Monthly Archives: July 2017

Now, London-based design studio Seymourpowell is hoping to do the same in the automobile sector with a new 3D sketching tool. Wearing an HTC Vive headset, users are able to draw, manipulate and augment car models in virtual reality.

The software is designed to speed up the design process, with adjustments quicker to make than if modeled in Photoshop or in traditional 3D-imaging programs.

Seymourpowell's lead automotive designer, Richard Seale, hopes the tool will bridge the longstanding divide between designers (who are paid to shoot for the stars) and engineers (who are meant to keep them grounded).

"As an engineer, it's very frustrating to (produce) cars with designers, because designers and engineers are typically at loggerheads," he said at the firm's south London studio. "It's the same for designers, (who say) 'I want to do this -- why can't I?'"

The typical design process begins with a meeting -- or three -- followed by concept sketches. Once a design is approved, a clay model is created. After that, a costlier model is used to further refine the design.

This is the point where designers and engineers typically clash. A car shaped like an arrow would be great for keeping aerodynamic drag to a minimum, but it would be impractical and unlikely to meet safety requirements.

Here's where the new software steps in. Put on the VR headset and you are transported to a 3D workspace where the view adjusts to your head movements. The left control stick lets you sketch lines, which can be twisted, moved and manipulated with the right one. You can then jump around your digital surroundings at the press of a button.

With so few functions to worry about -- and because you can see the two controllers as if they were your own virtual hands -- the process is surprisingly intuitive.

"We think that the quicker and easier it is to do something, the more likely you are to do it," Seale explained.

Because cars are typically symmetrical, the software speeds up the design process by mirroring the lines you draw. You can create a full 3D concept vehicle in under an hour.

The software also has a social side that can transform how the design process works. Other team members -- whether designers or engineers -- are able to look at drawings on a monitor and, if they have another headset to hand, make adjustments in real time.

This means that engineering specifications, such as the legally required height of a car's headlights, can be brought into the design process earlier on. Later down the line, surfaces can be applied to show what a car would look like in a certain color or material.

Getting up close to a life-size digital model makes it easier to spot design problems. The headset's perspective can also be adjusted to show the car's inside, allowing designers to assess the driver's visibility.

This all means that designers can come up with designs that are better thought out, which in turn means that they are more likely to be approved (especially if any engineering prerequisites have been met) and may be easier to build. This will ultimately speed up the process and save companies money.

The technology has already been adopted by Ford and Jaguar Land Rover. According to Seale, two more car companies ("major" German and Chinese manufacturers) have expressed interest since the London Motor Show, and the company is already exploring how their technology could be applied to architecture and education.

Seymourpowell plans to spend the next 10 years adding new tools and commercializing the product.

"There are so many possibilities that you want to do everything," Seale said. "In that way, it's brilliant."

Link:

This new virtual reality tool could transform how we design cars - CNN

PHOENIX - You might think virtual reality is just a pair oversized goggles that gives you access to an exciting, alternate world. But, what if virtual reality had other powers that could heal your body? That question is being answered at Banner Health's University Medicine Rehabilitation Institute right here in Arizona.

Cristina Vazquez was in school to become a nurse. But, on February 7, 2015, everything changed.

"I had a car accident. It was a t-bone," Cristina says.

She suffered a traumatic brain injury which put her in the hospital for months, barely able to open her eyes or even talk.

"I thought I wasn't going to walk ever," she says.

But, therapists at Banner's Rehabilitation Institute had different plans.

"I came here with a wheelchair and they said, oh no, homegirl, you cannot be with the wheelchair," Cristina jokes.

So, they got to work, using virtual reality to help heal Cristina's body. Specifically, the Dynovision machine is used on patients who need to retrain their visual motor coordination.

Cristina's occupational therapist, Holly Jones, explains, "it's looking at her reaction time."

At the same time, it serves as a form of speech therapy for Cristina, who tries to shout out the words she sees on the screen in front of her.

"When a patient has an injury to their brain," Holly explains, "other areas surrounding that damage can re-learn what that damaged area did."

But, that kind of therapy takes a lot of practice and a lot of repetitions, which can be extremely mundane and very frustrating for patients.

"That's where Virtual Reality comes in," Holly says. "It gives us the ability to give the patient something meaningful to do. They can visually see what's going on. They can see the movement in their affected arm. And, it gives them a score, so they know how they're doing and how they're progressing."

Cristina says, "Before, I would just look at people... ugh, I'm never going to do that."

But, with innovative, meaningful therapy, her coordination has improved, her balance is better and her legs are stronger.

"Thank God for the help, because, I don't know, without them, I'd probably still be wheelchair-chilling," Cristina laughs.

Officials at Banner Health say Cristina's story is just one of many incredible stories at the clinic showing how technology is impacting lives.

Their occupational therapists are using Virtual Reality to help a tattoo artist regain their fine motor skills necessary for his craft and assisting another patient with relearning tasks like folding laundry or swinging a golf club.

They also say there is no age-limit for the technology. They've used it for children and patients as old as 89 years old.

Excerpt from:

Virtual reality heals rehab patients in Phoenix - ABC15 Arizona

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Virtual reality gives old fairground rides new purpose - The Economist

The dynamic principle of fantasy is play, a characteristic also of the child, and as such it appears inconsistent with the principle of serious work. But without this playing with fantasy no creative work has ever yet come to birth. The debt we owe to the play of the imagination is incalculable. Carl Jung

In my research and experiments, I found that the ability to play in another world can offer a person a renewed sense of spirit. Most adults I have talked to about virtual reality commonly have the same reactionthey are not interested in finding out what it is all about. When I talk to teens about it, though, they cannot wait to try it. It makes me wonder why adults are reticent to attempt to play in another world. My findings are that gaming and virtual reality have an underlying stigma that is looked upon as useless or wasting time.

I see playing in virtual reality as an opportunity to play for a short amount of time without any actual backlash. It is meant to be fun, entertaining, and challenging. When used logically and occasionally, I see it as an excellent life tool.

Here are some reasons why virtual reality can be seen as spiritually enlightening:

In the virtual world, you are anonymous

Becoming anonymous on a conscious level can be considered as a useful step on the road to higher self-awareness. Playing in the virtual world creates new ways to access other states of thought that may have been previously veiled.

When you begin to play any game, you jump into another universe and forget about your daily routine in everyday, physical life

Is this a bad thing? Only if you believe it is. Within the virtual world of the game, you can become who you want, you can go to other locations, and can live another lifetemporarily. There are no consequences to your actionsjust the same as imagination. When the game is turned off, and you enter back into your current now, you may be able to see events more clearly with a new approach to problem-solving.

Anonymity can give you a renewed sense of power

The self is first seen in the mind, and then the feeling of novel perception can transfer into physical life. The experience allows you to see your authentic self outside of the virtual reality. In the virtual, there is room for invention and the art of living is discovered.

When playing in the virtual world, the activity is done in real time, and the experience envelops and responds to you. Playing in virtual reality is a sharp contrast to simply reading travel magazines, watching a film, or talking with a person in a physical situation.

The virtual world becomes, then, a new possibility to re-imagine the world, with all of its unconscious processes of control. Looking inwards with the virtual and moving past a controlling system, the experience becomes a form of awareness, and the role of playing in the virtual world becomes self-consciousness.

The bliss of the gameand enjoying yourself for the sake of experiencing a pleasing experience

The virtual world can be seen as enjoyable as, there, a piece of innocence is found. The rebirth that occurs removes the original sense of the ordinary. Now, the game experience is grounded in creative change.

In the virtual space, there are no resentments or doubts

All players are, essentially, on the same page in the virtual world. The interaction is a continual dialogue. The imagination is immediately activated, along with perceptions. This playing can be seen as a new form of training in understanding. The imaginary deals with the capacity to conceptualize images and see how these images reflect on to the self. While it may be uttered that more can be done by way of teaching art and culture, it is imperative to integrate the teachings of awareness coupled with perception and imagination to progress further into the twenty-first century. In my opinion, virtual play is one answer to this long heard call.

Playing in the virtual world lets the mind and body connect with new potential

The experiences within the game offer future modes of learning and becoming more than might currently be realized. While a video game is largely seen as a commoditized object, the transformative power provided is yet unrealized potential. The experiential nature of playing in the game gives you a new sense of fulfillment and optimal hope for what is possible.

When you begin to play, you dive into the newness of the game and experience. You become a being that is immersed with others. In the virtual space, there are no prescribed social spheres, presumed ways of being, or judgments that will affect your character.

By choosing identities and trying out different points of view, you may experience empathy. You can now see the world from a different point of view that may have otherwise never been known. I believe empathy is indeed a step closer to a higher state of self-consciousness.

In all, I find virtual reality to be a great tool to get in touch with ones self. Of course, I would never promote the use of virtual reality every day and all day, but I do think everyone should give it a try occasionallyto truly step into another world.

Do you want to be part of creating a kinder, more inclusive society? Join like-minded individuals in The Good Men Project Community.

Photo Credit: Flickr/Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, University of Texas at Austin

Im a visual artist, writer, and researcher who teaches and mentors creative people to write clearly and complete their writing projects. I have my Ph.D. in Philosophy, Art Theory, and Aesthetics. My research is on virtual reality and understanding authenticity in the digital world. I have four children, and Im married to an amazing man. I love traveling, being near water, painting, music, and writing. I'm currently working on a book about creativity.

You can connect with me at: twitter.com/jessica_project instagram.com/prettyneatprettyneat jessicamdoyle.com

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The Beauty Of Virtual Reality - The Good Men Project (blog)

It's been nearly a year-and-a-half since Nintendo first said it was "looking into" virtual reality, though we have yet to see any concrete signs of that "look" outside of a vague patent application. Thus, it came down to Nintendo partner Namco Bandai to give the world its first official taste of what a popular Nintendo franchise would look like on a modern virtual reality headset (no, the Virtual Boy does not count).

Apparently, it will look a lot like Mario Kart Arcade GP VR, a title being teased for Japanese arcades in a newly released 30-second trailernow making the rounds. The slickly produced, first-person trailer shows players puttering somewhat slowly down familiar looking track settings (Peach's Castle grounds, Bowser's airship, a Thwomp-filled fortress) while throwing turtle shells and banana peels and even bonking opposing players with a hammer.

Though the trailer is making a big splash today, the game's existence was first revealed a month ago as part of a preview event for Namco's upcoming VR arcade games (an event we seem to have missed amid the bustle of E3). A report from The Japan Times explains and shows a bit more about how the game works, with users sitting in a small kart that bumps and shakes as they drive with an HTC Vive strapped to their heads. Vive trackers strapped to the back of the wrists track players' hands (via rubber gloves) and allow them to grab virtual items out of the air and throw them at opponents with real-world motions. IGN Japan has even more footage of people playing the game(notethe commentary is all in Japanese).

The existence of a new VR Mario Kart doesn't necessarily mean we should expect more Nintendo franchises to show up in VR soon. While the new game is officially licensed by Nintendo, Namco Bandai is taking the lead in the game's development, much as it has with the arcade spin-off Mario Kart Arcade GP series since 2005. Nintendo reportedly had a limited role in designing those previous arcade Kart titles (besides loaning out and approving the treatment of the characters and settings), and it's not clear Nintendo has any direct role in this new virtual reality development at all.

Don't get your hopes up for this new Mario Kart to be widely available outside of Japan, either. For now, Mario Kart Arcade GP VR is being featured exclusively as a central piece of Namco's flagship VR Zone Shinjuku entertainment complex, which is opening this weekend in the popular Tokyo commercial district. The permanent Shinjuku location is a follow-up to last year's VR-focused Project i-Can, a limited-time pop-up arcade Namco Bandai set up for in Tokyo a few months as a "VR entertainment research facility." The new site will also feature experiences based on Dragon Ball Z, Evangelion, and Ghost in the Shell.

Namco Bandai Executive Officer for Amusement Yoshiyasu Horiuchi said in a statement that "the company plans to install their VR activities in over 20 locations worldwide in order to increase the opportunities for a larger audience to enjoy their VR entertainment," leaving the door open for Western locations in the future. At those limited numbers, though, you may have to travel a bit to find the game if and when Namco does decide to expand.

Those who can't make the trip can always try an emulated version of Mario Kart Wii in their Oculus Rift, of course. Or, how about some unofficial augmented reality Super Mario Bros. while you wait?

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Mario Kart becomes the first Nintendo property to come to VR - Ars Technica