Study-unit VIRTUAL REALITY SYSTEMS
| Course name | Informatics |
|---|---|
| Study-unit Code | GP004141 |
| Curriculum | Comune a tutti i curricula |
| Lecturer | Osvaldo Gervasi |
| Lecturers |
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| Hours |
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| CFU | 6 |
| Course Regulation | Coorte 2022 |
| Supplied | 2024/25 |
| Supplied other course regulation | |
| Learning activities | Caratterizzante |
| Area | Discipline informatiche |
| Sector | ING-INF/05 |
| Type of study-unit | Opzionale (Optional) |
| Type of learning activities | Attività formativa monodisciplinare |
| Language of instruction | Italian |
| Contents | The main issues related to the implementation of applications of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are presented. The Kronos Group specification OpenXR will be also presented. The management of lights, animations, sensors and scripts to manage the interaction with the user in the virtual world are presented. Unity developing environment is presented. The open source Visual Modeling environment Blender is illustrated. The main concepts related to the Human-Computer Interaction and User-Experience (UX) for allowing an optimal design of interfaces and web sites are presented. The student is guided to the design and implementation of the final project. |
| Reference texts | Tony Parisi: Learning virtual reality : developing immersive experiences and applications for desktop, web, and mobile, O’Reilly and Associates, 2015 Dieter Schmalstieg, Tobias Hollerer: Augmented Reality: Principles and Practice, Addison-Wesley Professional, 2016 Jason van Gumster: Blender For Dummies 4th Edition, Wiley, 2020 Didactic material provided by the Teacher |
| Educational objectives | The main objective of the course is to introduce the student to the realisation of virtual worlds, in which the user interacts with the world in order to optimise the experience with the virtual environment, gaining information and feelings. The knowledge of principles of Human-Machine Interaction and User Experience enables the optimal realisation of the virtual world, gaining competences and skills that make the students of the course active participants in the emerging ICT technologies. The main knowledge acquired will be: fundamental principles for implementing virtual worlds and graphic environments; in-depth knowledge of two of the main development softwares, Blender and Unity; knowledge of the Kronos Group's OpenXR specification. Management of lights, sounds and animations. Creation of scripts in C# to manage user interaction. Knowledge of Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality Human-Computer Interaction and User Experience principles. The main skills (i.e. the ability to apply knowledge) acquired are: Ability to design and implement a virtual world, avoiding its possible criticalities. Ability to design and implement user interaction with the virtual world. Ability to design and implement environments based on Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality. |
| Prerequisites | No prerequisites are required to the student to attend the course; however the basic knowledge of the most popular graphic programs it is expected to be known by all students. Furthermore, examples and use cases will be presented, aimed at facilitating the learning of the concepts covered during classes. |
| Teaching methods | Lectures using multimedia tools (slides, video, etc). Exercise in the computer room. |
| Other information | The teacher may deliver classes, labs and exams in english, french and spanish.The teacher is available at adopting during the exam the following languages: English, French and Spanish |
| Learning verification modality | The exam is based on an oral exam of about 30 minutes, in which the student, presenting a project which subject has to be agreed with the teacher, must demonstrate the knowledge of the acquired concepts, and the ability to organize the concepts to be properly illustrated. |
| Extended program | The course introduces Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and the techniques for realising virtual worlds through the presentation of two of the main development softwares: Blender and Unity. After an extensive introduction to the main issues involved in the realisation of virtual worlds and a broad historical overview outlining the evolutionary traits of these technologies, Blender and object modelling and the application of different materials and textures to shapes are introduced. How to manage the various physical properties of shapes and how to optimise the representation (rendering) of the scene through appropriate lighting of the scene and with the various tools provided by Blender are presented and discussed. Next, Unity is introduced and its salient features are presented. Best practices are presented for importing objects developed in Blender into the Unity scene, how to optimise the rendering of materials and light management. In particular, the creation of scripts in C# to manage animations and interaction with the user visiting the virtual world is described. The basic concepts of Human-Machine Interaction and User Experience (UX) are also provided in order to be able to optimally design the virtual environment. The student is guided to the design and implementation of the final examination project, consisting of a virtual world whose characteristics are agreed with the teacher. |
| Obiettivi Agenda 2030 per lo sviluppo sostenibile | This course contributes to the realization of the UN objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development |