Before products like the HTV Vive existed on the market there was no simple way to create a room scale VR experience. When working on this project I was taking a class focused on virtual reality and how it might cross connect with the physical world. I was frustrated by the limited movement that the Oculus Dev Kit 2 allowed so I created my own room space VR system by combining existing technology.
The CMU IDeATe Media Lab where the class was held has an OptiTrack infrared motion capture system. I was able to use this system to track the user's movement throughout the room. Unity 3D was my environment of choice to act as the command center for this rig. I chose it because many of my classmates were already familiar with Unity and were interested in bringing their experiences to room scale. The Unity asset package I created was able to drive 3D video and audio to an Oculus DK 2 and a pair of studio headphones.
Carnegie Mellon University's IDeATe program held an open house at which I was asked to give demonstrations of this project. The piece was a hit with VIPs like CMU president Subra Suresh ScD, and Eric Schmidt Ph.D, CEO of Alphabet.
Many of the people who tried out the experience were impressed by how accurately the digital and physical worlds could align.