PROPOSALS

Project 1 Proposal (self-evaluation included)

Presentation for Project 1 Proposal

Project 1 Update Slides

Project 1 In-Class Activity

End Presentation for Project 1

Project 2 Proposal

Presentation for Project 2 Proposal

Project 2 Update Slides

Project 2 In-Class Activity

End Presentation for Project 2

Flashtalk presentation

Final Poster

ALL OTHER WIKI CONTRIBUTIONS

CONTRIBUTION 1  Literature Review on Existent VR Solutions in Human Robot Collaboration 

CONTRIBUTION 2 Unity XR Plugin Framework : Overview + Set Up

CONTRIBUTION 3 Unity XR Plugin Framework: Throw a Ball (4.2)

CONTRIBUTION 4 Unity XR Plugin Framework: UI System / Keyboard Interface

CONTRIBUTION 5 Unity XR SDK vs Oculus SDK (OVR) 

CONTRIBUTION 6 Tutorial on synchronizing objects across states using Normcore

CONTRIBUTION 7 Review on Normcore as a package for multi-user apps

CONTRIBUTION 8 How to Host Networked-Aframe on a Server

CONTRIBUTION 9 Adding an AR spectator view to a Normcore Unity XR App

CONTRIBUTION 10 Tutorial on creating a VR drawing app in Unity

.....

CONTRIBUTION N [short description] <ADD LINK>

JOURNAL EVALUATIONS

Self-evaluation

• Journal activities are explicitly and clearly related to course deliverables - 4

• deliverables are described and attributed in wiki - 4

• report states total amount of time - 5

• total time is appropriate - 4

Peer Evaluation (by Mandy for Jennifer)

• Journal activities are explicitly and clearly related to course deliverables - 5

• deliverables are described and attributed in wiki - 4

• report states total amount of time - 5

• total time is appropriate - 4

Peer-evaluation (by Jennifer for Mandy)

• Journal activities are explicitly and clearly related to course deliverables - 4

• deliverables are described and attributed in wiki - 5

• report states total amount of time - 5

• total time is appropriate - 4

HOURS journal

1/30/22 - 4-5 Hours total

• 9 separate changes to last year's wiki (0.5 -1 hr):

  • Three changes should each require ~10 minutes to complete.

    • Adding a course schedule

    • Making the website edits into suggestions rather direct edits

    • Adding a tutorial to using Google sites (there's a lot of information on the website that I'm worried about accidentally deleting)

  • Three changes should each require ~1 hour to complete.

    • Adding a guideline to submitting edits/contributing to the wiki + adding a guideline on using slack (the purpose of each channel and the use of threads, etc.) in the course page

    • Implementing a  navigation bar or "table of content" like element for pages including VR Development Software, data type and examples, course timeline, collaborative vr resources, etc.

    • Separating out the course home page from the wiki - it was a little hard to find the course-related content on the website without looking through the sidebar

  • The final three changes should each require ~10 hours to complete.

    • Adding an ethical  VR+ accessibility section to the wiki

    • Adding more sections to Applications of VR, such as its use in retail, education, real estate, manufacturing, robotics, etc.

    • Adding a VR hardware/software comparison section or review

• Executed 10-minute changes:

  • Here's a list of tutorials for using Google sites 

  • As a proof of concept, I've also embedded the calendar with Holidays in the U.S. below

• • Reading (0.5-1 hour)

    • History of VR: the Sensorama: In 1962, an American cinematographer built a prototype of his immersive, multi-sensory, mechanical multimodal theater called the Sensorama. It looks like a big vintage arcade machine where users can stick their head into a box and experience of being a part of a film. It sounds a little like 3D movies, and drawing inspiration from 4D movies, which incorporate special features like a motion-sensored chair, drops of rain, and the scent of fresh oven-baked cookies, I'm wondering if VR can also create a more immersive experience for users by activating other senses like touch and smell.

    • Virtual Reality Has an Accessibility Problem: Although VR is often touted as a democratizing way to access new worlds and experiences, "many of those with limited mobility can’t experience VR without assistance, and even with a headset on, many can’t make the head or body movements necessary to get the full experience. The problem isn’t limited to those with physical impairments; conditions like autism and anxiety can also make using VR difficult or even harmful." Additionally, VR can often be incompatible with assistive technology and exclusive to people with disabilities. 

    • Can Virtual Reality Make You More Empathetic?: With the ability of immersing users in the world of a refugee camp or the journey of becoming homelessness, VR is praised as the "empathy machine." At Stanford, the virtual human interaction lab curated a VR experience that puts the user in the shoes of someone who is facing an eviction to encourage people to act more charitably. While I understand the intentions of the creators, something about using VR to generate empathy just seems wrong. It's almost manipulative and somewhat alike trauma porn. How is this really different from the digital media centered on the exploitation of the pain and suffering of marginalized groups? In fact, the intentions of the creators may backfire by reinforcing existent stereotypes around these groups. 

    • Virtual Reality Is Sexist: But It Does Not Have to Be: Women are more likely to suffer from motion sickness caused by VR than men, reinforcing the gender gap. "As more females were unable to properly fit their IPD to currently available VR headsets, and any IPD non-fit experienced was more extreme in females than males, VR technology was indeed found to be sexist, but it does not have to be. If VR headset manufacturers implement an IPD adjustable range of ~ 50 to 77 mm to capture >99% of both females and males, it is anticipated that a far greater number of females will be able to harness the performance enhancing potential of VR technology."

  • VR software (2-2.5 hours)

    • installed and explored Unity, completed parts of the Unity Essential Tutorial

      • created microgame using template

      • learned to create and manipulate scenes and game objects

      • implemented basics physics for game objects

      • integrated C# scripts into the creation of a game object

  • Project ideas (0.5-1 hour)

    • Collaborate with the RISD Museum to create VR guide for artwork

    • Create VR tour guide for memorials or architectural structures

    • Work with educational organizations to create VR learning material to enhance student understanding in subjects like physics where visualizations are helpful

    • Create NFT VR gallery in a physical space with empty art frames

  • Problems/Bugs (0.5 hrs)

    • my page failed to save so I had to redo everything I had done. Google sites seems to save my progress very slowly for some reason.

2/3/22 - 3-3.5 Hours total

• Set up Oculus headset (0.5 hr)

• Played around with Oculus to get acquainted (1.5 hr)

  • Google Earth activity (as shown below, from left to right: my current dorm, my childhood house, my best friend's old apartment)

• Brainstormed project ideas (1 hr):

• visualizing gerrymandering (geographic data) - users can play the role of map makers

• visualizing historical events in a timeline (inspired by NASDQ), like the Atlantic slave trade

• research accessible design for VR (control panel for color changes, captions, other accessibility support) + human factors (cognitive load)

• visualizing climate change (ocean currents, wild fire spreads, deforestation, animal extinctions)

• visualizing memories + research into emotional connection 

• modeling traffic flows in cities (people can remove highways + change road connections)

2/8/22  - 3-3.5 Hours total

• Brainstormed project ideas (1hr)

  1. modeling traffic flows in cities

     • Software: ArcGIS City Engine

     • 3 things I will do during the project: visualize traffic flow, map traffic data onto an architectural model of a city, evaluate the performance of ArcGIS City Engine

     • In-class activities: users can see traffic flow of cars on streets

       • reach: they can remove highways and alter road connections to simulate traffic flow

     • Deliverables: added section in wiki on the advantages of visualizing traffic flow with VR; users can see the traffic flow of cars on streets, with trajectories mapped onto a 3D model of the city

  2. research the use of VR in human robot collaboration

     • Software: Unity

     • 3 things I will do during the project: conduct literature review of existent VR applications in HRC, convert a unity model into VR and add interactive components, and explore VR unity models

     • In-class activities: users are able to see the robotic arm move to pick up the object and move the target object

     • Deliverables: added section in the wiki on the applications of VR in HRC,  convert existent Unity robot model into VR project, visualize the robotic arm in motion of picking/placing an object, configure objects for basic grabbable interactivity in VR

  3. visualizing gerrymandering

     • 3 things I will do during the project: find gerrymandering data (congressional seats breakdown by state and party, current party representation of congressional districts as an illustration of packing, party control of state legislatures) and visualize it on a map of the U.S., provide users the option to toggle between different datasets

     • In-class activities: users can see the changes in congressional seats for each state on a map of the U.S.

       • reach: users can redraw the congressional districts and see the party representation of the district reflecting the changes

     • Deliverables: a map visualization with municipal units that's split by districting plans and users can toggle the dataset to visualize on top of this map, from the party representation of the unit to demographics breakdown.

• Completed modules within Unity tutorial/course on Create with VR (1 - 1.5hr)

  1. Learned to set up VR project in Unity  

     • see video of the project here (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1meyO-548YtSphvUH_ap7NQ5WhaMscXqi/view?usp=sharing )

• Set up DinoVR project (0.5 - 1hr)

2/15/22  - 2.5- 3 Hours total

• Read about Kristi Potter and brainstormed questions (0.5hr)

• Finished project planning and created presentation (1 hr)

  • Created timeline for Project 1, with deliverables and in-class activities, and contributions to Wiki

• Researched existent AR/VR solutions in HRC (1.5-2hr)

2/24/22  - 3.5 - 4 Hours total

• Read literature reviews and contributed to the wiki (1.5 - 2.5 hr)

  • created structural organization

• Tested inputting coordinates to position the target object (1 - 1.5hr)

  • documented bugs

• Experimented with existent projects on VR robot control (0.5-1hr)

  • see video of me interacting with the robot: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eENWyGzM857tfyQG6e8A9T1GUeXAm84O/view?usp=sharing 

3/3/22  - 4.5 - 5 Hours total

• Continued configuring model into VR (1.5 - 2hr)

  • adjusted camera control such that objects do not move along with the user's locomotion

• Continued reading literature reviews and contributing to the wiki (1.5  - 2hr)

• Continued working through VR tutorial on Unity (1 hr)

  • 1.3 - Grabbable Objects

    • see video of me picking up and throwing a cricket ball (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1acWRTNa3StsSloi46ddVCmmbcIRuVsJs/view?usp=sharing)

4/19/22 - 4.5 - 5.5 Hours total

• Created progress report for project 2 (0.5 - 1 hr)

• Continued working on adding multiplayer integration to A-Frame with the networked-aframe package (1 - 1.5 hr)

  • Tried debugging the lack of correspondence between the relative position of the user and the positions of the avatars (1 hr)

• Worked on deploying A-Painter with Heroku (1 - 1.5 hr)

4/21/22 - 3.5 - 4.5 Hours total

• Prepped for Mandy's in-class activity (0.5hr)

• Prepped for Amanda Levy's in-class activity (0.5hr)

• Continued trying to debug A-Painter deployment issues with Ross's help (1.5 - 2 hr)

• Researched other options to implement 3D drawing in VR (1hr)

  • Watched tutorials on drawing interactable objects in VR using Unity

4/26/22 - 4 - 5 Hours total

• Prepped for Sayan's in-class activity (0.5 hr)

• Prepped for Tongyu's in-class activity  (0.5 hr)

• Created Unity project to build a multiplayer drawing app (1.5 - 2 hr)

  • Added VR set up for Oculus in Unity

  • Created brush stroke objects

• Looked into Normcore to add multiuser functionality and familiarize myself with the RealTime Objects (1 - 1.5 hr)