Proposal

Narrative

Greenlight Insights—a leader in market intelligence for the virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR) industry—projects revenues in this nascent industry will reach $7.17 billion by the end of this year, and close to $75 billion in four years [1]. Forbes predicts the VR gaming segment alone will be worth $45 billion by 2025 [2]. The rapid growth and ubiquity of this emerging industry cannot be ignored, and there are myriad practical and artistic applications for the technology. FAU should be in the vanguard of developing innovative uses of VR/AR, as well as in preparing students to create content in this industry. The School of Communication and Multimedia Studies (SCMS) in the College of Arts and Letters (CAL) is uniquely positioned to do both. This proposal requests funds to upgrade two SCMS labs to full VR capability, and acquire peripherals (additional VR headsets, 360° cameras, etc.) to permit students multiple avenues for creating VR content, and for exploring the communicative and expressive potentials of the technology. [Note: This proposal is complementary to the “SCMS Postproduction Lab Upgrade - Phase 1” Tech Fee Proposal submitted by Multimedia Studies (MMS) faculty Prof. Shane Eason. Both proposals are part of the larger initiative to upgrade all our production labs as needed, replacing workstations lab by lab, based on the age of the computers. The Mac computers in labs in the Liberal Arts building (LA 415A, LA 432, and LA 141/ 143/ 144/ 146/ 147) are addressed in the above Tech Fee Proposal, whereas this tech fee proposal “VR Upgrade for Multimedia Studies Labs” concerns the PC workstations of the labs in the Education and Science Building, ES-402 and ES-411.] Additionally, funds are requested for two VR-ready laptops, enabling mobility, and allowing SCMS faculty and students to present VR demos to members of the FAU Community at large. The purpose of this ongoing series of demos (dates and times TBD) is to invite collaboration across disciplines with the goal of developing innovative new uses for VR. Recruiting is but one example of how VR can transform a standard practice. VR can turn a simple online campus tour into an immersive experience (and powerful recruiting tool! [3]). Prospective students could, for instance, be placed in the center of an orchestra, fly through an interactive brain-imaging scan, or even watch an Owls game from the 50-yard line. Another example: Recently, a collaboration between Center for Environmental Studies, Celebration of the Seas Foundation, media organization InterCom, and SCMS was announced with the objective of engaging millennials in the issue of climate change. Technology from this proposal can support this collaboration, and facilitate further partnerships with other local institutions. VR can bring students and faculty together to solve problems in novel ways, to find new avenues of artistic expression, and to build bridges of experience and understanding within our rich and diverse Community. ______ SCMS serves approximately 1,200 undergraduates across two BA programs: Communication Studies and Multimedia Studies (MMS includes programs in Film, Video, New Media, Interactive Media, Computer Animation, Game Design, and Journalism). SCMS trains students in the high-technology sector, so it fits within the State University System’s overall goals of developing proficiencies for high-tech high-wage areas. This proposal also represents the interests of the Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (CEE/CS) in The College of Engineering and Computer Science, which collaborates with SCMS on the MFA in Media, Technology, and Entertainment (MTEn), which will be supported by the VR equipment outlined in the proposal. Faculty in the MTEn MFA program (Prof. McAfee and myself ) have already incorporated VR production into our coursework, and two of our newly minted MFAs created thesis projects that can be adapted to VR. My current research includes articles and prototypes exploring speculative and unconventional uses of VR, and I continue to enhance my VR gallery of student glitch art, for which I received a School of Arts and Letters Grant in 2016. While these projects were done with modest enhancements to our existing SCMS labs, it is time to expand our capabilities with a more serious investment in VR/AR technologies. SCMS is poised at the academic nexus of communication, expression, and technology, and with the support of the Technology Fee Committee, it can lead this initiative to innovate with VR at FAU. _____ [1] http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/virtual-reality-industry-revenue-2017-1202027920/ [2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/zarastone/2017/08/02/the-business-of-virtual-reality-arcades-a-future-45-billion-industry/#3e9397377fc6 [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVL8ZTkrmg4

Facilities

The SCMS computing labs serve as instructional classrooms for its programs, and house computer workstations alongside other studio equipment central to the instructional mandates of each program. The Davie computing labs on the 3rd and 4th floors of the Liberal Arts Building are multi-purpose labs for both SCMS and the Graphic Design program (Department of Art and Art History), enabling the Computer Animation, Interactive Multimedia, and Video/Film Production areas to share resources, supplemented with peripheral equipment that enables in-class critiques of printed matter, digital video capture, greenscreen compositing, motion capture, 2D and 3D printing, and sound recording. These are all foundational to VR/AR production, and the creation of media components for VR/AR can mostly be accomplished on these workstations Upgrades of these labs to industry standard hardware and software is being addressed in the “SCMS Postproduction Lab Upgrade - Phase 1” Tech Fee Proposal submitted by Multimedia Studies (MMS) faculty Prof. Shane Eason. The labs to be made VR-ready, however, are in Education and Science Building rooms ES 402 and ES 411. These labs house workstations capable of supporting the graphic and processing requirements for viewing and testing VR productions. Both rooms have lockable cabinets for storage of peripherals and card-swipe access for additional security. The only minor upgrade to the facilities would be the installation of HTC Vive basestations (included in proposal) in room ES 411 (they are already installed in ES 402). These are two small components to be mounted on the ceiling about 8 feet apart.

Hardware Requirements

To prepare students for the demands of production in VR/AR, this proposal augments current MMS lab capabilities with the necessary hardware to expand our integration of VR/AR into the curriculum in the increasingly competitive landscape of virtual and augmented reality. The headset is the key piece of equipment for the experience of VR and MR (Mixed Reality, also called Cinematic Reality or CR). A variety of headsets representing the major innovators in commercial VR are requested. Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are primarily VR headsets, allowing an immersive experience of video or computer generated interactive media, including videogames and 360° films and video. Last but not least, the Meta 2 Developers Kit is requested. Meta was released only a year ago, but it is making inroads to AR with its light-weight (and comfortable) headset and superb graphics, including a 90° field of view. It also allows the viewer to work ‘in’ augmented reality, using familiar software like Adobe Creative Cloud and Microsoft Office. _ _ _ _ This proposal would make the Graduate Lab (ES 402) and the Animation Lab (ES 411) fully equipped as multipurpose VR development labs. The ES 402 lab is essentially VR-ready, requiring only minor enhancements to the some of the GPUs (graphics processing units). The Grad Lab will house the Meta 2 system requested in this proposal, as well as Oculus Rift and HTC Vive systems. The 17 workstations for ES 411 represent the previous generation in computing power. Their processors are too slow and their GPUs are insufficient to handle the throughput of even modest VR environments, so they will be replaced with the support of a future tech fee proposal. Currently, they are sufficient as instructional workstations for animation and other media to be used in VR environments. Two high-end workstations are requested for this lab for VR viewing and demonstration purposes, giving undergraduate majors access to the technology. Additionally, two VR-ready laptops are requested for mobile testing and demonstration purposes. These are high-end laptops, with the advanced video cards and processors necessary to run VR environments. Demos throughout the FAU Community will help develop collaborations between SCMS and other units in both the sciences and liberal arts, as students and faculty imagine new uses for the technology. For AR development in addition to the Meta 2 headset, four tablet computers (two Mac iPads and two Asus ZenPads) are being requested. They will provide student AR developers to view their projects with a larger screen, higher resolution, and more computing power than their smartphones. In the emerging practices of Mixed Reality (MR), also called Cinematic Reality (CR), the 360° camera is a crucial tool to facilitate additional capabilities, such as the capture of live environments to video for VR playback. To invite our students to explore immersive narrative video, 2 GoPro Fusion 360° 5.2K cameras are being requested. These cameras can be used for non-fiction documentary and reporting projects as well as MR, so they could be used by our Multimedia Journalism area Additional peripherals—such as light kits, field microphones, and TV studio gear—are available through MMS equipment checkout facilities on the Davie campus. Finally, four professional drawing tablets (YiyNova 19” tablets with VESA stands) will round out this hardware request. These allow students to draw and paint digital media directly on the screen with a pressure-sensitive stylus, affording a more intuitive, hand-drawn experience with digital media. Two tablets will be housed in each lab. __________ Successful implementation of this proposal requires well-maintained, contemporary machines capable of VR compatibility. However, there are still costs associated with the maintenance of the labs, including normal repair and maintenance of computers, VR equipment, and peripherals. This proposal is requesting a line of $2.5K to help defray these unavoidable costs. Manufacturer’s Links: Oculus Rift — https://www.oculus.com/rift/ HTC Vive— https://www.vive.com/us/ Meta 2 by Metavision— http://www.metavision.com/

Software Requirements

The Multimedia Production area in MMS already teaches industry-standard tools used for creating VR/AR content. Among them is Adobe Creative Cloud (CC)—a software suite purchased by subscription, and paid through 2019. Other software is available through subscriptions, or free for educational use, such as the Autodesk suite for 3D production and the Unity and Unreal game engines. Many software titles are owned in perpetuity, with nominal cost increases for upgrades, such as professional video editing software capable of editing 360° video (Apple Pro Software and Adobe Premiere Pro), so they can be used beyond the three-year period. Additional plug-ins and commercial items are covered under concurrent “SCMS Postproduction Lab Upgrade – Phase 1” Tech Fee application.

Personnel Costs

n/a

Other Costs

n/a

Timeline

Dec 1, ‘17 — Tech Fee proposal submitted Jan 1, ‘18 — Approvals Completed Early Mar ‘18 — Awards Announced Mar- Jul ‘18 — Hardware purchasing and disbursement Jul – Aug ‘18 — Begin upgrading labs and installing equipment; begin adapting graduate and faculty projects to VR/AR for demos. Aug ‘18 — Upgrades/Installations complete Sep ‘18 — VR/AR Demo presentation complete. Presentations scheduled for units in the College of Arts and Letters, the College of Engineering/Computer Science, and in the Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry; Call for Collaborations. Oct ‘18—Presentation (Science, Nursing, Medicine). Collaboratives arranged, TechFee Proposal (2018) begun to underwrite collaboration. Nov ‘18—Presentation (Education, Design & Social Inquiry, Business). Collaboratives arranged, TechFee Proposal (2018) begun to underwrite collaboration. Dec 1 ‘18— TechFee Proposals (2018) submitted.

Sustainability

Investment in this proposal will continue to return dividends not only in future projects and collaborations, but in the value to students who benefit from exploring the creative and innovative possibilities of VR, and from instruction by expert faculty using the latest technology in engaging ways. Many members of the FAU Community already know a great deal about VR and AR. The outreach campaign of VR demos and presentations sends a signal that “Yes, we do VR here!”, with the intension that this invitation to collaborate and innovate will be met with a positive response. The nature and scope of projects catalyzed by these presentations will engender more proposals and collaborations around VR/AR.

Resource Matching

Personnel in SCMS will negotiate software and hardware costs, obtain quotes, and initiate purchases. Personnel in CAL will create purchase orders and oversee them to Purchasing. OIT will assist in software installation and networking.

Implementing Organization

SCMS in CAL; OIT