Introducing a DIY, Open-Source Virtual Reality Initiative

The hot open-sourcing trend has finally made it to the virtual reality realm. The University of Southern California recently unveiled a website that will serve as a database for open-source, DIY virtual reality projects.

The site will focus on providing schematics and instructions for building head-mounted displays while avoiding excessively priced ready-made VR headsets. It is backed by USC's MxR Lab, which primarily develops technologies for creating advanced human-computer interfaces.

Mark Bolas and David Nelson of USC's MxR Lab are overseeing the open-source initiative. Bolas, the lab's director, works on the development of hardware and software for immersive virtual reality systems. He helped build the Wide5 head-mounted display for Fakespace Labs and was involved in the Oculus Rift project. He discussed the new site with Road to VR:

One of the first headset projects up on the MXR DIY website is the VR2GO mobile viewer, which utilizes a 3D-printed case coupled with an iPhone or iPod camera and motion sensors. Another is the Socket HMD, which provides a 90-degree field of vision and 1,280-by-800 resolution virtual display. Modifications to previous designs are also available on the site, including one that will soup up the Oculus Rift with an Xbox Kinect to provide optical tracking and spatial mapping.

The initiative's goal is to expand the nascent virtual reality field rapidly by getting the hardware and software out there and in the hands of interested developers. Soon virtual reality headsets may be commonplace in our quickly advancing technological world filled with open-source, 3D printable developments.

Related posts: