Prof. Dr. Bernd Fröhlich
M.Sc. Tim Weißker
M.Sc. Pauline Bimberg
(This is a past course, visit the WS2022/23 Virtual Reality Course website for current information)
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 is accompanied by a lab class, in which the core topics of the course are deepened and implemented in the game engine Unity using the programming language C#.
Oral Exam Information
Regular exam dates: March 29/30/31 (Tue-Thu)
Sign up for exam slot in Moodle until March 15.
Exam dates before March 15 are welcome on individual request. Please email the instructor directly (bernd.froehlich[at]uni-weimar.de) about 10 days before you would like to perform your exam.
Later dates – after April 19 – only on special request and with a significant reason by email to the instructor until March 15.
Deregistration is possible within the deregistration period stipulated in the respective examination regulations.
Course Organization
Instructor
Prof. Dr. Bernd Fröhlich [e-mail]
Teaching Assistants
M.Sc. Tim Weißker [e-mail]
M.Sc. Pauline Bimberg [e-mail]
Online Resources
The course will be administered on Moodle. Please follow the link, log in with your university account and use the password vr-buw-2021-moodle to enrol for the course.
Live Lecture Schedule
Tuesdays, 3:15 PM - 4:00 PM online in Moodle
Introduction on 12 October 2021
NO LIVE sessions on Tuesdays after 12 October 2021. Lecture videos and materials will be discussed at the beginning of each lab session on Fridays.
Lab Class Schedule (single group)
Fridays, 9:15 AM - 11:30 PM online in Moodle
Introduction on 15 October 2021
Target Audience
M.Sc. Computer Science for Digital Media
M.Sc. Computer Science and Media
M.Sc. Human-Computer Interaction
ECTS
Lecture and Lab Class: 4.5 ECTS
Lecture, Lab Class, and Final Project: 6 ECTS
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.