28Mar

Featured in Canadian Healthcare Technology

Posted in HTC Vive, Press, Science, Unreal Engine 4 | Leave a comment

The March issue of Canadian Healthcare Technology contains an article about the work myself, and Quantum Capture, did with two doctors at Toronto’s Sunnybrook and SickKids hospitals. The project was a VR experience to help test and train doctors on performing a fibreoptic bronchoscope intubation on a patient in the trauma centre.

You can read this article as a blog post on the Canadian Healthcare Technology site, or go to page 20 of the digital version of the magazine here.

For more info, I wrote a short article about this work back in December 2016, when Bloomburg TV Canada filmed a segment at the Quantum Capture offices. Go to this article here.

15Mar

Field Test 001 – Testing our WW2 VR FPS “The Field”

Posted in Oculus Rift, SteamVR, The Field, Unreal Engine 4 | Leave a comment

Today we released a first look at our new game, The Field. The Field (may not be the final name) is a WW2 VR FPS inspired by Battlefield 1942. This means flag captures, soldiers in varying kits, and vehicles. In this video, we go through driving a jeep between the hedgerows of Normandy, and the taking of a base.

This video was posted to /r/oculus where it spent the entire day in the number one spot. It was great to see that so many people are as interested in BF1942 in VR as we are. More videos are coming as progress continues to be made.

25Jan

Watch the Aurora Borealis Live in VR

Posted in WebVR | Leave a comment

You can now watch the aurora borealis LIVE as viewed from Yellowknife, Canada, using your browser and any VR headset. Thanks to AuroraMax, and using the power of AFrame and WebVR, you too can stand under the stars and see the aurora in real-time as if you were there. The same view is also available if you don’t own a VR headset.

AuroraVR is available from Gnometech here:

http://www.gnometech.com/webvr/aurora

Viewing instructions:

  • Desktop browser (not in VR)
    Click and drag to move camera. Click with reticle to use buttons.
  • Mobile browser (Cardboard or other without hand controls)
    Gaze controls to activate buttons
  • GearVR with Oculus browser
    Use either gaze, or the GearVR hand controller
  • Rift or Vive
    Use Firefox 56 or higher.
  • Windows MR
    Use Microsoft Edge (untested)

In addition to a live view of the aurora, you may also watch a video of the last night’s light show. This can be handy if you’re attempting to view during daylight hours, or if Yellowknife happens to be clouded over.

Enjoy!

UPDATE

Added a new page to the site that more fully goes over the experience: http://www.gnometech.com/webvrsection/aurora-viewer/

19Oct

Emteq and Virtual Humans

Posted in AWE, Unreal Engine 4 | Leave a comment

For some time now, I’ve been helping the guys at Quantum Capture build out a virtual human toolkit for UnrealEngine 4. This includes head and eye movement, facial emotion display, and lip syncing based on audio clips. The latest demonstration of this tech is collaboration between Quantum Capture and Emteq.

Emteq produces a number of devices that allow for the wearer’s facial muscles to be tracked and used in a variety of applications, such as healthcare and entertainment. At this time their hardware is in the prototype stage, but it is great to see them procedurally drive one of Quantum Capture’s virtual humans (in the above image it is Alyssa) through the tech I worked on.

At AWE Europe 2017, Emteq formally announced the collaboration with Quantum Capture, and publicly showed off their tech. You can see their full demonstration video below.

31May

Virtual Ori at AWE2017

Posted in AWE, Oculus Rift, Unreal Engine 4 | Leave a comment

May has been a busy month. First a demo for CVR2017, and now working with Quantum Capture to put together a demo for AWE2017.

The guys at Quantum Capture turned AWE co-founder and CEO, Ori Inbar, into a virtual human. We then put him into a number of situations depending on if the demoing player puts an Oculus Rift or a Microsoft Hololens on his head. In the house pictured above, when you put on the Hololens, Ori is surrounded by fish as part of a simulated, augmented reality environment.

That’s right, we put AR inside VR. That’s how we roll.

07May

Assembling Virtual Humans at CVR2017

Posted in CVR, Oculus Rift, Unreal Engine 4 | Leave a comment

Worked once again with the fine folks at Quantum Capture to put together a virtual reality demo for CVR2017.

This demo, for the Oculus Rift, walks the player through assembling their own virtual human. You start off with a collection of heads to choose from, some of whom are easily distracted by bright objects. You may pick up each head and inspect it, all while the head and eyes stare into your soul.

MorganBot then has you choose a body and cloths for your head. Feel free to place and remove those heads at will! All-in-all a fun little demo to show off virtual humans in VR.

16Dec

Training Trauma Center Doctors in Virtual Reality

Posted in HTC Vive, Science, Unreal Engine 4 | Leave a comment

Over the last couple of months I’ve been working with Quantum Capture on a virtual reality training application for trauma center doctors at Sunnybrook and SickKids here in Toronto. This proof-of-concept simulation has you go through a fibreoptic intubation on a patient using your hands to feed the scope down the patient’s throat, while you look on a monitor to see what the scope sees.

There has been a lot more going on at Quantum Capture that I’ve been involved in, with a focus on programming virtual humans. Bloomberg TV Canada dropped by the Quantum Capture office, and their video provides a great overview:

Designing the Digital Humans Inside Your VR Headset

04Oct

Vega on Display at Wearables 2016

Posted in HTC Vive, SteamVR, Unreal Engine 4, Vega, Wearables | Leave a comment

A game prototype I’ve been working on with Quantum Capture will be on display at tonight’s Wearables 2016 AR/VR mega-event.

2016-10-04-vega-01

In Vega you are a convict doing time on a space elevator, ensuring that the cargo containers destined for the mothership are safe. Made with Unreal Engine 4, and played on the HTC Vive.

At Wearables 2016 you’ll be able to play through the 10 minute experience, leading up to its dramatic ending.