HIVE: Case Study

Case History/Background

Contextual Research:

"Tools and software like Tilt Brush have the potential to revolutionize visual design just like Adobe did years ago. This new immersive artwork may pave the way to a new age of art." BIW Joural, Posted on May 16, 2016 by Abraham Matias. http://brandingironworldwide.com/journal/2016/05/google-tilt-brush-virtual-reality-painting/

"The Data Arts Team at Google was presented with the challenge of showcasing this experience to those without a VR headset, on the web where Tilt Brush doesn't yet operate. To that end, the team brought in a sculptor, an illustrator, a concept designer, a fashion artist, an installation artist, and street artists to create artwork in their own style within this new medium." Last updated October 21, 2016. https://developers.google.com/web/showcase/2016/art-sessions

There has been a VR exhibition is San Francisco. June 13th 2015.
Video captured from the event - Watch artists paint in VR: https://virtualart.chromeexperiments.com/#/artists

"Tools and software like Tilt Brush has the potential to revolutionize visual design just like when Photoshop and Illustrator did years ago." https://virtualrealityreporter.com/tilt-brush-virtual-reality-painting-art-exhibition-world-first/

"Every archetect will soon design using 3D goggles. According to designer and visualiser Oliver Demangel, who beleives that virtual archetecture will be as convinceing as the real thing within 5 years."

"Demangel predicts that archetects and designers will be designing using VR tools within a few years and sending clients virtual models of their projects so they can walk through them wearing a VR headset."

"Probably the two mains problems will be addiction and isolation"

http://www.dezeen.com/2015/04/27/virtual-reality-architecture-more-powerful-cocaine-oculus-rift-ty-hedfan-olivier-demangel-ivr-nation/

Historical Research:

Panoramic Paintings
nineteenth century panoramic paintings were made to fill the viewers entire field of vision, making the viewer feel present in the scene. 

1838 - Stereoscopic photos and viewers
"In 1838 Charles Wheatstone’s research demonstrated that the brain processes the different two-dimensional images from each eye into a single object of three dimensions. Viewing two side by side stereoscopic images or photos through a stereoscope gave the user a sense of depth and immersion. "
(Virtual reality society).
Principles of stereoscope today are used in popular google cardboard and low budget VR head mounted displays for mobile phones.

1929 - Link Trainer The First Flight Simulator
Edward link created the "Link Trainer" (patented 1931) 
First commercial flight simulator, entirely electromechanical.
"It was controlled by motors that linked to the rudder and steering column to modify the pitch and roll. A small motor-driven device mimicked turbulence and disturbances. Such was the need for safer ways to train pilots that the US military bought six of these devices for $3500. In 2015 money this was just shy of $50 000. During World War II over 10,000 “blue box” Link Trainers were used by over 500,000 pilots for initial training and improving their skills." (Source: Virtual reality society).

1930's - Science Fiction story predicted VR
"Pygmalion's Spectacles" by Stanley G Weinbaum - contains  the idea of a pair of goggles that let the wearer experience a fictional world through holographic's, smell, taste and touch. In hindsight, the experience is very like VR.

1950s - Morton Heilig's Sensorama
Arcade-style theatre cabinet that would stimulate all the senses, not just sight and sound. 
Features:

• Stereo speakers
• stereoscopic 3D display
• fans
• smell generators
• sight
• sound
• vibrating chair

Meant to fully emerge the individual in film. Six short films were invented which he shot, produced and edited himself. 

1960 - First VR head mounted display
non interactive film medium without motion tracking.

1961 - Headsight,First Motion Tracking HMD
Used for remote viewing of dangerous situations by military. head movements control remote camera allowing viewer to look around an environment. 

1965 - The Ultimate Display by Ivan Sutherland
A paper that described a blueprint for VR Today:
"“The ultimate display would, of course, be a room within which the computer can control the existence of matter. A chair displayed in such a room would be good enough to sit in. Handcuffs displayed in such a room would be confining, and a bullet displayed in such a room would be fatal. With appropriate programming such a display could literally be the Wonderland into which Alice walked.” – Ivan Sutherland

1968 - Sword of Damocles
First head mounted display connected to computer not a camera. Too heavy for any user to wear however as it was very large and suspended from ceiling. User would need to be strapped into device. 


1969 - Artificial Reality
In 1969 Myron Kruegere a virtual reality computer artist developed a series of experiences which he termed “artificial reality” in which he developed computer-generated environments that responded to the people in it.

1991 - Virtuality Group Arcade Machines
layers would wear a set of VR goggles and play on gaming machines with realtime (less than 50ms latency) immersive stereoscopic 3D visuals. Some units were also networked together for a multi-player gaming experience.

1992 - The Lawnmower Man
Real virtual reality equipment from VPL research labs was used in the film and the director Brett Leonard, admited to drawing inspiration from companies like VPL.

1993 - SEGA announce new VR glasses
The wrap-around prototype glasses had head tracking, stereo sound and LCD screens in the visor. The device stayed in the prototype phase due to technical difficulties however.

1995 - Nintendo Virtual Boy
A commercial failure despite price drops. The reported reasons for this failure were a lack of colour in graphics (games were in red and black), there was a lack of software support and it was difficult to use the console in a comfortable position. 

1999 - The Matrix
The film features characters that are living in a fully simulated world, with many completely unaware that they do not live in the real world. Film brought VR into the mainstream.

Virtual Reality in the 21st Century
With the advance of modern technology, a new form of time-based media has emerged in the form of virtual reality. It's popularity obvious through the rush of companies like " Microsoft with its Hololens, Oculus with its Rift, the HTC Vive, and even PlayStation and Magic Leap with their unreleased headsets... trying to patent anything that might be patentable." 

Info taken from: http://www.vrs.org.uk/virtual-reality/history.html/and/or/my proposal research

Questions/Issues

Cost.
Time.
Resource.
How effective does it need to be/what points/positives/attributes does it need to surpass a process/method already in place in industry?

Analysis/Discussion

My attempt above.

Practical augmented reality
controller mimics gestures of painting
great for creating concepts that could be sent to clients and viewed in 3D