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3D, Virtual Reality, And Immersive Technology At The U Of OIT

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The U Of OIT Has A Lot Of Cool Immersive Technology Resources

We had a great time checking out the facilities, playing with the hardware, and meeting some of the students and staff at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. It was a pleasure to experience the innovative ideas created by young minds at the school.

Faculty and students in the demo room

We'd like to thank Neil Schneider for inviting us to visit the university, and Dr. Andrew Hogue for donating his time and making some of his students available to show us the fantastic projects they're working on. Thanks also to those students in the lab for sharing their work with us.

One lesson to be learned here is that big ambition and progressive learning aren't exclusive to larger, more established institutions. The U of OIT is a relatively new, small university, yet I think it has a lot of potential for the right student. As immersive technology progresses into the mainstream, it's comforting to know that some educators take change seriously and strive to deliver a meaningful dose of forward-looking hardware and software experience to their pupils.

I know I'm looking forward to what the next generation of software and hardware developers will deliver when products like the Oculus Rift are more mature and in the hands of gamers everywhere. The best news of all is that the wait probably won't be very long. And that's a more optimistic outlook than we had only two years ago.

18 Comments Comment from the forums
  • xkm1948
    Hopefully the development of neuroscience will help sending signals directly to one's cortex without being processed by vision system. It is already doable in auditory system, although it is still indirectly stimulus of cortex. With a better understanding of cortex mapping, we may finally be able to get signals directly into brain without all the sensory organs!
    Reply
  • clonazepam
    baby steps... baby steps. I dont see how that's possible without destroying healthy brain tissue during the learning process, so it'll never happen. Maybe some lab rats might get to enjoy some corridor run-throughs from the latest ID software, Quake 37 or something, but that's about it.

    I like the idea of several companies coming together to build a market to share with each other. That'd be nice. I've got a 3D Vision ready monitor and glasses. I messed around with it some when I first got it, but the quality of the experience from one game to the next was anything but consistent. Longer play sessions were interrupted by having to recharge the glasses too.

    I'm still hopeful that we get there someday. It's nice to know there's a group of people out there to decide where "there" is, and help define it as we move toward it.
    Reply
  • etaxdoa
    what do I do with my vuzix 1200 wrap once Rift hits retail?
    Reply
  • piklar
    Bunch o Chickmagnets.... things will get interesting when Occy R goes retail , cant help but think they will be hard pressed to keep up with demand "how could you NOT want one?" exciting times ahead..
    Reply
  • bystander
    Hopefully the development of neuroscience will help sending signals directly to one's cortex without being processed by vision system. It is already doable in auditory system, although it is still indirectly stimulus of cortex. With a better understanding of cortex mapping, we may finally be able to get signals directly into brain without all the sensory organs!
    While that may be interesting, and very useful for the blind, part of the experience we have with 3D is processing it in the same manner we do in real life. Through our eyes.

    I am a big fan of 3D Vision myself. I really wish all the poor versions of 3D never existed, so people would stop calling it bad or a gimmick, because in the right games, it is truly awesome. 3D Vision has a great mod community that fixes a lot of games too, using the Helix mod, for those into 3D, it is a must to use their mods.
    Reply
  • sebkow
    we had a blast having you at our school
    Reply
  • sebkow
    Though it is UOIT and not U of OIT :)
    Reply
  • bnot
    "Back in 2007, 3D was in the hands of hardcore fringe enthusiasts, and reliable information was very had to come by." ?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtuality_(gaming)

    Virtuality is a line of virtual reality gaming machines produced by Virtuality Group, and found in video arcades in the early 1990s. The machines deliver real time (less than 50ms lag) gaming via a stereoscopic visor, joysticks, and networked units for multi-player gaming.
    Initially introduced in 1991, the systems were developed for industry, where the first two networked systems were sold to British Telecom Research Laboratories to experiment with networked telepresence applications. Many other systems were sold to corporations including Ford, IBM, Mitsubishi and Olin. Professional virtual reality systems included the launch of the Ford Galaxy in virtual reality and a virtual trading floor for the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE). However, the users' thrill of talking and mutually interacting with each other as virtual characters refocused the company's direction.....


    http://www.cybermind.nl/Our%20Products/VR%20LBE%20Systems/visette_01.gif

    Reply
  • Shankovich
    Wat UOIT is doing this stuff? LOL wow I should go visit. When I was applying to university 4 years ago they were offering insane entering scholarships because they were so new, $8000 a year if you had an average above 90%. Glad to see they're doing so well!
    Reply
  • Verrin
    I went to UOIT for nuclear science. It's a neato school, the high costs of tuition is because you're renting a laptop with expensive software suites on it (cost is more for the software than the hardware). I sort of cringed everytime the author said "U of OIT". No one calls it thaaaaaat. It's UOIT.
    Reply