Design and Creation of Virtual Environments CAP 6930/4930 Section 5694/3947 Course Introduction August 24 th, 2005

Welcome!  My name is Benjamin Lok.  Pronounced like “lock” as in lock the door.  Not Loke as in Tone Lōc.  Feel free to call me Ben.  A bit about myself  Background  Interests

Course Run-icity  Ask questions!!!  Cheating will not be tolerated. You cheat == no longer in class.  No attendance, no nagging  In return: You are completely responsible for your actions in this class.  Very APPLIED (lots of projects). You will work hard.

Discussion Topic  Let’s design the ultimate display. (Let’s break up into groups of 4 – 1 scribe)  What are the issues to consider?  Which senses do we want to provide sensory input to?  How would you engineer this?  How much would it cost?  What is possible today, what needs to be invented?  What is the best virtual reality experience available today?

Course Notes Acknowledgement  A significant portion of the lecture notes were drawn from Dr. Larry Hodges at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (previously at Georgia Tech).  Known for using VR in clinical therapy.  Clip of Fear of Flying

What’s this course about?  What is a Virtual Environment?  Computer generated environments  Virtual Reality  Augmented Reality  Immersive Environments  Mixed Reality  Learn what goes into VEs  Learn to make VEs  Building your own VE  What are the research areas in VEs?

What will we get to do?  Explore a new area of computer science research  Q: How old is VR and who is the ‘father’ of VR?  A: 1965, Ivan Sutherland (The Ultimate Display, first reading)  What is unique about the picture?  What does having the head device get you?  Build your own environments  Develop a significant group final project  Do things that have never been done before!  Explore your creative side

Course Outline  Background and history of VR  Software  Hardware  Design  Interaction  Research Issues  Build Basic VE  Build Complex VE  Group Project building a compelling VE

Pre-Requisites  Proficient in programming (preferrable C/C++)  Programming must not be an obstacle  Java3D is an option, but more complex  General technical background  Familiar with computer graphics  You can take this course while taking CAP 4730, but it will be a challenge

Pre-Requisites  Please drop on by if you have any questions/concerns  No Slackers allowed…  those in search of an easy ‘A’ drop now!  those in search of a rewarding challenge stick around!

Why should I take this course?  An excuse to build that program/game/project you always wanted  A Computer Science course that involves a variety of skills (other than coding!)  Art  Psychology  Sound  Creativity  To play with fun toys  To show off your projects!  End of the semester final projects (potential advisors!)

Syllabus  Project course (most of your grade)  Create your own virtual environments  Create a group (probably made up of 3 people) project  Investigate the course topics you find most interesting  Do something that’s never been done before.  Go over syllabus

Readings  Chapter 1 – Introduction  "The Ultimate Display," Sutherland, I.E., Proceedings of IFIPS Congress 1965, New York, New York, May 1965, Vol. 2, pp  "A Head-Mounted Three- Dimensional Display," Sutherland, I.E., AFIPS Conference Proceedings, Vol. 33, Part I, 1968, pp  /timeline/Sutherland.html#Suthe rlandText /timeline/Sutherland.html#Suthe rlandText /timeline/Sutherland.html#Suthe rlandText