Hi Tech 001

As we’ve begun a blog series titled “Lo Tech”, we’ll search the opposite end of the spectrum just as equally…. So now we begin our counter point series, “Hi Tech”.  In this series we look to explore the use of new technologies and how they can improve the illustrative and communicative skill sets of our profession. This includes, 3D printing, VR technologies, Augmented reality, etc.

This weekend I came across a story that promoted Christopher Nolan’s new movie; “Interstallar”. Something along the scope and breadth of Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”. And in a few locations across the country, there are scheduled Oculus Rift demos. One being this weekend at Universal City Walk. I had to check it out.

Oculus Rift demo for “Interstellar” at Universal City Walk…..three guys that are not me.

 The demo took 3 minutes. It essentially was a “walk thru” of the space station, assumed, from the movie. The chair was a lounger style recliner built on a pedestal that raised and lowered. You can see in the picture, all pedestals are mounted on a platform.

What was exciting about the demo is that the goggles, fairly convincingly, trick your mind into feeling present in the space station. The resolution was low and needs work, but the head tracking (done with a motion camera mounted on a microphone type stand in front (white stem mounted stands in picture) translate my view and movement without hesitation. No glitches, kinks, or skips in the rendering.

You can also tell from the three people in the photo that they all act independently, in their own time, and view the experience uniquely. Pretty impressive for a demo.

This tech will be used for gaming, movies, and entertainment by and large, but also has footholds in healthcare, manufacturing, and obviously the design/development industry. With Oculus expected to hit the market in the next calendar year, we are very excited in experimenting with ways this can help visualize projects for clients, and more.