 VIRTUAL
REALITY STUDIO |
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Index [
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| Building Low-Cost VR | |||||||
 The
Trial The Trail |
The
Media Study Department at UB has built a one screen, low-cost, passive
stereo, projection-based VR system. To create the stereo effect the user
wears glasses with polarizing lenses and the computer draws one image
for each eye - hence the blurring in this image. There is also a tracking
system and 3D "wand" for interaction. Our goal is to make VR more
accessible. This system is a prototype of VR systems that will be within
the financial reach of art and media study departments, and museums and galleries. |
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The
Thing Growing |
The VR system is used by faculty and students for the production of virtual reality projects. We routinely bring the system to art venues to exhibit our work. In April 2003 we brought the projection-based system, and a low-cost head mounted display system, to Squeaky Wheel, a gallery in Buffalo. We have also demonstrated work on the projected-based system at Vassar College, Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, and the Assembly Building in Albany as part of UB's lobbying day. On that occasion, to reduce light pollution, we erected black out material on PVC pipes around the system. (see left) | ||||||
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Our
graphics run on a linux PC. We opted for linux largely so that we could
use VR tools developed for SGIs. In 2001, in collaboration with CCR,
we started a class called Virtual Tales where students produced VR environments,
which can run both on our system and on CCR's Immersadesk. This class
is now integrated into our curriculum as Creating a VR Art Project . We are also involved in networking VR environments. In 2002/2003 we showed projects networked to Sweden (Stockholm Art Fair), and Spain (En Red Ando Conference in Barcelona). We have also collaborated with NYSCEDII and CCR centers at UB, using their VR devices to show networked art projects at the iGrid 2002 conference, and for the Ars Electronica Festival 2001. |
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We
are in the process of adding spatialized sound capability to our system.
For more information on our low-cost VR research, please see: |
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| contact jranstey@buffalo.edu |
Copyright 2003 DMS Under Gnu Public Licence |
