Technology has really come a long way in the past few years. It wasn’t that long ago that I sat in the back of a lecture hall trying to coax out a message using T9 on a tiny screen, and now we have supercomputers in our pockets. Supercomputers so powerful they’re able to transport us into new realities, thanks to the enterprising people behind projects like Google Cardboard. Yes, that’s right, virtual reality has come — with a bit of a bang too; companies like Google, Facebook, Sony, and Microsoft are all investing serious amounts of money in virtual and augmented reality.
The thing is, most of the people working on virtual reality are clamouring to develop new gaming applications instead of new educational and training tools. Don’t get me wrong, getting chased by Slenderman in an Oculus Rift is a whole new level of terrifying immersion; however gaming is really just a small fraction of what will benefit from these technologies. That’s why I’m so excited to be working in virtual and augmented reality at the University of Alberta — we have an entire industry rapidly opening up in front of us and world-leading experts supporting us from behind. See, although companies like Oculus and HTC are making headlines with their latest VR headsets, those headsets are rather worthless without something to view in them, and that’s where we come in. Imagine being able to learn anatomy and physiology by playing with a beating virtual heart sitting on your desk; learning about mechanics by stepping inside of a running steam turbine; practising your closing arguments in front a virtual judge until you get things just right; or taking your students on a virtual field trip to Stonehenge and Machu Picchu in the same afternoon. With virtual and augmented reality, these things (and many more) are possible.
To learn about what people are doing right here on campus to develop and use virtual and augmented reality, as well as what we want to be able to do in the future, I encourage you to attend a short seminar and demo session on Tuesday we’re calling VR After Dark. The seminar will feature several micro-talks from speakers around campus as well as a keynote horizon scan of augmented and virtual reality around the world from EON Reality chairman Dan Lejerskar. Following the micro-talks will be a demonstration and reception session so that you can experience virtual reality for yourself. With all the expertise housed in the University of Alberta and our ability to develop virtual reality content, I’m extremely excited about the technology’s future, and hope that you are too!
Kenton Hamaluik, MSc, EIT
Kenton completed both his BSc. and MSc. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta and now works as the Director of AR/VR Development in the Rehabilitation Robotics Laboratory on campus where he develops virtual and augmented reality applications for education and research.