Day: October 4, 2019

Morton Heilig was one of the earliest known pioneers in virtual reality technology, and was also a filmmaker. With the help of his partner, he was able to apply his cinematography skills to develop the Sensorama from 1957 to 1962. The Sensorama was one of the earliest known examples of a machine that provided an immersive, multi-sensory experience to the user. That said, it is widely considered as one of the earliest virtual reality systems. Similar to an arcade racer, the machine featured a game that provided a user the experience of riding a motorcycle through the streets of Brooklyn. It included wind, vibration on the motorcycle, a 3D view, and even smells of the city. Heilig’s whole idea was to create the “cinema of the future”, of which he ultimately ended up discovering. Heilig’s work relates to my thesis project in how I want to create a physical interactive experience for users to use and explore.

Jaron Lanier is also another known earlier pioneer in the field of virtual reality. His interest dates back to 1985 when he left his job at Atari to create his own startup VR company, VPL Research Incorporated. It was here that the first VR goggles and gloves were actually developed, but had not hit the popular stride these accessories had hit today. Since then he has gone on to work in a research department of Microsoft, and is still viewed by many as one of the prime gurus for VR technology. Lainer’s work relates to my thesis in the sense that his developments created the essential pieces necessary to experience a simulation that I want to create. 

Palmer Luckey is famous for his development of the Oculus Rift, which ultimately sparked a gold rush in the market. In early stages of development, the Oculus Rift was but a few scrapped cell phone parts fit into ski goggles. Amazed at how bad VR technology was at the time, Luckey was determined to bring his product to the market, and partnered with John Carmack to bring an audience to his creation. Multiple tech companies, including HTC, Sony, Google and Microsoft, all hopped on this bandwagon, and the rest is history. Similarly to Lanier, Luckey’s work is an essential part to my thesis in which it provides a system to host what I want to simulate. Palmer’s work is probably the most widely recognized by the general public, the Oculus Rift is a worldwide sensation.

Virtual Reality Visionaries: 5 Pioneers Who Made VR Possible

While my thesis might focus largely on the process of 3-D printing, I have to admit that there is more to it than just that. The 3-D printer is indeed important, but it is also very convenient means to an end. A large part of my influence comes from my time building plastic model kits and more recently being introduced to the world of Maker-spaces. For model kits, I primarily have built robotic figures known around the world as GUNPLA. Gunpla comes from a Japanese Animated Universe known as Gundam where giant humanoid mecha are the focal point of the many series’. Gunpla is scaled down plastic kits of these robots where you use craft tools like specialized clippers, sandpaper and paints to put together and customize your own miniature mecha. The ones behind this are the amazing engineers and designers at BANDAI in Japan. It is the work of the many designers and engineers that figure out how to get a giant robot in a TV show into a form that is not only smaller, but still retains the same details. They also make sure that each plastic figure can be constructed with stability and in the most efficient way possible. They way they put parts together in the instructions still boggles my mind. Its almost putting together this crazy 3-D puzzle. It is thanks to them that I had the inspiration to make a toy of my own that focuses a lot on the idea of customization and the act of putting it together on your own. Everyday I try to figure out how they did with each plastic kit and somehow find a way to incorporate it into mine. It will be tough, but once I find a way, I want to also make figure that has a strong level of detail while also being something that can fit on your desk.

While these plastic models and their creators might be the influence of the past, the present and the fact I even known what 3-D printing is is thanks to a more college related role model. If anyone was a role model for this, it would be IMM’s very own John Kuiphoff. John Kuiphoff’s is a professor of many talents and he has a passion for the physical creative aspect of IMM. Through his digital fabrication class, I was introduced to this aspect that I never really knew existed. His class introduced me to things I’ve come to relate to IMM like woodworking, laser cutting and of course 3-D printing. People forget that IMM isn’t always about whats on the screen. Sometimes its whats in your hand. John was always excited to show off his maker-space stuff and work to us students. He didn’t care for skill level at all, just as long as you were satisfied with the end product. Through him, I learned that the maker-space is the bridge that connected IMM’s digital and physical aspects. You weren’t stuck with a picture on a screen. Now you could laser cut it out and give it to someone as a gift. You could design something practical like enclosures for electronics, or get crazy and creative and make silly key chains to show off. It was through him that I found myself in the maker-space almost everyday that it was open, spending ours trying out ideas whether they were big or small.

As for a leader in my field, I do have to thank Josef Prusa for his great contribution to the 3-D printing community. He is a large part of making the 3-D printing movement more accessible to the average Joe. At only 19 he became part of the Rep Rap community, one aimed at making open source free 3-D printers. Now he has moved on to his personally designed PRUSA series which has be hailed for its quality not in just construction and print results, but also for the companies customer service. The company has less than 100 people working out of HQ in Prague and yet, they are able to produce all of their 3-D printers through his own farm which is literally 3-D printer building new 3-D printers.

1. Suichiro Nishiya has directed almost all of the mainstream Mario Party titles except for the first few, in which he worked as a standard developer. Nishiya’s ability to explore different iterations of the classic Mario Party formula illustrates his passion for giving long-time Mario Party fans a new and exciting way to play. Take Mario Party 10, for example. Typical Mario Party games have players individually move around a board, but in the 10th iteration of the series, Nishiya established a new mechanic of having all of the players journey around the board together. This brought a whole new element of strategy to the game, and surprised many players. Altogether, Mario Party is one of the most beloved series in Nintendo’s history, and much of its success is thanks to Nishiya. However, Nishiya has worked on other titles as well, including Wii Party, a more generic version of Mario Party with wider varieties of modes. Although Wii Party wasn’t as resounding a success as any of the Mario Party game, it has a special place in my heart for bringing me and my family countless hours of fun.

2. Palmer Luckey used his experience with working for a military technology company to create the Oculus Rift, one of the world’s first commercial VR headsets. He had always been interested in virtual and augmented reality, even going as far to make prototypes in his parents’ garage at age 17. While these prototypes were rather ineffective, Luckey’s Oculus Rift was a massive success, earning $2.4 million dollars to fund the project back in 2012. Fast forward to today; Luckey’s invention is as successful as ever, especially with developers leaning more to creating VR games and applications.

3. Piotr Iwanicki developed Superhot, a game where time only moves where you do, in 2016. Since then, the game has grown a pretty sizable cult following, especially due to its minimal and stylish look. The game is not very long, but the replay potential is through the roof, especially considering the game gives you multiple ways to execute the red crystal guys that chase you through each level. Superhot was one of the first bigger games to get VR support, and I can confirm the game is SO COOL in VR. This game was definitely one of the reasons I became so interested in VR, and it’s all thanks to the brilliant design of Iwanicki.