Course: Virtual reality

Topic outline

General
Virtual Reality

Presential course in INF2 by R. Boulic with one Lecture by Dr Bruno Herbelin on May 8th
(the use of the webinar is limited to the presentation course of the first week)

see the detailed schedule below for the the type of activity during the 10-13h time range
the course plans 5 weeks of VR hands-on with coding work (--2h/week) from weeks 3 to 9 of the semester. For this reason, the 1h of exercise from 12h to 13h is used for teaching for the first 2 weeks whereas there will be only 1h of lecture from 10h to 11h during the weeks 4 to 9 period.
The paper study is an individual work done within week2 to 5.
The project is written in C# on UNITY3D ; it starts on week 3 where groups of 3 persons are formed and can retrieve their Oculus Quest HMD(s) ; we have 22 of them (half Oculus Quest and half Quest2) for this spring. The project pitch is planned on week 5 just before the hands-on. The project end on week 13.

GRADING SCHEME (updates for spring 2023)
- The paper study grade has a weight of 15% (updated for spring 2023) ; you will know your grade before the final oral (see below)
- The programming assignment has a weight of 50%: The project oral evaluation will be conducted in presential.
- The individual theoretical oral control during week 14 has a weight of 35% (updated for spring 2023) (the duration is extended to 20 minutes for Spring 2023 / closed books / the oral exam starts on the topic of chosen paper for the paper study and extends on related VR theoretical concepts)) . The theoretical oral exam will be conducted in presential during the whole week 14.
- DETAILED SCHEDULE for spring 2023
Topic 1
Feb. 20tht [1h course presentation and embodied VR concepts +2h about perception]

10h15 :R. Boulic : Course structure including a brief overview of the 4 hands-on demos, the paper study and the small project

R. Boulic : VR as "Embodied Interaction"
11h15: R. Boulic 1h: Feeding human senses through "Immersion"

12h15: R. Boulic 1h: Depth Perception
- Slides R. Boulic "course organization" [02.03.2023] File
- video mediaspace: organization [20.02.2023] URL
- Slides R. Boulic "VR as embodied interactions" [unchanged for 2022-23] File
- video mediaspace : embodied VR [20.02.2023] URL
- Is "Immersion" only about vision ?
- Slides "key human senses / immersion" [2022-23] File
- video mediaspace URL
- Slides "Depth perception" [shortened for 2022-23] File
- video mediaspace URL
- The paper study specifications are visible in the TOPIC6 box with the uploading & plagiarism check tool.
- Example of paper study [Slater Presence 2004] File
- Paper list proposed for the Paper study [Spring 2023] File
  You can select the paper you want to study by registering below to the "paper study group" with the number of the first authors' name on the first page.
  Carefully read the abstracts before choosing a paper as you cannot revert your choice.
  
  You can join only one group => one paper to study (alone) ; it's not a work to do with the potential other person choosing the same paper to study. We'll run the plagiarism detection tool to check such issue.
- Paper Study choice [Spring 2023] Group choice
  reminder: choose MAXIMUM 1 group / the paper study work is individual. The word "group" comes from the moodle interface design ; it just mean the maximum number of person choosing a specific paper.
Topic 2
February 27th [2h teaching by Nana Tian; 1h by R. Boulic] from now on, without webinar ; recorded video from previous year will be visible after the course period

Nana Tian : Introduction to game design
Nana Tian: Game: Play testing
Ronan Boulic: VR systems
Topic 3
March 6th [2h teaching and 1h UNITY intro]

R. Boulic 1h: How much Immersion is necessary ? what is he difference between Immersion and Presence ? and Flow ?
R. Boulic 1h: Cybersickness
Hands-on HO1 Week3
- Slides "Immersion, Presence and Flow" [ ] File
- video switchTube URL
- Slides "Cybersickness" [ ] File
- video switchTube part1: perceptual conflict theory URL
- video switchTube part2: Rest frame theory and "motion to photon" latency URL
- video switchTube part3: measuring cybersickness, design guidelines URL
- Game design document (the best would be 17th 23:59, but we'll accept until 19th 23h59) Assignment
  The game design document is maximum two pages. This is not graded ; it will be used to provide better feedback during the pitch session in week 5.
  Please Mark your group_id in the pdf name and your document title.
  One person per group make the submission
  You should include the following bullet points: Please carefully read updated project guideline_ 2023 for references:
  1. Game background description. (e.g. stories (if any), game world (if any))
  2. Basic gameplay (e.g. the goal of the game)
  3. Game mechanism ( e.g. the core game mechanism, key interactions, etc)
  4. Locomotion style.
  5. Designs to avoid cybersickness (Optional).
  6. Other features (User interface, Sound & Effects).
  We recommend that you use drawings or other forms of graphical representation to convey your idea more efficiently.
  For the pitch session, please prepare a presentation slide (maximum 5 pages).
- Week5 VR Project pitch time slot choice (check with your group before answering)
  Please make a single choice PER GROUP
- Hands-on - HO1-b : Introduction to Unity 3D URL
Topic 4
March 13th [1h teaching, 2h TP with own laptop]

R. Boulic 1h: Basic 3D interaction techniques: Magic vs Naturalism (Part1)
Hands-on HO2 Week4
- Starting to present the 3D interaction techniques that will be exploited later in the hands-on practical work.
- Slides "Basic 3D interaction techniques: Magic vs Naturalism (up to the section on NAVIGATION/Naturalistic techniques)" [28.03.2022] File
- video on SwitchTube : Naturalism vs magic / the Navigation task (partly) [2021] URL
- Hands-on - HO2 : Setup of a basic scene for the Oculus Quest URL
- Video HO2 URL
Topic 5
March 20th [reduced teaching/ focus on the pitch]
R. Boulic : Basic 3D interaction techniques: Magic vs Naturalism [15 min]

Project Pitch : sign-up and upload of the game design document are in Topic3
- Technical focus: Part2 of 3D interaction techniques
- Slides "Basic 3D interaction techniques: Magic vs Naturalism" part magic navigation[28.03.2022] File
- Video switchTube on "magic" navigation techniques (20 min) URL
- Video switchTube on the Selection and the Manipulation components (25 min) [2021] URL
Topic 6
March 27 th [1h teaching / 2h TP]

R. Boulic 1h : Basic 3D interaction techniques: Magic vs Naturalism (part 4)
Hands-on Week6
- Slides "Basic 3D interaction techniques: other 3DUI components" Last Part [28.03.2022] File
- video switchTube on other components of 3D interaction(42 min) [2021] URL
- Hands-on - HO3 Week 6 : Design of an interaction URL
- Hands-On HO3 Week6 video on Switchtube URL
- Paper study uploading tool / see detailed specifications below Turnitin Assignment 2
  Summary:
  Please upload a pdf structured as follows :
  - 1 page = [min: 2400 , max: 3000] characters including spaces (use text editing tools to count characters)
  - Do not copy-paste any piece of text from the paper to study unless you make clear it is a citation (with double quotes).
  - you may have one image on page 1, only if it is essential to understand the paper.
  - the full reference of the studied paper appears at the beginning of page 3 and is referred to as [0] in page 1 and 2.
  - use numbered references like this [1] to spare space on pages 1 and 2.
  
  HEADER : your name + beginning of paper title/only first author/year.
  
  PAGE 1 : this page focuses on the contributions of the paper, highlighting a selection of key earlier papers [min: 2, max: 4] to show how the paper exploits them/ compares to them. At the bottom of the page, provide a 1-2 sentence(s) summary for each of the selected earlier papers. Follow this style :
  Paper [1] compares the effectiveness of.... with.... etc....
  
  PAGE 2 : includes your analysis of the citations of this paper by others (e.g. who, why, when) ; first indicate the tool you used and the total number of citations you found. Then make a selection of papers (min 4, max 8) to highlight a VARIETY of cases about how the field has evolved since the paper appeared in publication. Include the most cited paper among this selection. The VARIETY criteria will be assessed as follow:
  - no more than 2 references from authors of [0]
  - no more than 1 survey/review/book
  - time range of the chosen references should spread between [0] publication year and now ; let's note N the number of years since the publication of [0], then a maximum of half of the references should be in the N/2 years that followed the publication of [0].
  
  Provide an explicit subsection "Conclusion" stating your own viewpoint on the past and future evolution of the topic.
  
  PAGE 3 : list of the papers references used for pages 1and 2. For each numbered reference provide the paper title, publication year, author list, source of publication (conference, journal, book), publisher, volume and number (for journal) or chapter (for book), page numbers, and DOI (or a link to the internet location where you found the paper) so that we can find it easily.
Topic 7
April 3th [1h teaching, the initially planned 2h TP]

R. Boulic 1h : Haptic interfaces (part1 & 2)
Hands-on week7
Topic 8
April 17 th [1h teaching / 2h peer assessment of basic interactions]

R. Boulic : Haptic Interfaces (part3) / The perception of Action (Part 1/2)
- Slides Haptic Interfaces (Part 3/3) [2019-20] File
- video switchTube 3/3 : virtual coupling and pseudo-haptics URL
- Slides "Perception and Action" (Part 1/2) [2019_20] File
- video switchTube 1/2 :brain maps and body sheme URL
- Update: the peer assessment of basic interactions is a within-group activity :
  1) each group making available on their Oculus Quest in INF2 the basic interaction technique/metaphor they intend to leverage on in their game: grasping, throwing, etc...
  2) All group members assess the usability of their own basic interaction. Each group is visited by one student-assistant for the same assessment ; give them the priority and explain the design of your interactions.
  Here are the key questions to ask to the participant :
  how easy is it to understand the gesture to perform the task ? (e.g. intuitiveness / clarity of explanation / learning phase)
  how easily can I achieve the assigned (basic) task with the proposed interaction ? (e.g. stability of grasp, ...)
  how appropriate are the haptic (vibration), visual and sound feedback ?
  do you have suggestions to provide to make it easier to achieve the task ?
- Student-Assistant assigned to try your basic interactions File
- Basic-interaction peer assessment criteria grid File
Topic 9
April 24 th [45 min]

R. Boulic : The perception of action (end)
Topic 10
May 1st [45 min]
R. Boulic: What makes an interactive virtual human alive (or plain zombies) ?
Topic 11
May 8 th [2h teaching] invited lecture from Dr Bruno Herbelin
B. Herbelin: Immersive Virtual Reality, Telepresence and their cognitive foundation / Embodied Virtual Reality (course material from B Herbelin from EPFL-LNCO)
Topic 12
May 15 th: 10h-13h Public Demo/PlayTesting in INF2 to everybody
This assessment session helps to gather some playtesting feedback from other players that are not members of your group. It will help to refine some aspects before the final upload of the project next week. Today, you can continue to finalize your project but we highly recommend that you take advantage of the presence of other groups' members to invite them to test your game (even partially) before/after the assigned student-assistant visits you.
For the test by the student-assistant, it is on a first-ready, first-tested basis ; so meet them at the beginning of the session to discuss your preferred time range for the test of your game. If you didn't proactively set any test time range the student-assistants will decide themselves when they visit you before 13h.
- Basic-interaction peer assessment criteria grid File
- Student-Assistant assigned to try your game File
Topic 13
May 22nd : Project finalization before upload on Wednesday 24th midnight
- Final VR project submission Assignment
  The deadline for submitting the final version of the project is on May 24 at 23:55.
  
  The submission, only one per group, must contain the build of the game, the sources, the report, and the video of the project.
  
  Submission item list:
  
  Build of the game
  We will directly import your builds (i.e., games) in the .apk format to HMDs to evaluate your games.
  
  Sources
  We should be able to rebuild your game only based on the sources you provided to us.
  
  Report (.pdf file)
  It should contain a short synopsis of the game with an illustration of the theme of the game (e.g., a screenshot of a characteristic moment in the game)
  Then the report would concisely describe the scenario followed by the interactions (e.g., how to trigger it, what it does, and how it manages to do it with a short description of the implementation, schemas are highly appreciated)
  Commands and cheat codes should be summarized in a short table.
  A short description of the playtesting session(s) and feedback should also be described (e.g., you can describe interactions you had to change if it was too complicated or tended to induce motion-sickness, who tested your game, what you learned/disliked from participants, etc.)
  You can put emphasis on the care you added to the graphics, the sounds, maintaining the theme of the game, or things you believe matter a lot to you while you develop the game.
  The report shouldn't be longer than 5 pages (except for exceptional caption).
  The report would concisely describe eavh group member contribution to the project.
  Finally, you can add short acknowledgments for your playtesters, friends, family, StackOverflow, etc.
  
  Pdf format mandatory
  
  Video of the project
  This should be a short video ( <5 mins) showing the core parts of the game
  We don't expect a trailer with special effects.
  
  Usual formats are accepted, and if the video is too heavy, it can be submitted as a link in a file to a video-sharing platform.
  N.B. Let us know in case you do not want it to be posted on any video-sharing platform in the future (loen.boban@epfl.ch)
  
  Submission method
  The submission must be a single .zip archive file named 2023_cs444_vr_project_group_XX.zip, where XX is the group number and must contain the following items:
  ./build.apk : the build
  ./sources : the folder containing the unity project (with the code and all assets)
  ./report.pdf : the report
  ./video.mp4 : the video
  The archive must be uploaded on EPFL GDrive, please send us the corresponding link at loen.boban@epfl.ch
Topic 14
May 29th: as this day is a non-working day, the Final Individual Oral Exams for theory will be spread during the week between May 30th and June 2nd in presential in INJ 141.
The Project Group Presentation will be on June 1st in presential in a room to be confirmed during week 13.
Given the high number of students, the additional individual oral on the project code (smoke detector) will also be spread during the first week after the semester.
- VR Project pitch time slot choice June 1st (check with your group before answering)
  Please make a single choice PER GROUP
- Project evaluation protocol:
  Whole group presentation
  These sessions are on June 1st in BC129 from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and each session lasts for 15mins.
  
  Sessions start with a 10 mins group presentation during which you will explain your game, key elements of its conception, etc.
  Slides should be prepared (+/- 10 slides is a good target)
  This will allow you to defend your work and justify choices in the conception of the game.
  During the oral presentation, you should not perform any live demo as it would be too expensive in terms of time.
  The presentation should not focus on the scenario of the game but rather on the required interactions of the project (throwing, filling a container, swing and hit, alternate grab, alternate locomotion).
  For each interaction you should quickly describe the functionality, how it meets the projects guidelines (see the VR project guidelines document under the "Topic 2" section), as well as the associated feedback (visual, audio, haptic).
  This presentation is followed by 5 mins of Questions and Answers during which we will ask you questions based on your presentation or your game.
  
  Finally, before leaving please give us back the HMD with the full set.
  
  Individual smoke detection session
  These sessions are spread between the 2nd of June and the first week after the semester in INJ139 or online (Zoom) and each session lasts for 5mins.
  ⚠️ Please register here (one per student): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DJ0r0SMm5bugzuUuyCuf1pV6Li1_uzwYC7NVipuenbw/edit?usp=sharing ⚠️
  
  During these individual sessions, you are assessed for 5 mins on your contribution to the project.
  You will be asked questions relative to the parts on which you worked.
  There is no need to prepare anything for this.
- Final theoretical oral exam protocol:
  
  DURATION : 20 min.
  
  No preparation period because the core topic is the paper chosen for the paper study report
  
  Structure of the oral control (see criteria below):
  
  - 3 min : transition between students (before-after exam)
  
  - 5 min of oral presentation by the student to present his/her paper study
  
  ----> Contributions over the state of the art and topic evolution
  - 12 min of questions/discussion
  
  ----> start on the paper topic and the background knowledge of the project,
  
  ----> evaluate also more general VR background knowledge
  
  ----> evaluate your capability to generalize and/or imagine new applications
  
  The oral exam is closed books.
- Week14 20min theoretical oral exam in INJ 141: single time slot choice
  Only the student registered to the course are allowed to fill this form.
  The sooner, the more choice for you.
- Paper study grade (max15pts) File

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
No events, Monday, 1 May	No events, Tuesday, 2 May	No events, Wednesday, 3 May	No events, Thursday, 4 May	No events, Friday, 5 May	No events, Saturday, 6 May	No events, Sunday, 7 May
No events, Monday, 8 May	No events, Tuesday, 9 May	No events, Wednesday, 10 May	No events, Thursday, 11 May	No events, Friday, 12 May	No events, Saturday, 13 May	No events, Sunday, 14 May
No events, Monday, 15 May	No events, Tuesday, 16 May	No events, Wednesday, 17 May	No events, Thursday, 18 May	No events, Friday, 19 May	No events, Saturday, 20 May	No events, Sunday, 21 May
No events, Monday, 22 May	No events, Tuesday, 23 May	No events, Wednesday, 24 May	No events, Thursday, 25 May	No events, Friday, 26 May	No events, Saturday, 27 May	No events, Sunday, 28 May
No events, Monday, 29 May 29	No events, Tuesday, 30 May	No events, Wednesday, 31 May

Virtual reality

Topic outline

General

Virtual Reality

GRADING SCHEME (updates for spring 2023)

DETAILED SCHEDULE for spring 2023

Topic 1

Topic 2

Topic 3

The game design document is maximum two pages. This is not graded ; it will be used to provide better feedback during the pitch session in week 5.

Please Mark your group_id in the pdf name and your document title.

Topic 4

Topic 5

Topic 6

Topic 7

Topic 8

Topic 9

Topic 10

Topic 11

Topic 12

Topic 13

Topic 14