@omershapira

http://piratepad.net/Perception

  • Perception

  • Technology

  • Design

Virtual Reality is Painful

  • NO.
     
  • PRETENDING IT'S EASY DOESN'T HELP ANYONE.
     
  • THE INTRO LEVEL KNOWLEDGE IS ALREADY THE HIGHEST IN FORMS OF MASS ENTERTAINMENT*.
     
  • THIS IS NOT ALL OF MY BOOKSTACK, IT'S A RECOMMENDED INTRO.

    *(fact-check me)

lol but VR is easy

No coding

Mostly Design

Still Painful

Things that don't matter for now*

  • That your phone is overheating
  • That you're not hitting 90FPS
  • That you've not written a line of code in your life

You'll figure it out.
Design something good first.

*partial list

Virtual Reality is like all these things I know

Virtual Reality is like 
_______?

What Defines A Medium?

  • STANDARDS
  • DELIVERY METHODS
  • UNIFORM CONSUMPTION IMPLEMENTS
  • FILM
  • TELEVISION
  • CONSOLE VIDEO GAMES
  • PRINTED LITERATURE 
  • RECORDED MUSIC
  • INDOOR THEATRE
  • MAGICK
  • HUMOR
  • HORROR
  • ROLE PLAYING
  • INTERIOR DESIGN
  • LANGUAGE

Media

Not Media

Virtual Reality is not a Medium.

Virtual Reality is an Achieved Result.

the onion dot com

Vision

Each eye 

RECEIVES

  • LUMINANCE VIA RODS
  • COLOR VIA CONES

 

ADJUSTS W/MUSCLES

  • GAZE DIRECTION
  • FOCUS ("ACCOMOADATION")
  • ADJUST FOR VARIABLE LIGHTING ("ADAPTATION")
  • OCULOMOTOR OSCILLATION

 

 

Both Eyes?

SENSE FUSION:

  • DEPTH PERCEPTION
  • ORIENTATION

+ FEEDBACK?

SPATIAL RECKONING:

  • MOTION PARALLAX (HEAD MOVEMENT)
  • COMPLEMENTING BALANCE

story of the eye

  • OUR FOV IS 220°
  • HI-RES: 2° CIRCLE AT THE CENTER OF OUR GAZE

We have a Blindspot

Focus in VR is always* AT Infinity.

 

*in current-gen headsets.

Mantis
Shrimp

  • 16 DISTINCT COLOR SENSITIVE CONES
  • 5-10 DEGREES FIELD OF VIEW 
  • INDEPENDENTLY MOVING

Image: Discovery Magazine

Mantis Shrimp don't buy Your "Virtual Reality"

Image: Discovery Magazine

Hearing

Ears Receive:

  • PITCH
  • AMPLITUDE

Both ears + Brain:

  • DELAY BETWEEN EARS
  • AMPLITUDE DIFFERENCE
  • PHASE DIFFERENCE

    =3D Vision!

oh yeah and all of these senses

Touch?! 

    - HAPTICS
    - THERMOCEPTION

Somatosensory System

    - HAPTICS
    - THERMOCEPTION

Proprioception 

This is the most undervalued sense in VR.

VESTIBULAR SYSTEM 

 

(EQUILIBRIOCEPTION)

what Forms Reality?

  • SPATIAL RECKONING (EXTERNAL FRAME OF REFERENCE)
  • BODY RECKONING (INTERNAL FRAME OF REFERENCE)
  • CONTINUITY (TEMPORAL FRAME OF REFERENCE)

Squab Goals

HOMING PIGEONS USE MAGNETORECEPTION TO NAVIGATE.
HOMING PIGEONS DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT YOUR "VIRTUAL REALITY"

The Brain is a Sense Integrator

The McGurk Effect

The Brain Fuses Low-Level Signals

Signal Fusion Helps correct Incomplete Data

WE NEED  A FEEDBACK LOOP TO CORRECT COURSE.

Current Biology, 2009

Merrell #Trailscape

18 MOTION CAPTURE CAMS

2 FANS

2 HAPTIC TRANSDUCERS

3.5M x 12M SPACE

3 MINUTES LONG

3 MONTHS WORK

0.80
0.90
0.90
1.00

SUNDANCE FESTIVAL, 2015

IN VR THE TRACK ROTATED 40°.

IN REAL LIFE™ IT WAS 180°.

 

FEEDBACK CAN BE OVERRIDDEN.

The Brain Makes Assumptions With Incomplete Data

IF YOU CAN’T EAT A DRESS, AND A DRESS CAN’T EAT YOU, THE BRAIN DID NOT EVOLVE TO GIVE A FUCK ABOUT ITS COLOUR.

‎@raganwald

Sickness

Breaking /CoNTRADICTING Any Frame of Reference May Cause Simulation Sickness

Specifically...

  • TEMPORAL FRAME: BROKEN PERSISTENCE OF VISION

    • LOW FPS (HIGH FRAME PERSISTENCE)
    • HIGH PIXEL PERSISTENCE

IT'S TEMPTING, BUT PLEASE DON'T  MAKE USERS STARE INTO FLICKERS.

ATTEMPTS TO COMPETE WITH THE FRAMERATE ARE GENERALLY* NOT TOLERATED.

*FOR SOME REASON, 8HZ FLICKERS ARE OK? (SOURCE: JPL)

sPECIFICALLY...[2]

  • bODY FRAME: EMULATION SUCKS

    • REPRESENTATION OF LIMBS (FOR SOME REASON, SHOWING THE END EFFECTORS IS FINE)
    • THINGS YOU SEE AND SHOULD BE FEELING, BUT AREN'T*
    • FUCKING WITH GRAVITY*
    • LACK OF A HORIZON LINE*

*I HAVE DONE ALL OF THESE THINGS, SO JUST BE CAREFUL.

Specifically...[3]

  • eXTERNAL fRAME: MAKE THE SPACE THE LEAST CONFUSING.

    • LACK OF ABILITY TO DISCERN DEPTH REGIONS (HERE, NEAR, FAR)
    • LACK OF CONVERGENCE POINTS

oh and by the way

simulation Sickness ≠ Motion Sickness

Fixing one may Amplify the other.

Game Engines Are One Way of Faking it

Most 3D Game Engines Contain

  • Physics Simulation
  • Geometry-Based Rendering Pipeline
  • Events System

Some Contain

  • 3D Sound Simulation
  • VR Specialized Rendering
  • API to interface with other devices

Unity

  • Small teams
  • Most members have to know some programming
  • Very easy on developers, terse for artists
  • Mostly Closed Source
  • Curated collection of engine features

Unreal Engine

  • Larger teams
  • Programmers build tools for artists (who don't touch code)
  • Expressive for artists, harder for developers
  • Open Source
  • Significantly bigger

Both Share

  • Physically-Based Rendering
  • Spatial Sound
  • Literally the same physics engine
  • Oculus/Vive/PSVR/Gear Integration
  • Very easy publishing system

This is one way.
this is not the Only Way.

Virtual Reality is an End to a yet-to-be-defined means.

Some stuff that isn't VR:

1. 360 VIDEO

360º Video is an Unhealthy Format FOr VR.

"360º Video is IMMERSIVE"

EVERYTHING IS ANYTHING

WHAT ARE WORDS, ANYWAY

DESIGNING PERSPECTIVES

HUMANS Cling To Their Frame of Reference.

REMEMBER THAT WHEN DESIGNING HUDS.

START SPHERICAL.

"THINGS EQUIDISTANT AT EYE LEVEL" IS, FOR NOW, NEUTRAL

VANISHING POINTS ARE POWERFUL.

  • SPHERE = 0
  • CYLINDER = 1
  • PLANE = 2

KEEP IT SIMPLE.

YOU NEED A GOOD REASON TO NEED MORE THAN 1.

VANISHING POINTS CAN BE NESTED, USING TANGENT PLACEMENT.

EVE: Valkyrie

Designing Realities

Designing Realities Is Like ________

Designing Realities Is Like Cooking?

use Body Intuition

Exercise: Design a space without a headset

@omershapira