or Room-sized space

• Two body sensorsTwo handheld wandsHeadset with speakers

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FOVE VR

• ~$600 hardware kit

• Headset with eye tracking

• ?

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Hololens

• ~$3000 hardware kit

• Augmented, not Virtual, reality

• Development kits started selling February 29, 2016

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Content Creation PlatformsPhotography

New Hardware

Photo Spheres

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Photogrammetry

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3d Scanning

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Ricoh Theta

• ~$300 digital camera

• Twin fisheye lenses

• Still photographs or video

• Includes streaming capability

• Suitable for Cardboard or Daydream-style viewers

• Output supported by Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, etc

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VUZE

• ~$800 digital camera

• Four pairs of fisheye lenses

• Still photographs or video

• Stereo 3d photo spheres

• Suitable for Cardboard or Daydream-style viewers

• Output suitable for YouTube

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Sense

• $400 3d scanner

• Time of flight and white light scanner

• Useful for generating 3d models to import into VR/AR content

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Unity

• Free for hobbyists and beginners

• Content authoring platform for games and more

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ApplicationsCriteria for good VR candidate experiences

Some mistakes to avoid

Jeremy Bailenson on good candidates for VR

1. ExpensiveVisit the statue of David in Florence

2. DangerousTour the Chernobyl reactor

3. Impossible Experience a bug’s life, or Godzilla’s

4. RareWhale watching

(via Slate, “There are only four good reasons to do Virtual Reality”)

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Expensive: Travel

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Expensive: Travel

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Expensive: VR Museum of Fine Art

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Dangerous

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Dangerous

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Impossible

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Rare

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Games: The Lab

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Games: Fantastic Contraption

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Games: Vivecraft

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Filmmaking

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Filmmaking

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Sports

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Social Networks

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What not to doMiss the forest for the trees

Re-create the wrong parts of reality

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Exacerbate existing problems

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…What?

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LibrariesFirst steps

Lore Books

LitCity

Storymapp

“StoryMapp is a mobile application that creates custom walks based on your location and provides a playlist of stories that correspond to landmarks on your route.

StoryMapp uses your location and your selected parameters (e.g., time and distance) to create a custom walk with accompanying audio clips – freely available for download.

The stories map to the types of scenery or landmarks you encounter on your walk. For example, walking by a post office you may listen to a story about generations of postmasters in a small town.”

MIT-generated content

The workflow to visualize spatial data in VR is

being made into a workshop series to be shared with the MIT community this Fall. Feel free to stop by the GIS lab to demo

our current VR experience of Cambridge!

• The Libraries Special Collections Fund has allowed the GIS Lab to explore alternative uses for our spatial data collection through the use of VR & drones:

MIT Libraries & GIS

Goals

• Review terms like “virtual reality”, “augmented reality”, and where they fit into longer term trends in computing and media.

• Provide an overview of the hardware and software that helps create this set of technologies, both for content viewing and content creation.

• Share first-hand experience with these technologies.

• Introduce some principles for what determines a good (and poor) application for VR/AR.

• Invite those interested in learning more to visit our Information Lab.

vr-lib@mit.eduhttp://informatics.mit.edu/labs

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