VR at Work

[SharpeXB]

I finally got to try out an Oculus Rift at my office. I'm an architect and we are using VR for design communication. It's amazing. Yeah everything I've only read about I finally got to experience for myself. We use the Rift of course to walk through the building and finally have a media that communicates what drawings or models never could.

Even though I knew what to expect from reading about this for so long, the finally getting to experience it can't be explained in words.

What struck me the most is how perfect the tracking was. I used it standing which really just adds to the realism. Everything just feels totally natural, no sense of nausea or anything. Even "walking around" with the gamepad controller wasn't unusual like I thought it might be. And the way that the lenses work and how you can't perceive the screen at all is pretty incredible.

The idea that it might spoil a presentation by making a client sick or being unwieldy is just not a worry at all it seems.

The SDE or resolution is obviously something that will improve. This is going to become a really big deal in our industry no doubt.

[hansangb]

I hear you. How do you explain the color red to someone who's blind? Most people who never tried it think TrackIR is *just* fine, and the better resolution on the monitors more than make up for the lack of VR. What can you do?

[cichlidfan]

Very cool. For some reason, I never thought much about using the Rift for real work, instead of games. It's awesome that your company has embraced the technology and you are there to enjoy it.

 

I spent part of my life working as a mechanical engineer, when CAD was the new thing. We were all floored by the ability to 3D model a design and analyse stress and such without actually building it. I can only imagine how much VR would have added to some of the presentations I made, in those days.

 

EDIT: @hansangb

Your comment about TIR reminds me of the time I showed my brother, a non techie Playstation racing game guy, TIR with the EuroTruck sim. He nearly fell out of the chair when he turned his head slightly and the image shifted to match. He had seen my fly with TIR many times, so he understood the concept, but using it still blew him away. There are just some things that can only be really understood when you experience them first hand.

Edited September 17, 2016 by cichlidfan

[SharpeXB]

It's funny that TrackIR and VR always get compared to one another. Yet they have as much in common as a fish and a bicycle. One is an interactive way to change the view on your monitor. The other completely immerses you in the environment.

So you can imagine showing a client a 3D rendering or even an interactive 3D walk through, the software for that is identical to a shooter game WASD plus mouse look. But that doesn't show you how we all experience a space, in reality we are in it, not looking at it on a screen. So whether you're showing a surgeon their operating room or a homeowner their kitchen remodel. VR finally is a way to literally put them in the space. In some way it's not remarkable at all, it's remarkably normal. This is how we all see buildings. Oculus talks about "presence" and yeah they nail it. It's just very real and natural. For eons architects have never had this ability. In ages past the architect of the great pyramid was trying to explain to the Pharaoh what it would look like, "trust me it's gonna be huge". Well this is going to be huge in this industry. It will become so prevalent we will wonder how we ever got along without it. We already build everything in "virtual 3D" before it's built in reality so this is just a viewer for content we already create.

Edited September 18, 2016 by SharpeXB

[cichlidfan]

In ages past the architect of the great pyramid was trying to explain to the Pharaoh what it would look like, "trust me it's gonna be huge".

 

 

:megalol:

 

*must spread rep*

 

EDIT: TIR and VR get discussed together, occasionally, because they both created a bit of a paradigm shift in the way users interacted with their games/sims. They are, indeed, completely different but their impact on the gaming environment is similarly significant.

Edited September 18, 2016 by cichlidfan

[Astronut]

The first sim I had you could only look straight ahead (Psion's Flight Simulation on the ZX Spectrum). Then we were able to use snap views using a hat switch on your stick.

 

Then the first 3D pits came along which allowed view panning and mouse-view mode (I think DiD's TFX was the first time I came across that step forward). Then TIR 1 which was a glorified mouse view (i.e. Fixed head position, then 6DoF with subsequent versions of TIR became the standard. Now the torch has been passed on to the VR headsets with great 1:1 tracking and near total immersion.

 

One day, in the not too distant future, we will have hi resolution VR with headsets that look like a large pair of sunglasses. Very light and no doubt adjustable focus for those of us who require corrective lenses. Exciting times!

Edited September 20, 2016 by Astronut

[SharpeXB]

It seems many people are getting VR at the office. Including the Oval Office :lol: