Introduction to Virtual/Augmented
Reality and Telepresence
MM-806
(Fall 2022)
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Ivan Sutherland's HMD (1968)
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Modern HMDs (Today)
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General Information
Instructor: Pierre Boulanger
Tel: 780-492-3031
Email: pierreb@cs.ualberta.ca
URL: www.cs.ualberta.ca/~pierreb
Office: 411 Athabasca Hall
Office hours: By appointment only.
Lectures will start on September 6
In-person:
Every Tuesday,
from 13:00-14:20, classroom C5-36 (Chemistry Room)
Every Thursday
from 13:00-14:20, we will use CAB379
Virtual:
Please register in advance
for the lectures using the zoom
link
After registering, you will
receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
All lectures will be recorded
TA:
Gabriel Lugo Bustillo lugobust@ualberta.ca
Course Description
Virtual and augmented
reality can provide an immersive environment where many scenarios can be
simulated. For example, manufacturing and engineering tasks, medical planning
and training, art and design, rehabilitation, Physics, Biology and Chemistry
concept exploration, and many others can benefit from a virtual reality
environment. This course focuses on the challenges of setting up a
user-friendly virtual reality scene where users can interact intuitively and naturally.
The use of interactive techniques and sensor-based devices, such as haptic and
head-mount displays, in creating a virtual environment for scientific analysis,
visualization exploration, and Tele-presence, as well as how mobile users can
participate in these applications, will be discussed.
Prerequisites
Some knowledge of computer graphics and multimedia
systems
Assignments
Assignments must be submitted electronically to
VRARMM806@gmail.com. Most of the assignments will be using Unity 3D.
There will be five problem sets. Don't be misled
by the few points assigned to homework grades in the final grade calculation.
While the grade that you get on your homework is at most a minor component of
your final grade, working on the problems is a crucial part of the learning
process and will invariably have a significant impact on your understanding of
the material
Course Project
A group project will
culminate in a final ten-page report in IEEE format and a presentation at a day
workshop. Progress and checkpoints before the last due date will count toward
the final grade.
Course Grade
The final grade for the course is based on our
best assessment of your understanding of the material and your commitment and
participation. The problem sets and final projects are combined to give a final
grade:
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ACTIVITIES |
Weight |
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Final Project |
50% |
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Assignments (5 x 10%) |
50% |
Lecture Notes
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TOPICS |
Slides |
Extras |
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First Class Class Overview |
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Introduction o Definition of
Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Virtualized Reality, and Telepresence o Generic
Configuration of Virtual Reality Systems (image rendering systems, sound
rendering systems, haptic rendering systems, communication systems, physical
modelling systems, etc.) o A brief
overview of the applications of Virtual Reality (in remote robotic control,
medicine, e-commerce, communication, in industrial design) |
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History of VR |
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Short Review
of Computer Graphics o
Overview and Transformations |
CAMERAS AND EFFECTS in Unity 1. Cameras GEOMETRY IN UNITY 1. Meshes 2. Mesh Renderers and Mesh Filters Assignment 1: Due October 3
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Lighting
and Shading |
LIGHTING IN UNITY 2. Unity
5 - Lighting and Rendering 3. Lights RENDERING AND SHADING in Unity 2. Materials 3. Textures 4. A Gentle Introduction to Shaders |
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Introduction to Human Vision |
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Group Description: Due
October 3 |
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Visual Rendering Systems o Essential characteristics of human
visual perception o Stereoscopic display systems (LCD,
CRT, HMD, flat, panoramic, hemispheric screens, etc.) o Detailed analysis of advanced
visualization systems o New display devices such as real-time
auto-stereogram and retinal writing o Cinematic display |
Assignment
2: Due
October 17 |
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Digitizing the Human Body o
Three-dimensional
position sensors (magnetic, ultrasound, photogrammetric, mechanical, and
inertial sensors) |
VR/AR Term Projects By October 23, I
would like each team to send me the following information: o A
project titles o The
name of each member of the team o A
detailed description of the project o A
diagram of the VR/AR interface functionality o A
preliminary system design o An
estimated timeline of the execution of the project
Once I get this, I
will meet with each team individually and discuss the logistic of the
project. |
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Digitizing
body motion and forces (DataGlove, CyberGlove, PowerGlove, DHM
Dexterous Hand Master, etc.) |
Assignment
3: Due
October 31 |
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Review
of student projects |
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Sound Rendering Systems o Essential characteristics of human
auditory perception o Synthesis of 3D sound (convolvotrons, Beachtrons and Acoustetrons, simple 3D sound) |
Assignment
4: Due November 14 |
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Haptic Rendering Systems o Human requirements for
good haptic perception o Tactile and force feedback
(difference between tactile and force feedback, various tactile feedback
systems, haptic rendering, force feedback systems) o
Combination of tactile and force feedback. |
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Computing Architectures
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Modelling for VR o Geometric
Modeling (geometric primitives, scene hierarchies, constructive geometry,
etc.) o Cinematic
model (object motion, collision detection, navigation models, motion
hierarchies, etc.) o Physical
Modeling (gravity, collision, deformable model, surface texture, etc.) o Behavioural
Modeling (Artificial life, responsive model, etc.) o Model segmentation (segmentation in cells,
LOD, etc.) o Modelling
real-life from sensors |
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VR Programming o Java 3D o Vizard
Toolkit o Unity 3D o MiddleVR |
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Human Factors in VR and Augmented Reality |
Assignment 5: Due
December 5 |
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Augmented Reality |
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Tele-presence and Cinematic VR |
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Applications of VR and AR o Medicine and
rehabilitation (surgery, anatomic simulator, remote surgery, hybrid systems) o VR games o Arts
(virtual actors, virtual museum, virtual music, virtual theatre) o Virtual
product design (CAD display, process simulation, virtual prototyping) o Robotic
(robot and virtual reality, design of robots, robot programming, supervisory
control, the Mars Rover) o Teaching
systems (military training 'SIMNET', NASA training systems, flight
simulators) o Virtual
teleconferencing systems |
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Students' Presentations and Demos |
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Project
demos start the week of December 13 |
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Final Report |
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Due
no later than December 19 |
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Recommended Reference
Books o Handbook of Virtual Environments: Design,
Implementation, and Applications. 2nd Edition. K. S. Hale, K. M. Stanney, Eds. 2014. o 3D User Interfaces: Theory and Practice. D. A.
Bowman, E. Kruijff, J. J. LaViola,
and I. Poupyrev. 2014. o Understanding Virtual Reality: Interface,
Application, and Design. W. R. Sherman and A. B. Craig. 2012. Developer References Research Articles o Stereoscopy and the Human Visual System o Optometric and Perceptual Issues with Head-mounted Displays Other Online Resources o A developer's
perspective on immersive 3D computer graphics o https://www.edx.org/professional-certificate/virtual-reality-vr-app-development
o http://stanford.edu/class/ee267/ o http://moodle.epfl.ch/course/view.php?id=6841 o https://www.evl.uic.edu/aej/528/ |
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