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Research findings of our study

This research blog makes up our final project for the course of History of Digital Art (THE801). Since time’s up and spring semester of 2020 is nearing its end, this is the final post of this blog, at least for now. So, what did we learn during our research? Let’s recap.

First, we try to explain how the purpose of the idea of “transcending touch” is to help expand immersive technologies. The next few posts focus on the development of wearable technology in the field of VR, with special attention to the importance of accessibility. Then, we try to explain what it means to “transcend touch”. We share a couple of examples of what a “tangible painting” could be through the use of Tilt Brush and VR technology, respectively. The purpose of our series of posts titled “A Brief Introduction to Immersive Systems” is to document the development of immersive technologies. The first three posts are dedicated to the history of VR. Then, we point out the importance of smell and scent in making the VR experience more immersive. Finally, we conclude this series with a glimpse into a new technology: digital taste. In order to highlight the importance of the sense of touch for a more immersive experience, we share some very interesting videos of researchers explaining the technology behind haptic feedback.

As we’ve mentioned before, we are aware that this is a very new subject and that it is still under development. Not many have experimented with haptic technology in the arts yet. We strongly believe that it is a very important tool that can elevate art. Also, making art accessible to all is something that we value a lot. We know that we didn’t analyze all the aspects that we wanted to, but we really do hope that this blog serves as a good enough starting point for anyone that wants to know the ways of making art more immersive. Thank you all!

Sevi Pavlaki, Maria Chari. Department of AudioVisual Arts, Ionian University.

#research #school project #uni project #ionian university #avarts #digital technology #digital art #vr #haptic feedback #vr art #vr painting

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This post offers more information on Tilt Brush. After all the research we’ve been doing over the last few months, we are reaching the conclusion that, while Tilt Brush is certainly not the only tool for VR painting, it seems to be the most favoured one. Although the app isn’t free (the Oculus version of Tilt Brush costs $30), its widespread use is justified by the quality of the features it offers as well as its user-friendly interface.

“Tilt Brush defies description even more than most VR experiences, but basically you paint in 3D. But when I say "paint," I don't just mean oily brush strokes on canvas -- you can also paint with light, or fire, or even music. You can spread your hands apart to make the entire world larger, to put some fine touches on your work, or shrink it down to paint the sky and stars that live far above. And because these VR headsets track you as you move around, you can lean into a painting to discover the artist created an entire world inside, or -- my favorite -- literally look through the eyes of an artist by placing your face into their self-portrait.”

When using tools such as this one, that already provide us with a kind of immersive experience never seen before, transcending touch feels more like a possibility than a dream.

Sources:  Hollister, Sean. “Stunning VR app Tilt Brush comes to Oculus today.” Cnet. February 21, 2017. https://www.cnet.com/news/google-tilt-brush-arrives-oculus-rift-touch-february/.

Το 2016 πρωτοεμφανίστηκε στην αγορά η εφαρμογή της Google “Tilt Brush”, με δημιουργούς τον “Skillman” και “Ηackett”. Απαραίτητος εξοπλισμός HMD είναι το “HTC Vive” και το 2017 έγινε διαθέσιμο και στο “Oculus Rift”  

Μέσα από την εφαρμογή “Tilt Brush” ο δημιουργός γίνεται ένα με το περιβάλλον. Μέσα από το headset μεταφέρεται σε έναν άλλο κόσμο, σε έναν κόσμο που δημιουργεί o ίδιος. Μεταφέρεται σε μία άλλη διάσταση, εικονική και τρισδιάστατη. Χάνεται με τον πραγματικό κόσμο και ανήκει μέσα στον δικό του. Με αυτόν τον τρόπο συνδέεται με την τέχνη της ζωγραφικής που ασκεί, γίνεται ένα με την ζωγραφιά του. Έτσι, επιδιώκει να εκφράζεται, να εξωτερικεύει κάθε φαντασία και συναίσθημα που έχει και να φέρνει στον κόσμο τις σκέψεις του. Το συναίσθημα της ζωγραφικής στον αέρα δημιουργεί μία μαγεία και ελευθερία στον καλλιτέχνη.

Είναι μια μεγάλη καινοτομία στον χώρο της ψηφιακής τέχνης. Χάνεται η απόσταση που υπάρχει ανάμεσα στον καλλιτέχνη και το φύλο ζωγραφικής του. Πλέον η ζωγραφιά αποκτάει μία μεγαλύτερη φυσική παρουσία για τον καλλιτέχνη. Η διαδικασία της ζωγραφικής γίνεται πιο παραστατική.

#vr #vr art #tilt brush #google #virtual reality #virtual reality art #3d touch #synesthesia #haptic technology #vr painting

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Haptic Art is a company that specializes in creating printable 3-D models of paintings. In this way they are managing to make visual art accessible for visually impared people. This makes a painting more immersive, since there is haptic feedback. However it isn’t a “tangible painting.” Instead, can you imagine touching Mona Lisa’s skin? 

#3d models #3d images #3d printing #haptic art #vr art #accessibility #haptic technology #haptic feedback #haptic interface #haptic gloves #immersion

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A Brief Introduction to Immersive Systems: Digital taste

Nimesha Ranasinghe is the lead researcher and inventor of the digital lollipop. “A digital lollipop is an electronic device that stimulates the human tongue with electric currents to simulate different taste sentations.”

Sources:  Ranasinghe, Nimesha. “Digital Lollipop.” Nimesha Ranasinghe. http://www.nimesha.info/lollipop.html#dtl.

Nimesha Ranasinghe. “Digital Taste Interface (Electric Taste and Thermal Taste).” YouTube video, 2:00. December 12, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HMDIIWgAhc. 

#digital taste #digital lollipop #nimesha ranasinghe #immersion #immersive technology #Immersive systems

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A Brief Introduction to Immersive Systems: Smell-O-Vision and its legacy

Up to this point, during our research, we’ve already laid down a quite detailed time-line of the history of VR. However, as we’ve previously mentioned, VR is not the only means of immersive technology. In this post, we are discussing digital scent technology. “Digital sense technology (or olfactory technology) is the engineering discipline dealing with olfactory representation. It is a technology to sense, transmit and receive scent-enabled digital media (such as web pages, video games, movies and music). This sensing part of this technology works by using olfactometers and electronic noses.” 

Its history begins in the late 1950s when Hans Laube invents the Smell-O-Vision, “a process in which evocative smells were pumped to the cinema audience through pipes leading to individual seats in the auditorium. Bottles of scent were held on a rotating drum and the process was triggered by a signal on the film itself. It made its only appearance in the 1960 film “Scent of Mystery”, produced by Mike Todd Jr. The process injected 30 odors into a movie theater's seats when triggered by the film's soundtrack.”

“In 1906, a Pennsylvania movie theater soaked a wad of cotton wool in rose oil and placed it in front of a fan. When a newsreel about the Rose Bowl played, they turned on the fan and the smell of roses wafted over the theater.”

On the image(source) above we see Mike Todd Jr. (left) with Hans Laube, the inventor of the Smell-O-Vision (right). 

(image source)

John Waters paid homage to Smell-O-Vision with his 1981 film “Polyester”. Waters created the process of Odorama and, rather than pumping in scents, used individual audience "Scratch and Sniff" cards.

“Behind the Great Wall”, a film directed by Italian director Carlo Lizzani was released on December 2, 1959, just three weeks ahead of “Scent of Mystery”. It was accompanied by a process called "AromaRama", to send scents through the air-conditioning system of a theater. The particular technique was invented by Charles Weiss.”

“But in the end all of these methods remained relatively unsuccessful and mainly failed due to the fact that a specific smell cannot be eliminated in time before the next one is used!”

“The Old Grey Hare is a 1944 Merrie Melodies cartoon. The cartoon starts with Elmer Fudd sitting under a tree, crying over his failure to catch Bugs. The "voice of God" tells Elmer to keep trying to catch him. Elmer wonders how long it will it take -and is shown exactly how long by being transported "far into the future" past the years 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, until reaching the then-distant year of A.D. 2000, after the sound of the gong. Elmer finds a year 2000 newspaper. One headline says, "Smellevision Replaces Television: Carl Stalling Sez It Will Never Work!" (1:54).”

“In 1999, Joel Lloyd Bellenson and Dexter Smith began to think about how to store and reproduce the smells. They first worked to create a database of smells and then they created the device that would connect to the PC, the iSmell. DigiScents developed a computer peripheral device called iSmell Personal Scent Synthesizer, which was designed to emit a smell when a user visited a web site or opened an email. It was a small device that could be connected to a computer through a Universal serial bus (USB) port and powered using any ordinary electrical outlet. The device contained a cartridge with 128 "primary odors", which could be mixed to replicate natural and man-made odors. The appearance of the device was similar to that of a shark’s fin, with many holes lining the “fin” to release the various scents. Using a cartridge similar to a printer’s, it could synthesize and even create new smells by combining certain combinations of other scents.These newly created odors could be used to closely replicate common natural and manmade odors. The cartridges used also need to be swapped every so often once the scents inside are used up. Once partnered with websites and interactive media, the scents could be activated either automatically once a website was opened or manually. DigiScents had indexed thousands of common odors, which could be coded, digitized, and embedded into web pages or email. However, the product is no longer on the market and never generated substantial sales.”

“In 2013, Haruka Matsukura and a team of colleagues at Tokoyo University of Agriculture and Technology developed a display called the “smelling screen”. The smelling screen combines a digital display with four small fans, one at each corner of the display. Odor stored in tiny gel packets is emitted and blown parallel to the screen. By varying the speed and strength of each fan, an emitted odor is moved to a specific spot on the screen.”

Created in 2013, in Spain, by the Valencian engineer Raúl Porcar OLORAMA TECHNOLOGY seems to be another fascinating and successful venture to a more immersive experience by bringing the sense of smell into the game.

Are you familiar with the 4-D film format? Have you ever been to a movie theatre with a 4-D room? Basically, you watch a 2-D, or 3-D film combinded with various practical effects. Said practical effects could include synchronized motion seats and environmental effects such as water, wind, fog, scent, snow and more, to enhance the action on screen. This technology allows the film to be augmented and it provides  an immersive multi-sensory cinematic experience. 4DX, developed by CJ 4DPLEX is a very successful example of this technology.

Sources:

Agapakis, Christina. “Smell-O-Vision.” Scientific American. November 12, 2012. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/oscillator/smell-o-vision/.

Brownlee, John. “A Brief History of Smell-O-Vision.” Wired. July 12, 2006. https://www.wired.com/2006/12/a-brief-history-2-2/.

Dirks, Tim. “The History of Film - The 1950s - The Cold War and Post-Classical Era - The Era of Epic Films and the Threat of Television.” amc filmsite. https://www.filmsite.org/50sintro2.html.

Epstein, Adam. “Do you smell that? Hollywood’s fantastic, failed attempts to make audiences smell and “feel” movies, from AromaRama to 4D.” Quartz. April 01, 2016. https://qz.com/649920/hollywoods-fantastic-failed-attempts-to-make-audiences-smell-and-feel-movies-from-aromarama-to-4d/.

Plafke, James. “Japanese smell-o-vision TV releases scents with per-pixel accuracy.” EXTREMETECH. March 29, 2013. https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/152086-japanese-smell-o-vision-tv-releases-scents-with-per-pixel-accuracy.

Platt, Charles. “You’ve Got Smell!” Wired. January 11, 1999. https://www.wired.com/1999/11/digiscent/.

“Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in Smell-O-Vision.” Lincoln Theatre. https://lincolntheatre.org/film/willy-wonka-and-chocolate-factory-smell-o-vision.

Wikipedia contributors, "Smell-O-Vision," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Smell-O-Vision&oldid=958400019 (accessed June 17, 2020).

Wikipedia contributors, "Digital scent technology," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Digital_scent_technology&oldid=956230931 (accessed June 17, 2020).

#Immersive systems #immersive technology #immersion #digital scent technology #smell-o-vision #aromarama #john waters #polyester #odorama #ismell #smelling screen #olorama technology #raul porcar #4d #4d cinema #4dx

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Haptic Technology Demonstration - with Danielle George

“In this video by The Royal Institution from the 2014 CHRISTMAS LECTURES "Sparks will fly: How to hack your home", Danielle George a Radio frequency engineering Professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) and Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning at the University of Manchester in the UK, and a young audience member experiment with haptic technology. Haptic technology recreates the sensation of touch through forces and vibrations. This piece of kit recreates the feeling of touch by using tiny speakers to create precise ultrasonic vibrations and mould the shape of an object.”

#the royal institution #danielle george #university of manchester #haptic technology #haptic feedback #3d touch #tangible perception #accessibility

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Haptography: Digitizing our sense of touch - Katherine Kuchenbecker

“In this TED-Ed video Penn Engineering professor Katherine Kuchenbecker discusses how haptics has the potential to change fields as disparate as museums, dentistry, and stroke rehabilitation.”

An extremely interesting video that provides great insight and explains how haptic technology works.

#haptics #haptic technology #3d touch #haptic feedback #haptic interface #tangible perception #penn engineering #katherine kuchenbecker #university of pennsylvania #accessibility

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first real experiment in Tilt Brush !! VR is a blast…such a delight to draw in!!

#tilt brush #vr #vr art #vr painting

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Out of all the things we have found while researching for this project, George Peaslee’s “Nighthawks diorama on Tilt Brush” is by far my favourite. 

American realist painter Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks” is one of 20th century’s most important masterpieces. The 1942 oil on canvas painting offers one of the most beautiful, most vivd depictions of urban loneliness. 

Hopper is one of my favourite painters for the simple reason that he managed to create images that -at first glance- look real, but they’re not. Once you actually look at “Nighthawks”, it’s not excactly realistic as much as it is off-putting. There’s no door to the bar, no way in or out. 

To me, the most compelling thing about this painting is that there’s no real sense of depth to it. You try to look deeper, but it pushes you back to the surface. This is succeeded because of the use of bright and complementary colours. It was one of the first paintings that made me want to jump inside and physically exist into.

This video documents Peaslee’s process of creating his VR version of “Nighthawks”. Today’s technology offers this new level of immersion that has never been achieved before. This is a different, more direct way of penetrating the surface of Hopper’s work and being able to experience it in a new light. Maybe one day, with the help of haptic technology, we could actually walk inside and sit on that bar.

#edward hopper #nighthawks #american realism #20th century art #history of art #george peaslee #tilt brush #vr #vr art #vr painting #virtual reality #virtual reality art

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A Brief Introduction to Immersive Systems: History of VR (part 3)

In 2001, SAS Cube is the first PC based cubic room. It leads to Virtools VR Pack. Virtools was a software developer and vendor, created in 1993 and owned by Dassault Systèmes since July 2005. It is no longer updated and has been taken down in March 2009.

Google introduced Street View launches in 2007. Immersive Media is identified as the contractor that captures the imagery for four of the five cities initially mapped by Street View, using its patented dodecahedral camera array on a moving car.

In 2010, Google introduces a stereoscopic 3D mode for Street View. Palmer Luckey, creates the first prototype of the Oculus Rift headset. It features a 90-degree field of vision, which has never been seen before, and relies on a computer’s processing power to deliver the images. This new development boosts and refreshes interest in VR.

In 2012, Luckey launches a Kickstarter campaign for the Oculus Rift which raises $2.4 million.

In 2014, Facebook buys the Oculus VR company for $2 billion. This is a defining moment in VR’s history because VR gains momentum rapidly after this. 

Sony announces that they are working on Project Morpheus, a VR headset for the PlayStation 4 (PS4).

Google releases the Cardboard - a low-cost and do-it-yourself stereoscopic viewer for smartphones. It is very interesting how the Cardboard’s design reminds as of a Stereoscope, or a View-Master. Regardles of how advanced the technology gets, it always seems to be following the same basic principles.

Samsung announces the Samsung Gear VR, a headset that uses a Samsung Galaxy smartphone as a viewer.

More people start exploring the possibilities of VR, including adding innovative accessories, for example Cratesmith, an independent developer, recreates a hoverboard scene from Back to the Future by pairing the Oculus Rift with a Wii’s balance board.

In 2015, VR possibilities start becoming widely available to the general public, for example:

The BBC creates a 360-degree video where users view a Syrian migrant camp.

RYOT, a media company, exhibits Confinement, a short VR film about solitary confinement in US prisons.

Gloveone is successful in its Kickstarter campaign. These gloves let users feel and interact with virtual objects.

By 2016 hundreds of companies are developing VR products. Most of the headsets have dynamic binaural audio. Haptic interfaces are underdeveloped. Haptic interfaces are systems that allow humans to interact with a computer using their touch and movements - like the Gloveone gloves that are being developed. This means that handsets are typically button-operated. HTC releases its HTC VIVE SteamVR headset. This is the first commercial release of a headset with sensor-based tracking which allows users to move freely in a space. HTC Vive releases in 2016.

In 2017, many companies are developing their own VR headsets, including HTC, Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft Sony, Samsung etc. Sony may be developing a similar location tracking tech to HTC’s VIVE for the PlayStation 4.

In 2018, at Facebook F8, Oculus demonstrates a new headset prototype, the Half Dome. This is a varifocal headset with a 140 degrees field of vision. Virtual reality has significantly progressed and is now being used in a variety of ways, from providing immersive gaming experiences, to helping treat psychological disorders, to teaching new skills and even taking terminally ill people on virtual journeys. VR has many applications and with the rise in smartphone technology VR will be even more accessible. With large numbers of companies competing, novel controllers being explored and lots of uses for VR this field can only improve.

Barnard, Dom. "History of VR - Timeline of Events and Tech Development." Virtualspeech. August 06, 2019. https://virtualspeech.com/blog/history-of-vr.

#vr #virtual reality #history of vr #history of virtual reality #headsets #sony #google #facebook #playstation #playstation vr #oculus rift #immersion #immersive technology #wearable technology #technology #technology of the future

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A Brief Introduction to Immersive Systems: History of VR (part 2)

In 1980, StereoGraphics company creates stereo vision glasses. (image source)

In 1982, Thomas G. Zimmerman files a patent (US Patent 4542291) on an optical flex sensor mounted in a glove to measure finger bending. He works with Jaron Lanier to incorporate ultrasonic and magnetic hand position tracking technology to create the Power Glove and Data Glove, respectively (US Patent 4988981, filed 1989). Together they found VPL Research, Inc. This company is known as the first company to sell VR goggles and gloves. They develop a range of VR equipment, such as, the DataGlove, EyePhone HMD and the Audio Sphere. The optical flex sensor used in the Data Glove is invented by Young L. Harvill who scratches the fiber near the finger joint to make it locally sensitive to bending.

“In this photograph from June 7 1989, two people demonstrate the EyePhone system, which uses special goggles and a DataGlove, which allows them to see and move objects around in a computer created environment. The EyePhone, developed by VPL Research.”

Nintendo’s Power Glove (1989).

VR testing at VPL Research.

In 1986, Thomas A. Furness develops a flight simulator between 1986 –1989, known as the Super Cockpit. The training cockpit features: computer-generated 3D maps, advanced infrared and radar imagery and the pilot can see and hear in real-time. The helmet's tracking system and sensors allow the pilot to control the aircraft using gestures, speech and eye movements. 

In 1987, British Aerospace uses the HMD similarly to Furness' Super Cockpit and develops the Virtual Cockpit (couldn’t find source) which also features speech recognition.

In 1989, Scott Foster founds Crystal River Engineering Inc after receiving a contract from NASA to develop the audio element of the Virtual Environment Workstation Project (VIEW) - a VR training simulator for astronauts. Through this company real-time binaural 3D audio processing is developed. The photograph below is one of my favourite.

In 1990, Jonathan Waldern exhibits Virtuality, a VR arcade machine, where gamers can play in a 3D gaming world, at the Computer Graphics 90 exhibition in London. This is the first mass-produced VR entertainment system. A Virtuality pod features VR headsets and real-time immersive stereoscopic 3D images. Some of the machines can be networked together for multi-player games. Eventually some of the very popular arcade games, like Pac-Man, have VR versions.

In 1991, Antonio Medina, a NASA scientist, designs a VR system to drive the Mars robot rovers from Earth in supposed real-time despite signal delays between the planets. This system is called "Computer Simulated Teleoperation". 

Also in 1991, SEGA announces that they are working on the SEGA VR headset which would be available for the general public to purchase. They hire design house IDEO (who would go on to design the Viewmaster VR) to create a design This headset is meant to be used for arcade games and the Mega Drive console. It has a visor-like look due to the influence of popular films, such as, RoboCop. LCD displays are placed in the visor, as well as stereo headphones and sensors for tracking head movement. However, it is never released even though four games are made for it. One of the explanations for the termination was SEGA's concern of people injuring themselves as the VR effect is too realistic. However, this seems unlikely due to the limited processing power.

In 1994, SEGA releases SEGA VR-1, a motion simulator arcade machine.

Also in 1994, VictorMaxx (couldn’t find source) releases a VR headset called VictorMaxx StuntMaster. 

In 1995, Nintendo launches the Virtual Boy console which plays 3D monochrome video games. It is the first portable console to display 3D graphics. But it is a commercial failure due to: the lack of colour graphics, lack of software support and it isn't comfortable to use. One year later it is discontinued.

Affordable home VR headsets are released: 1. Virtual IO (couldn’t find source) releases the I-Glasses. 2. VFX1 Headgear is released by Forte Technologies, Incorporated (couldn’t find source).

The VFX1 Headgear. 

In 1998, Georgia Tech and Emory University researchers use VR to create war zone scenarios for veterans receiving exposure therapy for PTSD. This is known as Virtual Vietnam.

Sources:

Barnard, Dom. "History of VR - Timeline of Events and Tech Development." Virtualspeech. August 06, 2019. https://virtualspeech.com/blog/history-of-vr.

Bibby, Joe, Ryan Necessary. “Robonaut 1.” National Aeronautics And Space Administration. https://robonaut.jsc.nasa.gov/R1/sub/simulation.asp.

Bye, Kent. “50 Years in VR: Tom Furness’ Journey from Making More Lethal Pilots to Non-profit Learning (Voices of VR Podcast – Episode #245).” Roadtovr. November 17, 2015. https://www.roadtovr.com/50-years-vr-tom-furness-super-cockpit-virtual-retinal-display-hit-lab-virtual-world-society/.

Furness, Thomas A. “The Super Cockpit and Its Human Factors Challenges.” Proceedings of the Human Factors Society Annual Meeting 30, no. 1 (September 1986): 48–52. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/154193128603000112?journalCode=prob#articleCitationDownloadContainer. 

Google Arts & Culture. “Virtual i-O i-glasses! Personal 3D Viewer head-mounted display.” Deutsches Museum, 1995.  https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/virtual-i-o-i-glasses-personal-3d-viewer-head-mounted-display/4wHrXHZrWs9ZBA.

Gotz, David. “Virtual Vietnam: Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for PTSD.” David Gotz. 1998. http://gotz.web.unc.edu/research-project/virtual-vietnam-virtual-reality-exposure-therapy-for-ptsd/.

Mindflux. “The VFX1 HEADGEAR Virtual Reality System by Forte Technologies.” 2006. http://www.mindflux.com.au/products/iis/vfx1.html.

Rosson, Lois. “The Virtual Interface Environment Workstation (VIEW), 1990.” National Aeronautics And Space Administration. June 12th, 2014. https://www.nasa.gov/ames/spinoff/new_continent_of_ideas/.

SegaRetro. “StuntMaster.” https://segaretro.org/StuntMaster.

Sorene, Paul. “Jaron Lanier’s EyePhone: Head And Glove Virtual Reality In The 1980s.” Flashbak. November 24, 2014. https://flashbak.com/jaron-laniers-eyephone-head-and-glove-virtual-reality-in-the-1980s-26180/.

Waldern, Jonathan D. “Virtuality Inc.” Virtuality. https://virtuality.com/.

Zimmerman, Thomas G.,  Jaron Lanier, Chuck Blanchard, Steve Bryson and Young Harvill. “A Hand Gesture Interface Device.” VPL Research, Inc. 1987. http://netzspannung.org/cat/servlet/CatServlet/%24files/228648/DataGlove+CHI+1987.pdf.

#vr #history of vr #virtual reality #history of virtual reality #technology #wearable technology #80s #gaming #wired gloves #wired headsets #hmds #timeline #immersion #immersive systems

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A Brief Introduction to Immersive Systems: History of VR (part 1)

According to Oxford Reference, “Virtual reality is a synthetic technology combining three-dimensional video, audio, and other sensory components to achieve a sense of immersion.” Merriam-Webster defines virtual reality as “an artificial environment which is experienced through sensory stimuli (such as sights and sounds) provided by a computer and in which one's actions partially determine what happens in the environment, also: the technology used to create or access a virtual reality.”

Both of the above definitions focus on the technological aspect of virtual reality, describing it as a contemporary means. However, virtual reality is more than an artificial environment. It is a simulated experience that can be completely different to our reality. The Online Etymology Dictionary defines that the term “virtual” was being used meaning “influencing by physical virtues or capabilities, effective with respect to inherent natural qualities," as early as the late 1400s. It is also stated that it has been used in the computer sense of "not physically existing but made to appear by software" since 1959. “The term "virtual reality" was first used in a science fiction context in The Judas Mandala, a 1982 novel by Damien Broderick.”

Trying to pinpoint the exact origins of virtual reality has proven to be quite a challenge, considering how difficult it has been to formulate a definition for the concept of an alternative existence. However, in this post, we too will be focusing on the technological milestones that led to today’s applications of virtual reality, making it an innovative –soon to be essential- tool.

In 1838, Sir Charles Wheatstone invents the Stereoscope, a device for viewing a stereoscopic pair of separate images, depicting left-eye and right-eye views of the same scene, as a single three-dimensional image.

A 19th century stereoscope:

In 1935, American science fiction writer Stanley Weinbaum presents a fictional model for VR in his short story Pygmalion's Spectacles. In the story, the main character meets a professor who invented a pair of goggles which enabled "a movie that gives one sight and sound [...] taste, smell, and touch. [...] You are in the story, you speak to the shadows (characters) and they reply [...] the story is all about you, and you are in it." This sound a lot like our idea of a tangible painting, doesn’t it? (image source)

In 1956, cinematographer Morton Heilig creates Sensorama, the first VR machine (patented in 1962). It is a large booth that can fit up to four people at a time. It combines multiple technologies to stimulate all of the senses: there is a combined full colour 3D video, audio, vibrations, smell and atmospheric effects, such as wind. This is done using scent producers, a vibrating chair, stereo speakers and a stereoscopic 3D screen. Heilig thinks that the Sensorama is the "cinema of the future" and he wants to fully immerse people in their films. Six short films are developed for it.

In 1960, Heilig also patents the Telesphere Mask (image source ), which is the first head-mounted display (HMD). This provides stereoscopic 3D images with wide vision and stereo sound. There is no motion tracking in the headset at this point.

In 1965, Ivan Sutherland, a computer scientist, presents his vision of the Ultimate Display. The concept is of a virtual world viewed through an HMD which replicates reality so well that the user won’t be able to differentiate from actual reality. This includes the user being able to interact with objects. This concept features computer hardware to form the virtual world and to keep it functioning in real-time. His paper is seen as the fundamental blueprint for VR. “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.”

In 1966, Thomas A. Furness (a.k.a “the grandfather of VR”), a military engineer, creates the first flight simulator for the Air Force. This assists in the progression of VR because the military subsequently provides a lot of funding for producing better flight simulators.

In 1968, Sutherland, with his student Bob Sproull, creates the first virtual reality HMD, named The Sword of Damocles. This head-mount connects to a computer rather than a camera and is quite primitive as it can only show simple virtual wire-frame shapes. These 3D models change perspective when the user moves their head due to the tracking system. It was never developed beyond a lab project because it was too heavy for users to comfortably wear; they had to be strapped in because it was suspended from the ceiling.

In 1969, Myron Krueger, a computer artist, develops a succession of "artificial reality" experiences using computers and video systems. He creates computer-generated environments that respond to the people in it. These projects lead to VIDEOPLACE technology which is mentioned later.

In 1972, General Electric Corporation builts a computerised flight simulator which features a 180-degree field of vision by using three screens surrounding the cockpit.

In 1975, Krueger's VIDEOPLACE, the first interactive VR platform, is displayed at the Milwaukee Art Center. It uses computer graphics, projectors, video cameras, video displays and position-sensing technology and it doesn't use goggles or gloves. VIDEOPLACE consistes of dark rooms with large video screens to surround the user in "VR". The users can see their computer-generated silhouettes imitating their own movements and actions - the users' movements are recorded on camera and transferred onto the silhouette. Also, users in different rooms can interact with other users' silhouettes in the same virtual world. This encourages the idea that people can communicate within a virtual world even if they aren't physically close.

In 1977, the Aspen Movie Map is created by MIT. This program enables users to virtually wander through Aspen city in Colorado, like with Google Street View. There are three modes: summer, winter and polygons. It is created using photographs from a car driving through the city. There are no HMDs but it is the use of first-person interactivity and it suggests that VR can transport people to other places.

In 1977, Sayre gloves are created by Daniel J. Sandin and Thomas A. DeFanti,  at the Electronic Visualization Laboratory, a cross-disciplinary research lab at the University of Illinois at Chicago. These gloves are the first wired gloves. They monitore hand movements by using light emitters and photocells in the gloves' fingers. So when the user moves their fingers the amount of light hitting the photocell varies which then converts the finger movements into electrical signals. This may be the beginning of gesture recognition. Furness creates a working model of a virtual flight simulator, for the military, called the Visually Coupled Airborne Systems Simulator (VCASS). Image of a wired glove:

In 1979, McDonnell-Douglas Corporation integrates VR into its HMD, the VITAL helmet, for military use. A head tracker in the HMD follows the pilot's eye movements to match computer-generated images.

Sources:

Barnard, Dom. "History of VR - Timeline of Events and Tech Development." Virtualspeech. August 06, 2019. https://virtualspeech.com/blog/history-of-vr.

Cakmakci, Ozan, Jannick Rolland. “Head-Worn Displays: A Review.” Journal Of Display Technology 2, no. 3 (September 2006). [accessed June 17, 2020]. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/3453724_Head-Worn_Displays_A_Review.

“Daniel J. Sandin”, in evl|electronic visualization laboratory. https://www.evl.uic.edu/core.php?mod=4&type=5&indi=11.

Hosch, William L. “Ivan Edward Sutherland.” In Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. May 12, 2020 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ivan-Edward-Sutherland. Access Date: June 17, 2020.

“Thomas A. Furness”, on Industrial & Systems Engineering: University Of Washington. https://ise.washington.edu/facultyfinder/thomas-a-furness.

Jack, Emily. “Artifact of the Month: Holmes Stereoscope.” NC Miscellany. Ocotber 21, 2013. https://blogs.lib.unc.edu/ncm/2013/10/21/artifact-of-the-month-holmes-stereoscope/.

Kelly, Michael. “Virtual Reality.” In Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199747108.001.0001/acref-9780199747108-e-740?fromCrossSearch=true.

Lescop, Laurent. “360° vision, from panoramas to VR.” On ResearchGate.  Fig. 03.: “Morton Heilig, Telesphere Mask, 1960, Source: Wikimedia Commons.” September, 2017. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319618259_360_vision_from_panoramas_to_VR.

Lowood, Henry E. “Virtual Reality.” In Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. November 11, 2019. Access Date: June 17, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Morton-Heilig.

Media Art Net. “Ivan Sutherland «Head-Mounted-Display», 1968.” Medien Kunst Netz / Media Art Net. http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/works/head-mounted-display/.

Media Art Net. “Morton Heilig «Sensorama», 1962.” Medien Kunst Netz / Media Art Net. http://www.mediaartnet.org/works/sensorama/.

Media Art Net. “Myron Krueger, «Videoplace», 1974.” Medien Kunst Netz / Media Art Net. http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/works/videoplace/.

Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, s.v. “virtual reality,” accessed June 17, 2020, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/virtual%20reality.

Musings Of A Mario Minion. “Pygmalion’s Spectacles: Using Berkeley’s Immaterialism to Understand the Potential for Telepresence in Virtual Reality.” Medium. February 05, 2018. https://medium.com/@musingsofamariominion/pygmalions-spectacles-using-berkeley-s-immaterialism-to-understand-the-potential-for-telepresence-46b9e46eba42.

Naimark, Michael. “Aspen Moviemap 1978-80.” Michael Naimark. http://www.naimark.net/projects/aspen.html.

Online Etymology Dictionary, s.v. “virtual (adk.),” accessed June 17, 2020, https://www.etymonline.com/word/virtual#etymonline_v_7821.

Sandin, Daniel J.  Thomas A. DeFanti, Richard Sayre. “Sayre Glove (first wired data glove).” evl|electronic visualization laboratory. January 1, 1977. https://www.evl.uic.edu/entry.php?id=2162.

Sutherland, Ivan E. “The Ultimate Display”. Information Processing Techniques Office, ARPA, OSD. http://worrydream.com/refs/Sutherland%20-%20The%20Ultimate%20Display.pdf.

Sutherland, Ivan E. “A head-mounted three dimensional display*.” Fall Joint Computer Conference, 1968. Salt Lake City, Utah: The University of Utah. http://cacs.usc.edu/education/cs653/Sutherland-HeadmountedDisplay-AFIPS68.pdf.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “McDonnell Douglas Corporation.” In Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. June 12, 2020. Access Date: June 17, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/topic/McDonnell-Douglas-Corporation.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Sir Charles Wheatstone.” In Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. February 06, 2020. Access Date: June 17, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Wheatstone.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Stereoscope.” In Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. February 06, 2020. Access Date: June 17, 2020. https://www.tumblr.com/edit/618119398273794048.

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#history of vr #history of virtual reality #timeline #vr #virtual reality #immersion #immersive systems

[transcendtouch]

Day after quarantine - Virtual reality painting, YouTube video by Anna dream brush.

In this video we see the artist, affected by the recent events caused by the pandemic, painting using Tilt Brush. 

“Tilt Brush is a room-scale 3D-painting virtual-reality application available from Google, originally developed by Skillman & Hackett, initially released on April 5, 2016.” 

We’ve previously mentioned that Tilt Brush is a very innovative tool that takes painting to the next level. As you can see in the video above, the strokes made by the artist are 3-D. This means that when applying layer upon layer of colour, it actually piles up, giving the painting depth and volume. In this way, entire environments can be created, giving the sense of a world through which you can walk. 

#VR #virtual reality #vr art #virtual reality art #tilt brush

[transcendtouch]

A Brief Introduction to Immersive Systems (Part 1)

This is an introduction to a series of posts that serve as a recording of the history of immersive systems and technologies. We have already explained the idea of a tangible painting. Ultimately, its purpose is to provide us with the greatest immersive experience. However, considering that what we're talking about is still only an idea, we ought to understand it as best as possible, in order to decide whether it could actually work or not. As we’ve already mentioned in our introductory post, the term “immersive technology” mostly refers to modern digital technology. Our understanding is that one is already familiar with VR technology, since it is becoming more and more widespread nowadays. Regardless of whether one’s ever used it or not, they, at the very least, know what we’re talking about. We feel it’s important that we first become familiar with the history of immersive systems/technology. In the following posts of this series, we will be covering various subjects such as the history of VR -from the invention of the stereoscope to today, 4-D cinemas and Smell-O-Vision and last, but certainly not least, haptic technology.

So, you may ask yourselves, well, how did we get here? (Talking Heads reference fully intended) 

#immersion #immersive technology #immersive systems #history of technology #digital technology #virtual reality #vr technology

[transcendtouch]

The starry night Stereo VR experience

This video is an even closer look at what a “tangible painting” could be. It is a 3-D, 360-degree view short animation of a pre-existing 2-D painting, that can be watched at its full potential when using a VR set. The warm, bright colors, all the materials and textures are made according to the original painting. Thus, it gives the viewer a strong sense of immersion. Now, imagine if there was also haptic technology involved. You could have haptic feedback when engaging with the painting. Imagine being able to feel the soil moving beneath your feet as you’re walking, or being able to feel the texture of the walls on your fingertips.  

#transcendence #vr #virtual reality #vr art #immersion

[transcendtouch]

Tilt Brush Artist in Residence

In this video we see some artists trying the Tilt Brush tool in VR. They comment on their experience, they talk about their first impressions, describe their feelings and what it can offer them as a tool in their development as artists.

This video serves as a good first example for understanding what a “tangible painting” could be.

#vr #virtual reality #vr art #digital art #wearable technology #3d touch #transcendence

[transcendtouch]

What does it mean to "transcend touch"?

The definition of the verb "transcend" is "to go beyond the ordinary limits of; to exceed".  When we first had this idea, we were reasonably led into discussing about concepts such as hyperreality and transcendence. We started visualizing portals, boundaries, non-physical, imaginary worlds, how we could "get there" and what it could be like. Would we experience such a world in the same way our body allows us to experience the one that we already exist in? What would art be like in a transcendent environment, in an altered reality? Which rules would apply? Naturally, we then started thinking about painting in this way, since we feel that it's such an organic practice. It's about expressive gestures and sometimes even moving with your whole body while painting.

Finally, throughout this process of brainstorming, we ended up thinking about what I initially described as a "tangible painting". Our understanding of a "tangible painting" is that of a painting in which one can jump into. One doesn't just touch the surface of the canvas and feel the textures of the materials used, but they can actually enter the painting. It would be like entering a real, actual environment.  What interests us the most about this idea is not only finding a way to create a fabricated 3d version of a pre-existing 2d one, but also making it interactive. As we explained in our introductory post, using only auditory and visual means doesn’t provide us with the whole experience of a real environment; we need all five senses. Can we walk inside the painting? Can we touch the things we see around us? Then we have created a “tangible painting”, a transcendent painting that feels real.

We know that all these things sound maybe a little too dream-like, that’s why we are stating that this is simply an idea. However it is an idea that we are quite passionate about, therefore we are searching and studying in order to decide whether or not it’s possible.

#transcendence #hyperreality #vr #virtual reality #mixed reality #haptic feedback #digital art #research #uni project #immersion