{"id":9694,"date":"2017-09-14T11:05:42","date_gmt":"2017-09-14T15:05:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/?p=9694"},"modified":"2017-09-14T11:05:42","modified_gmt":"2017-09-14T15:05:42","slug":"world-vr-oyster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/2017\/09\/14\/world-vr-oyster\/","title":{"rendered":"The World of VR as Their Oyster"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"VR-Oyster-Project_800x450\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In 20 minutes, anyone can learn all about one of North Carolina\u2019s keystone species with Oysters: A Virtual Reality<\/em> (VR) Experience<\/em><\/a>, an app designed last fall by students in Associate Professor of Art + Design Pat FitzGerald\u2019s<\/a> multimedia course. When viewed in a VR headset, the app immerses the viewer in 360-degree scenes filmed at the marshes of Stumpy Point, during the 36th Annual North Carolina Oyster Festival on Ocean Isle Beach, and in downtown Raleigh on Fayetteville Street, where an oyster store once stood. The app blends facts with animations and peaceful lapping waves over an oyster bed, for what FitzGerald calls, \u201ca fun, cultural edutainment: it\u2019s lighthearted, not pedagogical.\u201d Most impressive of all, the app is one of the pioneering VR efforts undertaken by College of Design students, and it was developed by a team with little to no prior experience in VR.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to venture into VR in a low-tech way, by getting VR into the hands of non-technical folks,\u201d says FitzGerald. Together with Lee Cherry, a technology and research associate, they devised the idea of focusing on VR in the course. They were advised by alumnus Mike Cuales, the Associate Director for Creative & Multimedia Instructional Technology Support and Development. Cuales has led groups at State for faculty and students interested in VR and is familiar with current software and cameras. He led the instructors to Wonda VR, authoring software that offered a storyboard-based approach to the interactions. The program especially appealed to them because it offered \u201cspace to take creative risks using new technologies and platforms to express storytelling ideas or narrative ideas in this new medium,\u201d says Cherry.<\/p>\n

\"VR<\/a>\u201cThe promise of VR has been there for a long time,\u201d FitzGerald adds. Improvements to resolution, the portability of VR tools, and processing power have made it both more accessible and effective. And, VR could be groundbreaking in terms of how people relate to the topics covered. \u201cVR is called the \u2018empathy engine.\u2019 It creates a type of understanding that is potentially more emotional or immersive than, let\u2019s say, books or even film.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

While FitzGerald admits that there hasn\u2019t yet been a \u201ckiller app\u201d to propel VR into everyone\u2019s life, its newness lends itself to experimentation and openness. \u201cThat\u2019s our job: to try to do experimental things; it doesn\u2019t have to be commercially viable,\u201d<\/strong> he says. And it instills in his students a \u201ccreative bravery\u201d that allows them to take risks they might not otherwise feel comfortable with.<\/p>\n

ADN 491 brought together a multidisciplinary core of students. Last fall, it paired six undergraduates and graduates from a range of disciplines, including a computer science minor, a landscape architecture student, and an interactive animation designer. Each student was given a section to research and build, in order to promote teamwork and give responsibility equally to the entire class.<\/p>\n

When considering the focus of the class, FitzGerald and Cherry knew they\u2019d like to submit their project to the NCSU libraries\u2019 Multimedia Research Project. This year\u2019s topic is: \u201cThe Sustainability Balancing Act: Society, Economy, and Environment.\u201d While looking through back issues of Walter Magazine<\/em>, it just clicked: The oyster is a North Carolina staple, a creature that has seen population loss and a resurgence, and upon which many technological efforts have been focused.<\/p>\n

Interviews with Professor of Marine Science Dr. David Eggleston provided much of the audio dialogue for the app. Visits to the state archives revealed turn-of-the-century photos, including the view of the Italian oyster store on Fayetteville Mall, and turned up interesting and weird facts\u2014did you know people once ate oyster-flavored ice cream? One student created animations of the oyster\u2019s lifecycle to accompany narration. Maury Beckmann, a graduate student in landscape architecture, filmed along sounds and waterways on the coast for many of the stunning 360 visuals in the app. After collecting footage, Beckmann used conversion software to stitch it together and then view and use it in a three-dimensional form.<\/p>\n

Beckmann, whose background is in hand-drawn horticulture, believes the opportunities VR offers to those in his field are paramount. \u201cFor landscape architecture, one of the most important parts of building good designs is to collect good information, especially on-site. [The Ricoh Theta 360-degree camera] allows me to shoot footage and go back and maybe see things I wouldn\u2019t see if I sketched\u2014see how people are using the site, hear the wind blowing, see the wind blowing\u2014all different experiential qualities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beckmann didn\u2019t expect to work with VR at State, but now he says he is \u201cabsolutely\u201d pursuing more opportunities with its applications. \u201cOne of my big goals for grad school was to become proficient with computer technology\u2014I never dreamed I\u2019d be doing this stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The students presented the app for the first time to the public at the CAM Raleigh (Contemporary Art Museum). FitzGerald purposefully waited until the project was well underway to announce to the students that it would need to function in a public forum. \u201cWe have a design term we use, which is called the \u2018uglies,\u2019\u201d he explains. \u201cWe say, \u2018you\u2019re going to make an ugly; it\u2019s not going to have aesthetic expectations; you\u2019ll do it again; it will improve.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no right way,\u201d says Beckmann. \u201cWe could go through these new technologies, these new programs and cameras, and carve our own little path out. We made ugly pieces, and by the end they aggregated into something that made sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

To check out <\/em>Oysters: A Virtual Reality Experience, visit virtualoyster.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0Julie Steinbacher [MFA \u201916] is a transplant from Parkton, Maryland. She writes<\/em> science fiction,<\/em> and her story \u201cChimeras\u201d was a Notable Story in this year\u2019s Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. She lives and works in Raleigh, NC, as a freelance writer and editor. To read her fiction, visit http:\/\/julie-steinbacher.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\"VR-Oyster-Project_800x450\"<\/a>\n\nIn 20 minutes, anyone can learn all about one of North Carolina\u2019s keystone species with Oysters: A Virtual Reality<\/em> (VR) Experience<\/em><\/a>, an app designed last fall by students in Associate Professor of Art + Design Pat FitzGerald\u2019s<\/a> multimedia course. When viewed in a VR headset, the app immerses the viewer in 360-degree scenes filmed at the marshes of Stumpy Point, during the 36th Annual North Carolina Oyster Festival on Ocean Isle Beach, and in downtown Raleigh on Fayetteville Street, where an oyster store once stood. The app blends facts with animations and peaceful lapping waves over an oyster bed, for what FitzGerald calls, \u201ca fun, cultural edutainment: it\u2019s lighthearted, not pedagogical.\u201d Most impressive of all, the app is one of the pioneering VR efforts undertaken by College of Design students, and it was developed by a team with little to no prior experience in VR.\n\n\u201cWe wanted to venture into VR in a low-tech way, by getting VR into the hands of non-technical folks,\u201d says FitzGerald. Together with Lee Cherry, a technology and research associate, they devised the idea of focusing on VR in the course. They were advised by alumnus Mike Cuales, the Associate Director for Creative & Multimedia Instructional Technology Support and Development. Cuales has led groups at State for faculty and students interested in VR and is familiar with current software and cameras. He led the instructors to Wonda VR, authoring software that offered a storyboard-based approach to the interactions. The program especially appealed to them because it offered \u201cspace to take creative risks using new technologies and platforms to express storytelling ideas or narrative ideas in this new medium,\u201d says Cherry.\n\n\"VR<\/a>\u201cThe promise of VR has been there for a long time,\u201d FitzGerald adds. Improvements to resolution, the portability of VR tools, and processing power have made it both more accessible and effective. And, VR could be groundbreaking in terms of how people relate to the topics covered. \u201cVR is called the \u2018empathy engine.\u2019 It creates a type of understanding that is potentially more emotional or immersive than, let\u2019s say, books or even film.\u201d<\/strong>\n\nWhile FitzGerald admits that there hasn\u2019t yet been a \u201ckiller app\u201d to propel VR into everyone\u2019s life, its newness lends itself to experimentation and openness. \u201cThat\u2019s our job: to try to do experimental things; it doesn\u2019t have to be commercially viable,\u201d<\/strong> he says. And it instills in his students a \u201ccreative bravery\u201d that allows them to take risks they might not otherwise feel comfortable with.\n\nADN 491 brought together a multidisciplinary core of students. Last fall, it paired six undergraduates and graduates from a range of disciplines, including a computer science minor, a landscape architecture student, and an interactive animation designer. Each student was given a section to research and build, in order to promote teamwork and give responsibility equally to the entire class.\n\nWhen considering the focus of the class, FitzGerald and Cherry knew they\u2019d like to submit their project to the NCSU libraries\u2019 Multimedia Research Project. This year\u2019s topic is: \u201cThe Sustainability Balancing Act: Society, Economy, and Environment.\u201d While looking through back issues of Walter Magazine<\/em>, it just clicked: The oyster is a North Carolina staple, a creature that has seen population loss and a resurgence, and upon which many technological efforts have been focused.\n\nInterviews with Professor of Marine Science Dr. David Eggleston provided much of the audio dialogue for the app. Visits to the state archives revealed turn-of-the-century photos, including the view of the Italian oyster store on Fayetteville Mall, and turned up interesting and weird facts\u2014did you know people once ate oyster-flavored ice cream? One student created animations of the oyster\u2019s lifecycle to accompany narration. Maury Beckmann, a graduate student in landscape architecture, filmed along sounds and waterways on the coast for many of the stunning 360 visuals in the app. After collecting footage, Beckmann used conversion software to stitch it together and then view and use it in a three-dimensional form.\n\nBeckmann, whose background is in hand-drawn horticulture, believes the opportunities VR offers to those in his field are paramount. \u201cFor landscape architecture, one of the most important parts of building good designs is to collect good information, especially on-site. [The Ricoh Theta 360-degree camera] allows me to shoot footage and go back and maybe see things I wouldn\u2019t see if I sketched\u2014see how people are using the site, hear the wind blowing, see the wind blowing\u2014all different experiential qualities.\u201d\n\nBeckmann didn\u2019t expect to work with VR at State, but now he says he is \u201cabsolutely\u201d pursuing more opportunities with its applications. \u201cOne of my big goals for grad school was to become proficient with computer technology\u2014I never dreamed I\u2019d be doing this stuff.\u201d\n\n[gallery size=\"large\" ids=\"9698,9699,9700\"]\n\nThe students presented the app for the first time to the public at the CAM Raleigh (Contemporary Art Museum). FitzGerald purposefully waited until the project was well underway to announce to the students that it would need to function in a public forum. \u201cWe have a design term we use, which is called the \u2018uglies,\u2019\u201d he explains. \u201cWe say, \u2018you\u2019re going to make an ugly; it\u2019s not going to have aesthetic expectations; you\u2019ll do it again; it will improve.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cThere was no right way,\u201d says Beckmann. \u201cWe could go through these new technologies, these new programs and cameras, and carve our own little path out. We made ugly pieces, and by the end they aggregated into something that made sense.\u201d\n\nTo check out <\/em>Oysters: A Virtual Reality Experience, visit virtualoyster.org<\/a>.<\/em>\n\n

\n\n\u00a0Julie Steinbacher [MFA \u201916] is a transplant from Parkton, Maryland. She writes<\/em> science fiction,<\/em> and her story \u201cChimeras\u201d was a Notable Story in this year\u2019s Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. She lives and works in Raleigh, NC, as a freelance writer and editor. To read her fiction, visit http:\/\/julie-steinbacher.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/span>"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Learn about NC\u2019s keystone species with Oysters: A Virtual Reality (VR) Experience, an app designed by students in Art + Design at NCSU College of Design.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":9695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,10],"tags":[19,9],"class_list":["post-9694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newswire","category-student-experience","tag-_featured","tag-art-design"],"displayCategory":null,"acf":{"ncst_posts_meta_modified_date":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}