Virtual Reality Proposal

The City College Of New York

Writing For Engineers

Prof. Maryam Alikhani

Written by:

Jake Luceno, Zhicong Wen, Ahsan Fayaz,

Jiangliang Hu, Shahran A. Jyhan

December 12, 2018

 

Executive Summary

Smart phones and other such smart devices play a significant role in both communication and every day living in our culture.  We believe virtual and augmented reality represent a better means to these ends, as they can be utilized in ways that will reduce the sense of isolation inherent to using small screened devices.  The development process will take a number of years, extensive user feedback and QA testing, as well as a considerable sum of money, estimated to be somewhere in the range of $50 – $100 million.  The team will have a variety of requirements with regard to its composition, but must include a dedicated team of experienced virtual reality software developers, project managers, information technologists, and electrical engineers.  We believe virtual and augmented reality will be the computing paradigm of the future and we look forward to the challenges and opportunities inherent to building it.

 

Table of Contents

 

1. Title Page——————————————————————————————–1
2. Executive Summary——————————————————————————–2
3. Table of Content————————————————————————————3
4. Introduction/ Statement of The Problem——————————————————–4
5. Objectives——————————————————————————————-5
6. Plan Of Action————————————————————————————–6
7. Management Plan———————————————————————————-8
8. Conclusion—————————————————————————————–10
9. Reference——————————————————————————————-11

 

Introduction and Statement of Problem

Electronic devices like smartphone, tablets, and laptop computers are ubiquitous.  They have been designed to allow us to communicate over vast distances, and give us access to an almost unending sea of information. We can see and speak with people across the world with nothing but a screen and a handful of transistors. At first glance, it seems smart devices have helped us achieve a new standard in communication technology, and that their use is a boon to us all.

On closer inspection however, the shortcomings of these devices become apparent.  Their small screens draw our attention, and they limit our interactions with the surrounding environment.  If we want to use one of these devices to communicate with another far away individual, we often do so at the exclusion of the world around us, diligently focused on a small display often only a few inches across.  We believe there’s a better paradigm for computing.  A more personal means to communicate.  A way to integrate the advances in communication that technology has brought us without losing touch with our physical surroundings.

“Virtual reality, also known as immersive multimedia or computer-simulated reality, is a computer technology that replicates an environment, real or imagined, and simulates a user’s physical presence and the environment in a way that allows the user to interact with it.” – Nair, 2017.  A concise explanation for a concept that we believe will change the world.

Virtual and augmented reality represent a means for us to shift the focus of computing away from the displays of these small devices, and put the focus squarely on the user’s interactions with the world the device creates.  Whether it is simply augmenting the world in small ways, such as providing more user friendly interfaces for existing technologies, or creating whole new worlds to explore, Virtual Reality offers a magnificent opportunity for humanity to deepen their experience of the world through making it our own.

As engineers, we are the group of people who are born to solve problems.  We believe that the limited capacity smart devices have for meaningful interaction with the world necessitates a new idea for revolutionizing the process of personal computing.  To us, a lack of progress is synonymous with regression.

 

Objectives

Our proposed project represents a way to move forward.  As smartphones and similar devices grow smaller and more mobile, they simultaneously relegate their user experience to be ever more isolating.  Tiny screens which necessitate looking down draw the user out of the real world, isolating them from reality.  Smartphones have become so prevalent in the daily lives of users, that many feel they would be unable to function without them (Archer, 2013).

To us, the solution lies not in the fighting of technological progress, or in trying to reduce or eliminate the use of such devices.  The solution is to shift the paradigm of what it means to interact with technology in such a way as to enhance the users experience of it.  Rather than simply serve as a means to escape real life, we believe technology should be a means to extend, expand, and augment it.

Enter Virtual Reality.  Our goals with this project are to create a new operating system, built from the ground up to take advantage of the exciting properties of virtual and augmented reality.  Fully immersive 3-Dimensional desktops, animated and simulated through the power of complex virtual environment rendering.  Our operating system, when used in a full virtual mode, would create completely new spaces, which could be customized to the desires of the user.  Anything from doing ones computing atop a massive waterfall to the depths of the oceans to the limits of outer space.  Even a simulated office meeting room would not be beyond the scope of the possible spaces our operating system could take you.

Yet, Virtual Reality alone is not sufficient.  In order to accomplish our goals regarding the creation of an augmentative user experience, a mobile form of our software would be necessary.  This platform would support software which allowed the user to overlay digital objects in their field of vision, which could be shared and viewed concurrently by other users.  These augmented reality objects could even share physical coordinates, conserved between users, creating a new and shared hybrid reality; a mixture of the virtual and the real.  Picture an art gallery, a real one with physical walls and podiums, but with sculptures which only existed so long as the user wore our device.  Picture live updates to traffic and accidents displayed as elegantly and unobtrusively as your speedometer.  Picture always having a pen and paper, a notebook, even a musical instrument, at the tip of your fingers ready to be imagined into existence.  Imagine its all possible with just a fancy pair of glasses.

 

Plan of Action

It is possible.  According to Moore’s law of computing, the number of transistors on a processor increase at a rate roughly equal to doubling every two years (Intel, 2015).  Given the size of memory chips as they exist today, and the simulations they are capable of, we are not far from the realization of the hardware necessary to run our proposed software.  Our hardware would be a fully functional, wearable computer, capable of complex rendering and advanced simulation of physics, graphics, and their interaction.

Much of our work would exist in the implementation of software and the construction of peripheral interface devices, such as gloves, styluses, and headphones.  A great chunk of our research and development time will be spent on gathering user feedback, regarding the process of interfacing with our devices.  Since our goal is to merge our device’s use with everyday living as seamlessly as possible, the lion’s share of our research would revolve around the development of comfortable and effortless gestures, powerful and varied enough to complete complex computing tasks, but easy enough to learn and master that the average user would have no more trouble with them than they do with swipes, pinching, and presses on a phone screen.

Our plan makes use of three main principles: develop, gather feedback, and incorporate.  The end goal of our product is a device which feels natural to use, and integrates with the user’s life to expand their options and their productivity in as many facets as modern computers do.  As such, it is essential that at each step in the development process, we posit as many potential users as possible for their feedback.  It is equally important that we take that feedback into account in refining and developing our software.  We must make it our priority not to become attached to our preconceptions, and instead to readily cast aside our initial ideas in favor of implementation which furthers our goals.

Feedback would arrive in the form of concentrated QA testing, as well closed and open betas and alphas for various aspects of our software.  Optimally, our copious testing would double as marketing, drawing potential users to our device and preparing them for its market arrival.  When it hits the market, we want users to quickly integrate its use into their daily lives.  This combining of research and marketing insures users know what to expect from our device, and it allows us the opportunity to create a product that people want, all while saving costs.

Management Plan

Windows 8 was released in 2012, while Windows 10, which similarly to our projected operating system was rebuilt from the ground up, released in 2015 (Beal, n.d.).  With just 3 years of development separating the releases of these products, the process to construct a new operating system falls in a similar window. We would aim to mirror this time frame, with a full-time team of highly qualified virtual reality programmers.  The time frame may expand or shrink as a result of factors such as which features which make the final cut for release, and the technical details of the hardware underlying the running of our software.

Creating high fidelity content is extremely expensive.  Due to the graphical requirements of our product, we can consider the software alone may cost in excess of $50 million. (Levski, 2017).  Levski states in his 2017 article that games such as Final Fantasy, which has fidelity comparable to what we would desire to achieve cost $65 million to design and implement.  Given that our software would do a great deal more than the game, it is safe to assume that our development costs may exceed even that prediction, and would require substantial investment from industry leaders, such as Microsoft, Facebook, or Sony.  This cost estimation doesn’t account for the creation of peripheral interface devices, which may contribute additional costs.  Although it may be possible to partner with other development teams who are already working on such devices, such as Virtual Motion Labs (Virtual Motion Labs, n.d.).

A great deal of highly specified equipment will be necessary for the development of our device and its accompanying software.  It will require extensive sensor and accelerometer technologies, as well as high resolution screens and lenses which can bring the eyes to focus on nearby displays (Charara, 2017).  The device will require all the components of a modern computer including a power supply, dedicated graphics card, processor, RAM, motherboard, and hard-drive (Belford, 2017).

Costs for salaries of personnel are built into the previously mentioned costs.  That said, exactly who would be required for a functional team is subject to some variability.  We will require a full team of highly qualified software developers, favoring those with experience designing VR applications.  We also need a full marketing team to ensure a consistent pool of QA testers, and to generate excitement and visibility for our project.  Electrical engineers will be necessary for the development of hardware specific tasks, as well as development of peripheral devices.  Developers with a history building operating systems will be given favor in backend development roles, while an extensive team of graphic designers will be necessary for constructing a coherent, modern, ergonomic look for our software and branding.

The development team could be broken into the following categories.  Project managers, who are responsible for the successful initiation, planning, design, monitoring, controlling and closure of projects (Haughey, 2018).  Software developers, who need to be familiar with reviewing current systems, and are tasked with working closely in the analysis and implementation of software solutions (McKay, 2018).  Technical support monitors, who maintain the computer system of an organization, and delegate tasks to operator maintenance engineers (Half, 2018). And lastly, electrical hardware engineers, whose duties are creating and adhering to design specifications, evaluating how effective their design plans are, and monitoring the manufacturing process (Truity, 2018).

 

 

 

Conclusion

The potential of technology to revolutionize our world is amazing. Humanity has had an extreme obsession with technological innovations and improvements from its earliest days. Today, almost every part our personal lives are affected by technology in one or another way. Virtual Reality is one of those technologies that will make earth-shattering changes to our lives in the twenty-first century.  In addition to our stated goals of improving communication, VR has far reaching implications in such diverse fields as health, military, education and entertainment (Paladhi, 2017).  The limitations in healthcare will be left behind allowing physicians and surgeons to avoid unnecessary loss of lives through training and precautions (Paladhi, 2017).  The military may be able to train their pilots or teach them parachute jumping without ever putting their lives at risk (Paladhi, 2017). Traveling to space and exploring new galaxies will become more accessible than ever before, as everyone who wishes to can experience it (Paladhi, 2017). Entertainment will reach its next level, allowing users to be anywhere, anytime with just a gesture (Paladhi, 2017).

Physical distance would be a limitation of the past. While the internet and phones have given us the ability to connect with others, the screen-to-screen interaction doesn’t hold the same level of impact as being face to face with someone.  Virtual reality offers us the ability to connect more personally, while giving us all the benefits of ignoring distance granted to us by smart devices.  As the Virtual Reality continues to expand and improve, the world might not be willing to embrace it immediately as part of their lives. Many might not even agree on the whole idea of Virtual Reality and call it unrealistic, or expensive. However, we should understand that every innovation and technology have the potential to improve our lives.  Virtual reality will become a staple of the future of computing.  We propose that we be the ones to build it.

References

Archer, D. (2013, July 25). Smartphone Addiction. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/reading-between-the-headlines/201307/smartphone-addiction

Beal, V. (n.d.). The History of Windows Operating Systems. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Hardware_Software/history_of_microsoft_windows_operating_system.html

Belford, G. G. (2017, April 20). Computer science. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://www.britannica.com/science/computer-science/Basic-computer-components

Charara, S. (2017, December 26). Explained: How does VR actually work? Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://www.wareable.com/vr/how-does-vr-work-explained

Feltham, J. (2016, May 11). Gear VR Saw One Million Users Last Month. Retrieved December 10, 2018, from https://uploadvr.com/gear-vr-saw-one-million-users-last-month/

Half, R. (2018, November 08). IT Support job description guide.  Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://www.roberthalf.com.au/our-services/it-technology/help-desk-jobs

Intel. (2015). 50 Years of Moore’s Law. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/silicon-innovations/moores-law-technology.html

Levski, Y. (2017, November 15). The Real Cost of Developing a VR Game – AppReal-VR. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://appreal-vr.com/blog/vr-game-development-costs/

McKay, D. R. (April 16, 2018). Here Is a Look at What the Role of a Software Developer Is. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/software-developer-526192

Nair, D. (2017, July 19). Understanding the Difference Between Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from http://www.iamwire.com/2017/07/augmented-reality-virtual-reality/155745

Paladhi, S. (2017, October 12). 19 Possible Applications of Virtual Reality Technology. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from http://www.iamwire.com/2017/10/19-ways-on-how-to-get-the-most-from-virtual-reality/167724

Truity (2018, June 19). Computer Hardware Engineer. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://www.truity.com/career-profile/computer-hardware-engineer

Virtual Motion Labs. (n.d.). VMG 30 Virtual Reality Glove. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://www.virtualmotionlabs.com/vr-gloves/vmg-30/