Prof. Dr. Bernd Fröhlich
Dr. rer. nat. Alexander Kulik
M.Sc. Tim Weißker
M.Sc. Pauline Bimberg
M.Sc. Ephraim Schott
In recent years, Virtual Reality (VR) has become increasingly popular in research, entertainment, and education. VR systems allow one or multiple users to interact with a computer-simulated environment presented by an immersive display medium. In this course, you will study the theoretical, technical, and applied foundations of modern Virtual Reality systems.
The course starts by teaching the essentials of computer graphics and stereoscopic viewing required to realize VR applications. After that, you will explore the fundamentals of 3D input devices and 3D interaction techniques, including selection, manipulation, and navigation in virtual environments. The final part of the course builds on the previously acquired knowledge and focuses on collaborative VR systems for multiple collocated and distributed users.
The lecture will be accompanied by lab classes, which make use of the latest Virtual Reality technology such as multi-viewer 3D projection systems and high-resolution head-mounted displays. It will be your task to implement and evaluate various 3D interaction techniques using these immersive display systems, six degrees of freedom tracking, and 3D input devices.
News
Lecture on Jan 28
- Further details on multi-user interaction will be presented followed by information on the oral exam.
Oral exams
- Regular exam dates: 30 and 31 March 2020, will be extended to 1 and 2 April 2020 if necessary
Please contact maria-theresa.hansens[at]uni-weimar.de for a timeslot by 12 March 2020, but not before 1 February 2020. - Exam dates before 12 March 2020 are welcome on individual request
Please email the instructor directly about 10 days before you would like to perform your exam - Later dates – after 1 April 2020 – are available only on special request and with a significant reason by email to the instructor by 12 March 2020
- Deregistration is possible within the deregistration period stipulated in the respective examination regulations.
Course Organization
Instructors
Prof. Dr. Bernd Fröhlich [e-mail]
Dr. rer. nat. Alexander Kulik [e-mail]
Teaching Assistants
M.Sc. Tim Weißker [e-mail]
M.Sc. Pauline Bimberg [e-mail]
M.Sc. Ephraim Schott [e-mail]
Lecture Schedule
Tuesdays, 3:15 PM - 4:45 PM at Room 015, Bauhausstr. 11
Introduction on 15 October 2019
Lab Class Schedule
Group A: Fridays, 9:15 AM - 10:45 AM at Room 008 (VR-Lab), Bauhausstr. 11
Group B: Fridays, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM at Room 008 (VR-Lab), Bauhausstr. 11
Introduction on 18 October 2019
Target Audience
M.Sc. Computer Science for Digital Media
M.Sc. Computer Science and Media
M.Sc. Human-Computer Interaction
On individual request only: M.Sc. Digital Engineering
ECTS
Lecture and Lab Class: 4.5 ECTS
Lecture, Lab Class and Final Project: 6 ECTS
Lecture Materials
The documents from the WS 2018/19 course serve as a basis and will be further developed. The files are only accessible within the university network using a password provided during the first lecture (Username if necessary: vr). Adobe Acrobat Reader works well with protected files. Please do not redistribute the materials.
| Date | Topic | Download |
|---|---|---|
| 15 October 2019 | Introduction | |
| 22 October 2019 | Graphics Basics and Scenegraphs | pdf, video |
| 29 October 2019 | Stereoscopic Viewing | pdf, video |
| 5 November 2019 | Stereoscopic Viewing Setups | pdf, video |
| 12 November 2019 | 3D User Interface Basics | pdf, video2018, video2019 |
| 19 November 2019 | 3D Navigation | pdf, paper, video |
| 26 November 2019 | 3D Selection | pdf, video, optional reading |
| 3 December 2019 | 3D Manipulation | pdf, video, optional reading |
| 10 December 2019 | Tracking and 3D Displays | pdf, video |
| 17 December 2019 | Multi-Viewer Displays | pdf, video |
| 7 January 2020 | 3D Audio | pdf, video |
| 14 January 2020 | Photoportals | pdf, video |
| 21 January 2020 | Multi-User Interaction I | pdf, video |
| 28 January 2020 | Multi-User interaction II and Oral Exam Information | pdf, video, pdf-exam |
Lab Class Materials
Grading
Your grade for this course is determined by the successful completion of the lab class (1/3) and a final oral examination (2/3).
During the lab class, you will be asked to complete both theory and practice assignments. You need to achieve at least half of the points over all graded assignment sheets to pass. The average grade across all assignments is your total grade for the lab class. Group work in pairs of two students is permitted.
The final examination is an oral discussion covering all topics of the lecture and lab class. Appointments for oral examinations will be made individually at the end of the course.
The following scheme is applied to convert percentages to grades:
| Grade | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 1.0 | >= 95.0 |
| 1.1 | [93.5 - 95.0) |
| 1.2 | [92.0 - 93.5) |
| 1.3 | [90.5 - 92.0) |
| 1.4 | [89.0 - 90.5) |
| 1.5 | [87.5 - 89.0) |
| 1.6 | [86.0 - 87.5) |
| 1.7 | [84.5 - 86.0) |
| 1.8 | [83.0 - 84.5) |
| 1.9 | [81.5 - 83.0) |
| 2.0 | [80.0 - 81.5) |
| 2.1 | [78.5 - 80.0) |
| 2.2 | [77.0 - 78.5) |
| 2.3 | [75.5 - 77.0) |
| 2.4 | [74.0 - 75.5) |
| 2.5 | [72.5 - 74.0) |
| [...] | |
| 3.0 | [65.0 - 66.5) |
| [...] | |
| 4.0 | [50.0 - 51.5) |
| 5.0 (fail) | [00.0 - 50.0) |
Final Project (optional)
The final project (graded separately and awarded additional 1.5 ECTS) requires the participants to apply the obtained theoretical and practical skills of the course in the design, implementation and presentation of an individual small research project. In particular, you will be asked to develop a concept, come up with an effective and efficient implementation and present your results in a concise talk. This is an invaluable opportunity to work on an interesting topic of your choice with the state-of-the-art VR-hardware available in our lab like head-mounted displays, multi-user projection systems and multi-touch tabletops. Group work in pairs of two students is permitted.