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Category: AR / VR / XR

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AR / VR / XR Story

IoT Bridge

IoT Bridge

This MediaLab project aimed to connect IoT sensors based on the SeeedStudio Grove platform to most used game Engines using a socket library and proved to be successful. Providing students and researchers with an easy way to use IoT sensors in their projects at the NewMedia Centre XR Zone. IoT sensors are sensors that can measure things like: Pressure, Light, Gyroscopic & Acceleration, Temperature & Humidity, Proximity & Motion and more.

This technology can be used not only by game developers but also by students and researchers. By incorporating real-world data into game engines, students and researchers can explore new possibilities for immersive and interactive experiences.

 

“ By incorporating real-world data into game engines, students and researchers can explore new possibilities for immersive and interactive experiences.”

The IoT Bridge is separated into three main components:

•    a Raspberry Pi SD image
•    Unreal Engine plugin
•    Unity plugin

The Raspberry Pi SD image contains all the necessary software and configurations to run the Grove sensors and enable communication between the sensors and the game engines. This image simplifies the setup process, making it easy for game developers to bring incorporating real-world data and physical elements into their projects.

The Unreal Engine and Unity plugins provide a seamless integration between the Grove sensors and the respective game engines, together with the Raspberry Pi SD image they allow for real-time data transfer and control of actuators. Developers can use the data from the sensors to drive various elements within the game engines, such as animations, particle effects, and physical simulations, creating more interactive and immersive experiences.

The three components work together to bridge Grove based IoT sensors and both game engines.

This technology provides a platform for experimentation and innovation in the field of Serious-Game development and other XR applications, making it an ideal tool for students and researchers looking to push the boundaries of what is possible in this field. The integration of Grove based IoT sensors with game engines through IoT Bridge provides easier access to a powerful solution for exploring the integration of real-world data and physical elements in XR projects.
 
To access this technology, visit the XR Zone located in the TU Delft Library.

Initiative:
Luuk Goosen
Roland van Roijen

Developers: 
Luuk Goosen
Yosua Adisapta Pranata Andoko

Categories
AR / VR / XR Story

PV-Lab

PV-Lab

The availability of the physical University Labs may be limited due to its capacity or other factors, like the mandatory requirement to work from home during the pandemic peaks. TU Delft had a goal to increase the capacity and extend the availability of the physical Photovoltaic Lab.

To still provide a sustainable and uninterrupted access to learning, the NewMedia Centre together with a research group Photovoltaic Materials and Devices (PVMD) have created the Virtual PVLAB.

The Virtual PVLAB is the digital twin of the on-campus PV Laboratory. Each task and each piece of equipment is simulated in a 3D environment that resembles the actual PV Laboratory. The didactical approach pursued in Virtual PVLAB is the same as in its on-campus version: students access the laboratory, preemptively study from the guide and execute a certain task according to a schedule. In the virtual lab students gain practical experience, conducting experiments with light, solar cells, modules, batteries, power electronic components, and system design. They also test the impact of various realistic situations and configurations on the performance of PV systems and all their components.

“ Through practical work the students get a “hands on” experience with solar equipment, thus gaining a more pragmatic understanding of all the processes.”

“Gameplay” images from the application

Instead of analyzing the aforementioned experiments through a mathematical representation in theory, the students can actively manipulate objects in a virtual, live setting and challenge themselves by arranging the measurement setup in a virtual lab. Through practical work the students get a “hands on” experience with solar equipment, thus gaining a more pragmatic understanding of all the processes.

The opportunity to follow this course in a virtual format also enables students to do it at any time, facilitating their study progress through the MSc programme.

How does it work?

Students can access the virtual lab through their laptops. They do not need any VR headsets, as the Web Graphics Library provides access to a 3D environment through a web browser. In order to create the web application the NewMedia Centre has used Unreal Engine to create the 3D environment and equipment, simulate the physics behind the interaction of all objects; and used WebGL to deploy the tasks on all platforms on all major browsers.

All 3D objects created by NewMedia Centre’s XR are high quality and optimized for future re-use in similar or other XR applications.

Initiative:
Prof.dr.ir. O. Isabella MSc
Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics & Computer Science

Didactics, Technical input & knowledge:
Dr. René van Swaaij
Dr.ir. R. Vismara MSc

Developer: Arend-Jan Krooneman
3D modeling: Arno Freeke – Roland van Roijen

Categories
AR / VR / XR Story

VR Maritime

VR Maritime

Learning some procedures required for working on a ship wharf is usually a difficult and costly process due to limited access to an actual location and lots of risk involved. Still, students of the faculty of 3mE (Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering) have to practice some assembly and logistics ship operations.

In order to help students learn easily and safely, the NewMedia Centre created a multiplayer VR application where they can learn multiple disciplines on a ship wharf in a virtual environment. Once in VR, the students perform different tasks from identifying and locating the required parts of the ship to transporting them and assembling the hull of the ship with a crane. During the whole experience they work in a team and perform these practical tasks while learning to navigate through the ship together. All the team members communicate through virtual walkie talkies, created specifically to increase the realism of their communication in VR.

“ For this project a ship and a ship wharf have been created in 3D, using Unreal Engine, and optimised for VR. The application features a multiplayer environment.”

How does it work?

Students use VR headsets which provide full immersion into the environment. For this project a ship and a ship wharf have been created in 3D, using Unreal Engine, and optimised for VR. The application features a multiplayer environment.

At some point the students have to carry a pipe through the ship. As VR does not allow us to replicate the weight of the object, we have added a real physical pipe with a length of about 150cm with weights attached to it. The object is fitted with a VR puck that translates the object to VR so students can see and feel the object in VR and learn to communicate and navigate in safety while physically carrying a weight. This enables a more realistic perception of the virtual experience and results in a more effective learning.

The maritime project has been run successfully with students from the faculty of 3mE and is scheduled to be expanded over time through the addition of more functionality and tasks.

Initiative:
Dr.ir. J.F.J. (Jeroen) Pruijn
Faculty 3mE

Developers:
Arend-Jan Krooneman
Luuk Goosen
Max van Schendel
Arno Freeke
Huu Dat Nguyen

Categories
AR / VR / XR Story Video

Virtual Production 4 Education

Virtual Production 4 Education

Footage from Mars rovers and images of vehicles have been out there for years, but getting the feel of the scale of these objects in comparison to a human has always been difficult. Lecturer at Astrodynamics & Space Missions, TU Delft Aerospace Engineering, Sebastiaan de Vet wanted to show the scale differences between Mars vehicles created over time by NASA. Many people have seen footage from Mars rovers but they usually lack the feeling of scale as there are usually no people in the scene for reference.

To solve this issue the NewMedia Centre of TU Delft has created a virtual production studio that enables teachers and researchers to blend into their 3D virtual content thus creating a realtime augmented video. 

Sebastiaan had the idea to walk past a chronological lineup of all the vehicles, where he would stop to talk about each vehicle and then move on to the next one with a final shot showing all vehicles in one scene.

Thanks to this studio, the dynamic content can be made on an affordable scale for education. It will enable teachers and researchers to step into their 3D virtual content, thus creating a realtime augmented video.

“ The virtual studio features free-moving cameras where the foreground and background will move accordingly in scale, position, rotation and focus with the moving cameras.”

How does it work?

The students are able to see the professor on the video as if he is a part of a preset environment: in this case he is walking on the Mars surface. This project requires preparation, however. The virtual studio features free-moving cameras where the foreground and background will move accordingly in scale, position, rotation and focus with the moving cameras. A powerful computer renders the dynamic foreground and background in real time. 

The Mars landscape was created from scratch using Pixel Mega scans. All was put together and after a bit of tweaking a realistic Mars landscape with rover vehicles was created: The 3D Models from the rovers are provided by NASA but  needed to be optimized by the NMC before they could be used in VR.

“We used three types of cameras: a static camera, a camera on a slider and a free moving cameraman. We also wanted to shoot close-up as well as a wide scenery. The virtual studio allows rebuilding shoots as you like and it’s relatively easy to sync the fore and background on the fly,” says Roland van Roijen, Coördinator Media Lab | Media / XR / 3D Designer.

VR tech: Arend-Jan Krooneman
3D modeling: Arno Freeke – Roland van Roijen
Director: Maik Helgers
Camera: Boris Swaen – Geraldo Solisa – Julia Zomer
Mars models: NASA

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