RTP Virtual Reality

Doug Lanman of Oculus: "Thinking Inside the (Head-Mounted) Box: Compact Optics"

Apr 9, 2015 · 12:30 PM
141 Brooks Building

Note this talk will be more technical than the previous meetups.

This talk is open to the public, and attendees are encouraged to bring a bagged lunch. If you have any questions about the talk, please email[masked].Thinking Inside the (Head-Mounted) Box: Compact Optics for Virtual and Augmented RealityDouglas Lanman

Research Scientist
Oculus VR R&D

141 Brooks Building
12:30 p.m.

Abstract

A new wave of excitement in virtual and augmented reality was ignited in 2012 by the joint introduction of two early-stage prototypes: the Oculus Rift Developer Kit 1 and the Google Glass Explorer Edition. The recent re-emergence of head-mounted displays (HMDs) is a testament to the great technological strides made in optical fabrication, embedded computing, motion tracking, and real-time rendering since the introduction of the first graphics-driven HMD by Ivan Sutherland in 1968.

Are you starting to wonder exactly how HMDs work? This talk will put you inside the (head-mounted) box: providing a tutorial and an open forum to discuss the history of HMD optical designs for both virtual and augmented reality. Starting with Wheatstone’s original stereoscope in 1838 and concluding with the latest developments in waveguides, augmented contact lenses, and light field architectures. Along the way we’ll encounter some old friends, including the Brewster stereoscope (the originator of the first stereoscopic craze), the venerable View-Master, and foundational work from UNC Chapel Hill. How will the emergence of consumer virtual and augmented reality alter the course of computer graphics research? What are the new grand challenges for rendering? What should “true believers” be working on? Will HMDs ever look like sunglasses? Come to debate these issues and learn about the rich history of HMD research, much of which intersects the very building this talk will be held in.

Bio

Douglas Lanman is a Research Scientist at Oculus VR R&D. His research is focused on computational displays and imaging systems, emphasizing compact optics for head-mounted displays (HMDs), glasses-free 3D displays, light field cameras, and active illumination for 3D reconstruction and interaction. He received a B.S. in Applied Physics with Honors from Caltech in 2002 and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Brown University in 2006 and 2010, respectively. He was a Senior Research Scientist at NVIDIA Research from 2012 to 2014, a Postdoctoral Associate at the MIT Media Lab from 2010 to 2012, and an Assistant Research Staff Member at MIT Lincoln Laboratory from 2002 to 2005. Douglas has presented the following SIGGRAPH courses: “Build Your Own 3D Scanner” (2009), “Build Your Own 3D Display” (2010, 2011), “Computational Imaging” (2012), “Computational Displays” (2012), and “Put on Your 3D Glasses Now: The Past, Present, and Future of Virtual and Augmented Reality” (2014).Related Links

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwCwtBxZM7g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deI1IzbveEQ
http://dlanman.info/

Host: Henry Fuchs (fuchs at cs.unc.edu)

Please bring a bagged lunch and join us for this talk in Brooks Building!

Paid parking is available on Cameron Avenue west of Columbia Street and in parking decks on Rosemary Street. More information on parking in downtown Chapel Hill can be found on our page and atparkonthehill.com. Please note that most university lots are reserved between 7:30am and 5:00pm on weekdays.

The Department of Computer Science
CB# 3175, Brooks Computer Science Building
201 S Columbia St.
UNC-CH - Chapel Hill, NC[masked]

Phone: (919)[masked]
Fax: (919)[masked]

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John H.

Great presentation. Always loved HDs, now I know more about why.

0 · April 10
Charles Patton J.

I think it's difficult to expect any normal working persons (8 to 5's) to attend a meetup hosted at 12:30 pm. Will the presentation be posted online somewhere afterwards for those interested but unable to attend?

0 · April 5
- Nick C.
  
  The event is provided by UNC CS and its constituent groups likely a find a lunch event quite convenient. I would check the UNC CS site for information on recording, parking etc.
  
  0 · April 5
- Jason J.
  
  I'll check with the UNC host to see if it is possible to record. Jason
  
  0 · April 7
David P.

I wish I could attend but I've got prior volunteering commitments at East Coast Gaming Conference in Raleigh that day. See you guys next time, I guess.

0 · April 5