Technical Artist Intern 0909
January 07, 2009
Project Name
Virtual Reality Motor Rehabilitation
Project Description
Virtual Reality/Haptic Motor Rehabilitation for persons with central nervous system dysfunction (i.e. stroke, brain injury) and disability – We have developed a series of immersive motor rehabilitation gaming scenarios that can be delivered both in a stereoscopic Head Mounted Display (HMD) and off of PC-based projection and other displays (see Figures 25-28). These applications are currently being tuned to foster motor interaction in a series of game-like scenarios to assess and rehabilitate eye-hand coordination, range of motion, balance and other relevant motor activities (Rizzo et al., 2004). Significant effort is being put into the interface design that will allow a therapist the capacity to easily configure the stimulus presentation parameters according to the needs of the client to promote optimal motor action based on both therapeutic need and/or the specific research question. The capacity for a person to become engaged in a gaming task and become less focused on the fact that they are being tested may provide a more “pure” gauge of naturalistic ability. As well, a compelling clinical direction may involve leveraging gaming features for the challenging task of enhancing motivation levels in clients participating in rehabilitation. This work will also drive our efforts to translate existing game-based systems (i.e., Vivid Gesture Extreme and SONY EyeToy) into effective rehabilitation tools (Rand et al., 2003; in press) including the eventual remote delivery of treatment via telerehabilitation technologies. Note: this work is currently being funded within a NIDRR Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center.
Job Description
Technical Artist Intern for programming and 3D animation. Intern to assist with a variety of tasks: modeling, texturing and animating of assets for in-game use within Virtual Environments. The intern will work closely with other team members in the creation of virtual worlds and characters which are employed in R&D demonstrations, training, physical therapy, mental health applications and neurocognitive assessments. Interns will work within a small team of artists, programmers, psychologists and physical/occupational therapist wherein a good collaborative approach is desired from all members.
Skill set:
Modeling and texturing skills based on real world and imaginary reference material
Familiarity with laying out UV’s (in Maya)
Character animation skills
Experience with game engines is a plus: Gamebryo, Ogre, Panda, Vizard
Required application knowledge: Maya, Photoshop, C++
An interest in novel 3D user interface and tracking solutions