The do-it-yourself (DIY) demonstration was part of the MxR Lab’s push to disrupt the virtual reality marketplace by making low-cost, high quality virtual reality (VR) head mounted displays so accessible that people can even build their own.
As part of their demo at the IEEE VR Conference the team used a 3-D printer to construct a headset casing. Then, they added lenses and panels to create fully-functional immersive viewers. Here is a video of a display being printed.
The MxR Lab, a collaboration between USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies and the USC School of Cinematic Arts, also launched an website for their open source work. The site showcases do-it-yourself VR creations, modifications and designs so people can build their own units. It also has a forum to share ideas, get advice and have conversations about virtual reality and head mounted displays. The site also houses a new VR Dictionary, a glossary of terms and best practices ideas for the VR community.
Visit the site at projects.ict.usc.edu/mxr/diy/
Highlights of MxR’s conference participation include:
Workshop: Saturday, March 16
OTSVR: The Workshop on Off-The-Shelf Virtual Reality brings together researchers, professionals and hobbyists to share ideas that leverage off-the-shelf technology for the creation of VR experiences. Building on a successful workshop from IEEE VR 2012, OTSVR 2013 was designed to provide a venue for sharing novel hardware prototypes, software toolkits, interaction techniques, and novel immersive systems and applications that integrate low-cost consumer and hobbyist devices. With an eye towards penetrating thebarrier for widespread use, the workshop focused specifically on research and applications using technology that is replicable at the price point of a typical home user. Specific areas of interest include, but are not limited to:
IEEE PAPER
Wed. 3/20
Session 8: Perception
Peripheral Stimulation and its Effect on Perceived Spatial Scale in Virtual Environments Adam Jones, J. Edward Swan II, Mark Bolas
3DUI – Paper presentation
Saturday, 3/16
Flexible Spaces: Dynamic Layout Generation for Infinite Walking in Virtual Environments | Khrystyna Vasylevska, Hannes Kaufmann, Mark Bolas, Evan Suma
IEEE WORKSHOP
Sunday 3/17
Evan Suma: Panelist on 6th Workshop on Software Engineering and Architectures for Realtime Interactive Systems (SEARIS) 2013
Workshop on Virtual and Augmented Assistive Technology
Sunday 3/17
Evan Suma co-author on paper: Evaluation of the Exertion and Motivation Factors of a Virtual Reality Exercise Game for Children with Autism