December 21, 2017 at 18:47"Virtual University": what VR-projects are developing at ITMO University
The VR market is growing at a steady pace - if last year the revenues of this industry were estimated at $ 3.7 billion, then by 2020 they are estimated to be 30-40 billion. Moreover, the VR market is formed not only through the sale of equipment (points , helmets) and games: according to Digi-Capital, a significant share of revenues in the VR market in the near future will come from video and non-gaming applications, and development in this area will continue to be carried out by both large corporations and small startups.
By the way, VR projects that are being developed at ITMO University also apply to a wide variety of niches - from gaming to educational and from software to hardware. And students, scientists, and residents of our Technopark take part in their development - all of this below. A photo
re: publica CC BY
Part of the VR projects created at ITMO University is directly related to education (which is quite obvious). Some of them are designed for students (we will talk about them a little later), others - for students. One of such projects is being developed by Video360Production, a resident of the Technopark of ITMO University.
The Video360Production team creates the concept of VR-class for secondary schools. Such a class is not only virtual reality glasses and educational content, but also furniture suitable for classes, which the company also develops independently:
The company also plans to engage in the creation of educational content for such classes - primarily 360 degree video. Of course, such a video does not reveal the full potential of VR classes as interactive sites. Nevertheless, it is much more informative than illustrations or slides and is suitable, for example, for geography lessons, in which students can not only get basic information about a particular part of the planet, but also see it in a format that allows for the effect of presence.
The Video360Production team prepared one of these videos during an expedition to the Arctic on the Professor Molchanov icebreaker:
In the future, the team plans to develop content that allows students to interact with the interactive VR-environment - this will help make the process of "virtual" learning as efficient as possible. Although, according to the creators of the project, the best result from VR-learning is achieved when “virtual” content is combined with a classic lecture. ITMO University is developing
another educational project for schoolchildren together with the Moscow Technopark Caliber. Classes in the technology park are designed for students aged 14-17 and allow you to get the basics of three-dimensional modeling and learn more about virtual and augmented reality technologies.
For this project, employees of the Department of Graphic Technologies at ITMO University have developed guidelines for conducting classes.
Developments in the field of AR and VR, as a rule, turn out to be very spectacular, so they can often be seen at various festivals in which ITMO University takes part - such as, for example, Unreal fest and VK-fest.
At the AR and VR Unreal fest festival last year, ITMO University presented the development of a research institute for high-tech computer technologies. We have already talked about the projects of the scientific research institute of tubing related to the modeling of complex multi-agent systems ( 1 , 2 and 3), however, visitors to the festival could not only learn more about such systems, but also “get inside” the processes that scientists modeled. For example, to become participants in the Kumbh Mela religious festival and visit the Indian temple as part of the most massive religious event in the world (this festival gathers up to 120 million participants).
And this summer at VK-fest it was possible to take part in several ITMO University projects related to VR and AR. For example, test your strengths in the sci-fi VR quest , which was developed by students of the department of graphic technologies together with the department of high-performance computing. And also take a bike ride with virtual reality glasses, fly on a virtual hang glider, play VR-basketball, shoot from a virtual gun or bow.
By the way, not only students of the department of graphic technologies and employees of the Scientific Research Institute of NKT are involved in VR development, but also those who study photonics at ITMO University. For example, Daniil Samoilov, a student at the Department of Lighting Technologies and Optoelectronics.
Daniel is a member of the team that won first place in the Unity nomination at one of the largest hackathons in the world - Junction. The team included students and applicants from ITMO University, as well as Peter the Great Polytechnic University. Project, which in 48 hours was developed by a team - virtual reality glasses with a new management tool. According to Daniil, the team set out to “add interactivity” to the standard process of interacting with VR, use accessible and inexpensive technology for this and not copy existing developments and solutions.
As a result, the guys suggested equipping VR-helmets with photoresistors. They record the reflection of light from the user's eye - the brightness of the reflected radiation allows you to determine whether the eye is closed or open. As a result, the "power of gaze", or rather blinking, the user can control actions on the screen. For example, destroy objects in a computer game. Such a control, of course, will not replace standard joysticks and controllers, but will complement their capabilities.
By the way, there will be more student projects related to AR and VR in the near future - ITMO University recently signed an agreement on the creation of a center of competence in the field of augmented and virtual reality with the Far Eastern Federal University.
This, on the one hand, will allow universities to strengthen their competencies in the field of AR / VR development, and on the other hand, they will enter the market of the Asia-Pacific region, which is considered one of the fastest growing in this segment.
By the way, VR projects that are being developed at ITMO University also apply to a wide variety of niches - from gaming to educational and from software to hardware. And students, scientists, and residents of our Technopark take part in their development - all of this below. A photo
re: publica CC BYEducation
Part of the VR projects created at ITMO University is directly related to education (which is quite obvious). Some of them are designed for students (we will talk about them a little later), others - for students. One of such projects is being developed by Video360Production, a resident of the Technopark of ITMO University.
The Video360Production team creates the concept of VR-class for secondary schools. Such a class is not only virtual reality glasses and educational content, but also furniture suitable for classes, which the company also develops independently:
An ordinary chair is not suitable here: for VR, furniture should at least rotate around its axis, but neither “bar” chairs without a backrest, nor office chairs on wheels can fit here.
There are solutions in the form of closed booths with columns, but this, again, is not suitable for educational institutions. We proposed to design and create suitable furniture to colleagues from the department of furniture design at the Stirlitz Academy.
- Denis Stolyarov, project manager, employee of the Center for Design and Multimedia , ITMO University
The company also plans to engage in the creation of educational content for such classes - primarily 360 degree video. Of course, such a video does not reveal the full potential of VR classes as interactive sites. Nevertheless, it is much more informative than illustrations or slides and is suitable, for example, for geography lessons, in which students can not only get basic information about a particular part of the planet, but also see it in a format that allows for the effect of presence.
The Video360Production team prepared one of these videos during an expedition to the Arctic on the Professor Molchanov icebreaker:
In the future, the team plans to develop content that allows students to interact with the interactive VR-environment - this will help make the process of "virtual" learning as efficient as possible. Although, according to the creators of the project, the best result from VR-learning is achieved when “virtual” content is combined with a classic lecture. ITMO University is developing
another educational project for schoolchildren together with the Moscow Technopark Caliber. Classes in the technology park are designed for students aged 14-17 and allow you to get the basics of three-dimensional modeling and learn more about virtual and augmented reality technologies.
For this project, employees of the Department of Graphic Technologies at ITMO University have developed guidelines for conducting classes.
In the methodological recommendations, we detailed the content of the courses and their stages, based on our many years of experience working with children, since the Children and Youth Computer Center (DYuCT) operates on the basis of the Department of Graphic Technologies at ITMO University, whose students receive basic knowledge in the field of computer design and animation , programming, 3D-modeling, web-design, video editing and other similar areas.
- Artem Smolin, Head of the Department of Graphic Technologies
Festivals
Developments in the field of AR and VR, as a rule, turn out to be very spectacular, so they can often be seen at various festivals in which ITMO University takes part - such as, for example, Unreal fest and VK-fest.
At the AR and VR Unreal fest festival last year, ITMO University presented the development of a research institute for high-tech computer technologies. We have already talked about the projects of the scientific research institute of tubing related to the modeling of complex multi-agent systems ( 1 , 2 and 3), however, visitors to the festival could not only learn more about such systems, but also “get inside” the processes that scientists modeled. For example, to become participants in the Kumbh Mela religious festival and visit the Indian temple as part of the most massive religious event in the world (this festival gathers up to 120 million participants).
One person can walk around the temple and direct the flow of people, and the other can be a kind of crowd manager: look at the whole picture in general and give some recommendations. So, a person who is in virtual reality can see the emerging marks on the territory and perform a number of tasks.
- Andrey Karsakov, head of the scientific visualization group, Scientific Research Institute of NKT
And this summer at VK-fest it was possible to take part in several ITMO University projects related to VR and AR. For example, test your strengths in the sci-fi VR quest , which was developed by students of the department of graphic technologies together with the department of high-performance computing. And also take a bike ride with virtual reality glasses, fly on a virtual hang glider, play VR-basketball, shoot from a virtual gun or bow.
VR and AR are a trend not only for today, but also for tomorrow. These are the technologies of the future, in which machine learning is actively used, and it is also a very important stage in the creation of artificial intelligence.
- Vladimir Vasiliev, Rector of ITMO University
Other student developments
By the way, not only students of the department of graphic technologies and employees of the Scientific Research Institute of NKT are involved in VR development, but also those who study photonics at ITMO University. For example, Daniil Samoilov, a student at the Department of Lighting Technologies and Optoelectronics.
Daniel is a member of the team that won first place in the Unity nomination at one of the largest hackathons in the world - Junction. The team included students and applicants from ITMO University, as well as Peter the Great Polytechnic University. Project, which in 48 hours was developed by a team - virtual reality glasses with a new management tool. According to Daniil, the team set out to “add interactivity” to the standard process of interacting with VR, use accessible and inexpensive technology for this and not copy existing developments and solutions.
As a result, the guys suggested equipping VR-helmets with photoresistors. They record the reflection of light from the user's eye - the brightness of the reflected radiation allows you to determine whether the eye is closed or open. As a result, the "power of gaze", or rather blinking, the user can control actions on the screen. For example, destroy objects in a computer game. Such a control, of course, will not replace standard joysticks and controllers, but will complement their capabilities.
By the way, there will be more student projects related to AR and VR in the near future - ITMO University recently signed an agreement on the creation of a center of competence in the field of augmented and virtual reality with the Far Eastern Federal University.
This, on the one hand, will allow universities to strengthen their competencies in the field of AR / VR development, and on the other hand, they will enter the market of the Asia-Pacific region, which is considered one of the fastest growing in this segment.