Brandon Woodard Journal

1/26 - 1 hour

• Installed paraview and experimented with visualizing airborne lidar data

1/27 - 4 hours

• Set up journal page and entries

• Reviewed some common scientific visualization tools and focused on Omegalib, VTK , and Paraview

• Reviewed course website sub-pages

• Exploring ideas on how I can integrate OpenSpace into the YURT

• Began page for Vizible VR development software.

1/29 - 5 hours

• Continued working on previous software entry

• Reinstalled paraview on macbook pro. Typically I work on a Windows machine, but due to the errors experienced in class (Volume rendering error most likely due to graphics issue; Will investigate further)

• Ensured that all functions worked on Macbook pro version, tested volume data, and followed online tutorials for other common functions

• Review YURT Software, YURT Software Evaluation, and Data, Examples, and Collaborators pages

1/29 -  2 hours

Chose and research data types: Point Cloud Data (.las format), Planetary Geology Imaging data

Primary Ideas:

• Integrate Openspace in the YURT

• Get accessMars(WebVR/WebXR app) working in the YURT

• Get ArcGIS working in the YURT

Secondary ideas: 

• Using point cloud data and planetary geology imaging data to determine water level, sea rise

• Creating a virtual reality world map with an option to switch to lidar data collected in that particular area. Also viewing the lidar point clouds at the same time as the geological images to view changes in topography. 

• Get ArcGIS onto Openspace platform

• Get other mission data like the Insight Lander's live feed on the Openspace platform

2/1- 2 hours

3 things I will do during projects for each project idea:

Reviewed wiki to support project ideas

Downloaded Unreal Engine 4.2 and went through YT tutorials

Ideas and 3 activities for each:

• Integrate Openspace into the YURT

  1.  Get OpenVR working on HMD

  2. Use MinVR as wrapper for OpenVR 

  3. Port to YURT, refine I/O controls for YURT development

  4. Class activity: Using the desktop version of Openspace and generating ideas for YURT-Openspace I/O interaction

• Get access Mars (A webvr/webxr application) working in the YURT (Link: g.co/accessmars)

  1. Modify MinVR to work with webvr (Should be feasible since it is based off of webGL)

  2. Port accessMars to YURT 

  3. Get I/O working with accessMars YURT version

  4. Class Activity: Reviewing the MinVR opensource code together and pieces that can be modified

• Make ArcGIS usable in the YURT

1. Explore ways to integrate ArcGIS 360 or ArcGIS online into YURT

2. Create a wrapper that will work with ArcGIS 360

3. Display ArcGIS data appropriately in the YURT

4. Class activity: Familiarizing ourselves with ArcGIS and generating ideas on how to implement it in the YURT

5. Learn to use ArcGIS with youtube tutorial listed here: https://youtu.be/ekmyWkAP4eI

Potential Deliverables:

• Successfully project/visualize Mars space mission simulation from Openspace in YURT

• Demonstrate YURT controllers able to use all basic functionality in Openspace to the class

• Present and document a framework for how to get a OpenVR based application running *efficiently* in the YURT and document steps specifically for OpenSpace (This will be a wiki entry and/or tutorial video)

• Upload ArcGIS tutorial on wiki, created by me

• Document WebVR/WebXR deployment into HMD

2/4 - 3 hours

Brainstormed software evaluation metrics: 

Functionality: When one of the project ideas are deployed to the YURT they should allow for interaction of all of the basic services of the platform. If the applications are not at least 75% functional in the YURT then it has poor functionality. For example, a user should be able to interact with atleast 75% of Openspace's GUI controls. Finding this percentage will be based on the number of interactions that work divided by the total number of interactions

Reliability:  Each project idea listed in the previous section is displayed in the YURT it should work every time without error. The reliability percentage will be the number of times the application was fully functional in the YURT without glitches out of thirty times. I chose the number 20 because in most scientific papers you need at least 20 results to have an accurate statistic. 

Usability: The extent to which the user's feel the software is easy to use. This will be evaluate by a group study done with students outside of the course and without any experience in the YURT.  I can give them 5-10 minutes to use the software and ask for their ratings. 

Efficiency: The efficiency of the software deployed in the YURT can be rated based off frame rate. I think an acceptable frame rate would be 30 fps. This is based off feedback from gamers of a reddit questionaire asking for the lowest frame rate acceptable. Post available here: https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/41rsqf/what_is_the_lowest_acceptable_framerate_and/ 

Maintainability: The extent to which the software can be easily modified and maintained. New code used for the potential ideas should be well documented and well written in order to have a high maintainability. Additionally, external libraries should be avoided if possible to avoid possible deprecation of said libraries. This can be measured by counting the amount external libraries and software used in code versus some total (Still thinking about what the totals should be for comparison)

Portability: The ease of changing software from one environment to another. So the perfectly written application should be able to port to a HMD, desktop, and to the YURT flawlessly without any modified code. 

2/2 - 2 hour

Continued editing Vizible VR development software wiki page

2/5 - 5 hours

Openspace project proposal

2/09 - 5 hours

Made improvements in my proposal based off feedback from week 3 evaluations:  Openspace project proposal

2/10 - 1 hour

Made project proposal slides

2/11 - 4 hours

Completed minVR tutorial and first milestone  ✔ 

2/13 - 5 hours

Milestone 2: Set up OpenVR with minVR and identified issues ✔ (On going)

Documented issues onto wiki page here

2/15 - 1 hour

Met with Ben in regards to OpenSpace and the best method to port it into the YURT; short answer MinVR

2/17 - 2 hours

Set up OpenVR with minVR and identified issues (On going)

Documented and described issues onto wiki page here

2/18 - 2 Hours

Continued contribution to Vizible page in wiki here

2/19 - 3 hours

Began setting up OpenVR with HMD, crashing on windows

Documented and described issues onto wiki page here 

Attempt to troubleshoot issues

Milestone 3: Set up OpenVR with HMD ✔ 

2/19 - 1 hour

In Depth Journal Self Evaluation

Journal activities are explicitly and clearly related to course deliverables: 5

deliverables are described and attributed in wiki: 5

report states total amount of time: 5

total time is appropriate: 5

Final remarks: Overall there is clearly a lot of effort put into this journal. All requirements/tasks for the course timelines were met. The hours were reasonable and carefully measured. Further the amount of detail in the project proposal is exceptional and there is already a decent amount of progress that has been made.

Evaluation of Self-Evaluation by Ethan Sattler: 5  

Complete OpenGL tutorial as listed in my project 1 plan

Research the rendering pipeline to later modify rendering functions

Met with Ben, he does not recommend doing the rendering function route

Attempt to get OpenSpace/OpenVR running on MinVR linux version

Met with Johannes to assist with getting MinVR working

Finish setting up OpenSpace on HMD in case we build from OpenVR version

Trying to get OpenSpace/OpenVR running, switched to building on windows

Project presentation Preparation 

Met with Anessa to do in-class Google cardboard activity (Missed class due to conference)

Returned to California due to unforeseen circumstances with pandemic

Created draft of Project 2; reviewed classmates project plans

Began brainstorming class activities and setting date on timeline 

Finalized Project plan 2 and presentations

Documented known bugs with MinVR build so far

Began research TLE formats for porting Anessa's new data into OpenSpace if successful

Document the most current method of porting Openspace with MinVR. Filled in gaps with MinVR port not covered already on the MinVR course wiki (Edit: The Openspace build page has current method of building a MinVR application)

Stuck on build errors with OpenSpace-MinVR build for windows

Troubleshoot some of the CMake build errors on windows for Openspace MinVR

Researched the Openspace slack to find that webgui_helpers is not necessary to build. This was my work around for now. I do want to go back and find out the significance of the respective lines in the OpenSpace-MinVR cmake lists files

Fixed manifest error after I was able to over come the windows problem

Prepared class activity by exploring datasets I want the course to explore in Openspace

Researched TLE datasets to be able to talk about them in OpenSpace

Still dealing with abort error in OpenSpace-MinVR

Overcame abort error, now I have all modules loaded, shell displays no error, but I receive no splash screen

Looked into what could be wrong with desktop-config file

Researching why I am seeing no gfx in the shell window 

Started TLE wiki, added onto 'Building OpenSpace' wiki.

Due to time, Finished up all wiki contributions which includes detailed steps of workarounds for errors I encountered

Prepared for final presentations and semester story

Created Poster for final presentation