Above: v.OS, a mixed reality interface by Stanford student Jerry Meng.
Universities have often been a breeding ground for the tech industry’s breakthrough companies and innovations. Microsoft, Facebook, Google, and Snapchat are global juggernauts today, but these started out as flashes of insight among college kids tinkering with ideas and side projects. As we move beyond the smartphone screen into an immersive internet, it’s entirely possible that the next great company will be a virtual or augmented reality venture that emerges from a college dorm room.
Stanford University’s first official VR club, Rabbit Hole VR, launched in late 2015 to connect VR enthusiast students eager to try these experiences and discuss ideas for applications in this new medium. Here, I’ve interviewed and featured projects from these VR/AR whiz kids building the next generation of immersive technologies.
Immersive storytelling with ‘Snowbird’
“Snowbird” is a novel approach to immersive storytelling in augmented reality. This short film for AR Kit follows the tale of a young bird stuck in a snow globe with a cantankerous old snowman. To my knowledge, “Snowbird” is the first film of its kind, ever, to exist in AR.
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The mixed reality effect seen in the video is accomplished by building in VR headsets with stereo cameras that perceive the external world. The VR material is then overlaid on top of the external world. This keyboard, along with a basic point and click functionality and more advanced engines like Leap Motion’s Orion, gives the user the core tools needed to interact with the experience.
Text input has traditionally been a UI challenge for both VR and AR. It’s difficult for users to log in and search while donning a headset. One way that the industry has attempted to navigate this is by using voice input. While voice interactions are useful, there are certain situations in which you might not want to use voice. Perhaps you’re using a password to log in or are in a space that requires complete silence. By introducing a mixed reality keyboard, it’s possible for VR to be more accessible to a broader audience.
3D content projection
Lightwork, by Jason Ginsburg, is a light field display that projects 3D content without the need for special glasses or accessories – like a digital hologram. With Lightwork, multiple people can look at a shared screen and experience different vantage points for a 3D object, depending on where they stand.
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Above: Lightword, by Stanford student Jason Ginsburg, displays 3D objects without need for special glasses.
Lightwork has the potential for people working with 3D assets and environments to easily test different scenes and interactions. It also becomes easier to prototype user interfaces without having to continuously put on and take off a VR headset. This technology could be applied broadly in retail for on-site salespeople demoing 3D models of products like shoes, bags, and cars – without requiring anyone to put on a cumbersome headset.
Interactive and immersive documentary
“Paint Down the Wall” by Hope Schroeder is an interactive 360 degree documentary about the art on the Berlin Wall, Belfast peace walls, and US-Mexico border wall.
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Source: Venture Beat