Virtual Reality Observations - AK-NSF-EPSCoR/Vis-Space GitHub Wiki

Overview of the Systems

The HTC Vive and Oculus Rift are both centered around software with interactivity or resource intensive rendering.
- More possibilities for interactivity with customized scenes and exploration
- Requires a system capable of running the software, and the associated installation and set up of the system.
In terms of accessibility, phone based vr applications offer a range of benefits. The use of headsets such as Google Cardboard or Google Daydream for instance provide a more affordable and mobile solution in some cases.
- Greater accessibility, as anyone with a smartphone has the potential to load videos or software.
- Limited or nonexistent interactivity with the software due to lack of user controls.

Link: https://webvr.info/
Experimental API for web based VR content
WebVR is an open standard that makes it possible to experience VR in your browser. The goal is to make it easier for everyone to get into VR experiences, no matter what device you have
- It is currently experimental in most browsers. While there are plans for stable builds for Chrome/Firefox/etc, it must currently be accessed by experimental browsers such as Chromium or Firefox Nightly.
  - Instructions for Chromium: https://webvr.rocks/chromium
  - Instructions for Firefox Nightly: https://mozvr.com/
Associated Sites and Links:
- A-Frame: A-Frame is an open-source web framework for building virtual reality experiences. We can build VR web pages that we can walk inside with just HTML. Under the hood, it is a three.js framework that brings the entity-component- system pattern to the DOM.
  - https://aframe.io/
- vrlist: A list of current WebVR applications, some of which work, while others do not.
  - http://vrlist.io/
- eleVR: Collaborative website with VR projects, immersive videos and web design, webVR, etc.
  - http://elevr.com/

The process of converting a collection of photos (2d or 360) into a 3-dimensional environment or model.

In regards to livestreaming to YouTube using a Theta device or an alternative, there is an unavoidable lag due to the stream being encoded for viewing by YouTube’s systems.
- This delay averaged about 20 seconds using campus networks, which has more than enough bandwidth to handle the streaming on its own.
Unfortunately, this eliminates any prospect of livestreaming a room such as this for discussion in real time, at least with the current technology readily available.
- Google hangouts could be used for synchronous chat and discussion along with the video, however their audio would be out of sync with the video, effectively removing any use for the video at all.
There are still some potential applications for VR when it comes to discussion like this, however.
- It is still possible to livestream despite the delay, which could be used to allow others to watch meetings and then type questions or comments into the youtube chat for instance that could be read whenever the current topic was finished.
- Alternatively, a 360 degree video of the room during the discussion could still be useful for record keeping even without livestreaming. A 360 video could be downloaded or viewed at a later time if anyone was curious about the content of a meeting, and this could be viewed using the PC VR headsets such as the HTC Vive or Rift as it is not a livestream.

Google Cardboard:
- Through the use of the cardboard app, viewing or even streaming 360 videos from youtube is simple, and does not require any setup beyond downloading the app. The simplicity and low cost of simply using smartphones combined with a Google Cardboard or other smartphone headset make this option appealing, though we need to test it more.
PC (Vive/Oculus/Etc.):
- There is currently no supported functionality for the Vive that allows it to livestream 360 videos from youtube. Through the use of applications such as Virtual Desktop, Whirligig, and MultiVR, it is possible to download or even stream regular 360 videos from youtube by giving the software a link, however it does not seem to be possible with livestreams. After looking more into it, this seems to be an issue caused by youtube only allowing live videos to be watched from their associated app, or through the browser. Neither of these options are compatible with the PC headsets unfortunately as of yet. Even if functionality were to arise, it is worth noting the cost of transporting the headsets with a compatible PC to the remote locations, as well as the initial setup.

The Theta camera has a very intuitive and easy to use functionality for streaming via a usb/hdmi cable, which can then be uploaded as a 360 youtube livestream. There are some other potential options for where to stream it according to the guide, such as the VLC media player, and Unity, however functionality is currently limited or broken for these options. http://theta360.guide/community-document/live-streaming.html

Most options are out of the box solutions where the drone, camera and smartphone software come packaged together. There are alternatives such as apps that connect with specific brands of drones.
- One example of the latter is DroneVR from Appologics for use with DJI drones, which uses the phone’s accelerometers to track head movement and control the camera on the drone
- http://dronevr.appologics.com/

With the HTC Vive, there is a "mirror" window on the monitor that allows others in the room to see what the Vive user is looking at in the headset.
Using the DevSpace computer "Wyrm" we wanted to see how feasible it was to fullscreen that mirror and, if possible, extend it across multiple monitors. The possible use case we were looking at was to allow others in Vis Space to see a 180 degree view of what a headset wearer in the middle of the room was looking at across the seven screens as a potential way of helping to visualize concepts.

This idea did not prove feasible for a variety of reasons:
- SteamVR window does not scale correctly across multiple horizontal screens. It continues to scale in a 16:9 ratio, making the live view appear zoomed in by cropping out what would appear above and below the 7 screens
- Even on a very powerful computer, there are performance issues resulting from the maximum GPU voltage being reached. This causes a great deal of lag, both on the mirror displays, and for the user in the headset. This occurred when simply full-screening the mirror on one 4k monitor, let alone multiple.