Due to the fact that the Reading 2 ended up being a little on the heavy side, the due date for Assignment 1 has been moved back until next weekend. Assignment 2 will be posted next week.
Reading 2 is posted
Because I switched the dates for readings 1 and 2, it didn’t show at the top of the home page. You can find the reading post in the category from the menu or a direct link here
https://blogs.discovery.wisc.edu/ds501/2013/01/21/week-2-readings/
Remember to post your comments by midnight on Sunday
New Readings
After yesterdays class I have decided to switch the readings from week 1 and 2. My thinking is it would be better to start with concepts before jumping into history. We will go back to the previous articles, so if you had already read them, you will be ahead of the game.
A link to Reading 1 can be found here
You can also meet directly at WID on Thursday
I have had several people ask if they can just meet at WID on Thursady. The answer is yes, you can, just meet us at the front desk. I understand this is saves a lot of people the hike across campus and back. I will need to go to Hellen C White as new people may have registered for the course and that is the official room. If you go directly to WID, make sure you get there no later that 11:10. The CAVE is behind locked doors and you wont be able to get in if you’re late.
Week 2 Readings
For class 2/05/13
Post Comments by 11:59 pm on 2/03/13
The Ultimate Display
by Ivan Sutherland, 1965
comments by Bruce Sterling, 2009
http://www.wired.com/beyond_the_beyond/2009/09/augmented-reality-the-ultimate-display-by-ivan-sutherland-1965/
A head-mounted three dimensional display
Ivan E. Sutherland
http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1476589.1476686
or
http://141.84.8.93/lehre/ss09/ar/p757-sutherland.pdf
What’s Real About Virtual Reality?
Frederick P. Brooks, Jr.
http://www.cs.unc.edu/~brooks/WhatsReal.pdf
Please print out these articles and bring them with you to class on Tuesday for discussion. Alternatively, you can bring digital version of the reading with you.
Discussion:
Post 1: The Ultimate Display
Bruce Sterling lists a number of present day technologies which match the concepts which Sutherland was describing. What do you believe was the most influential of these developed technologies?
What do you think of how Slater ends the article? Why do you think Sutherland choose to use such menacing imagery?
Can you name another current technology which which matches Sutherland’s concepts but is not included in Sterling’s listings (and describe it in a few sentences and how it relates)? If you can’t, write a paragraph about elaborating on how the technology Sterling points to in his article are still used today.
Post 2: A head-mounted three dimensional display
What technologies strike you as antiquated? What technologies do you feel like are still present in today’s world?
What do you think of the two phenomena described in the results? What could have helped mitigate these effects?
Finally, select a topic that you find interesting, dubious, confusing or curious and explain why. Write at least a paragraph of explanation and add citations if warranted.
Post 3: What’s Real About Virtual Reality?
Do the examples of applications VR make sense to you? Describe why or why not. What other industries could you see benefit from this type of technology?
From the Hot open challenges section, select what challenge you believe has seen the most progress and which challenge has seen the least progress in the last decade. Describe why you believe each of these are the case
What do you think of the breakdown Brooks makes between Four technologies are crucial for VR and the Four auxiliary technologies are important, but not nearly so crucial? Do you agree with his breakdown? What would be another technology that you could add to one of these two lists?
Week 1 Readings
For class 1/29/13
Post Comments by 11:59 pm on 1/27/13
For class 1/29/13
Post Comments by 11:59 pm on 1/27/13
A Note on Presence Terminology
Mel Slater
http://s3.amazonaws.com/publicationslist.org/data/melslater/ref-201/a%20note%20on%20presence%20terminology.pdf
Place illusion and plausibility can lead to realistic behaviour in immersive
virtual environments
Mel Slater
http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/364/1535/3549.full.pdf+html
Please print out these articles and bring them with you to class on Tuesday for discussion. Alternatively, you can bring digital version of the reading with you.
Discussion:
Post 1
Do you agree with the separation of presence and immersion? Does this differentiation make sense to you?
What do you think of Slater’s argument about presence in simulations of the Non-Real? Do you agree that Presence is possible in impossible environments?
Finally, select a topic that you find interesting, dubious, confusing or curious and explain why. Write at least a paragraph of explanation and add citations if warranted.
Post 2
Do you agree with Slater’s breakdown between PI and Psi? Do you agree with Slater that these concepts are orthogonal? Explain why.
Slater writes “The illusion [PI], given the right physical set-up and the appropriate SCs in a particular modality, is automatic—it can coexist with different (but not contradictory) sensations in another modality.” Do you agree (say why)?
Do you agree that breaks in Psi are harder to overcome than breaks in PI? Explain.
Finally, select a topic that you find interesting, dubious, confusing or curious and explain why. Write at least a paragraph of explanation and add citations if warranted.
Option question (something we will talk about in class) The paper references the Milgram Experiment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment). How do you feel about this experiment being run in Virtual Reality?
Welcome to Design in Virtual Reality
Welcome to DS-501 Projects in Virtual Reality. We will talk about course logistics on Tuesday and will do a tour of the CAVE at WID on Thursday.
Assignment 1
If we are going to create realistic virtual environments we first need to understand the environments around us. Choose an active environment that you would like to study, maybe a coffee shop, the union, the mall, your room, etc. and describe this environment in such a way so that someone else could create a virtual representation of it. The representation need not be a recipe to make an exact duplicate, but rather should be a description of attributes needed to recreate the “feel” of the environment. You just need to describe the environment itself, not the actions taking place (think PI and not Psi). Please write this up via sentences and paragraphs as opposed to a bullet point list.
Things you should include:
- What kind of objects are in the environment (chairs, tables, books, etc)
- How are these objects placed (neat, messy, randomly, etc)
- What kinds of ambient sounds are naturally occurring in the environment (buzzing fluorescent tubes, computer fans, etc)
- What kinds of colors and textures are present in this environment (wood grains, magazine covers, plastic labels, etc)
- How is the environment lit (sun light, floor lamps, overhead fluorescent tubes, etc)
Also at the end of your write up I would like you to single out what characteristic you believe would be the most difficult to model and briefly explain why.
This assignment is not meant to be difficult, but is an exercise to get you thinking about what factors you need to account for when making virtual scenarios.
Please write up at least 1 page worth of information (4-5 paragraphs) but you can do more if you feel like it. This assignment is to be done individually (almost all other assignments will be done in groups).
Send me an email with the assignment either being the content or as a pdf by 2/10/2013 at 11:59pm
Class Information
This course introduces students to the field of Virtual Reality and focuses on creating immersive, interactive virtual experiences. Topics include:
- Historical Perspectives on Virtual Reality Technology
- Computer Graphics and 3-D Modeling
- Human Perception and Psychology
- Human Computer Interaction
- User Interface Design
The the course focuses on designing projects and scenarios for virtual environments, such as as the C6 CAVE at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery. While there are no academic prerequisites, the course is designed for students with backgrounds in Computer Science, Engineering, Art, Architecture, and Design. Students will be working in interdisciplinary teams on multiple projects, culminating in a final project that will be showcased at a public event.
- Schedule
- Tuesdays & Thursdays, 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
- Readings
- Reading material for the course will be listed the class website. There will be no textbook for the course.
- Prerequisites
- There are no academic pre-reqs for this course as the subjects covered will span a wide breadth of subjects. This course is designed for students that have:
- Interests in the fields of Computer Science, Engineering, Art, Architecture, or Design.
- Worked with a 3-D modeling tool such as SketchUp, Maya, 3DS Max, AutoCAD, and others.
- Built or designed computer graphics or video game projects.
- Created an interactive artwork project or installation.
- For More Information
-
- Visit the DS-501 Class Website: https://blogs.discovery.wisc.edu/ds501/
- Email Kevin Ponto: kbponto@wisc.edu