New building Virtual Reality demo on Friday, Sept. 15 from 3 to 4 p.m.

Posted on Tuesday, September 12th, 2017

On Friday, Sept. 15, students and staff can (virtually) explore the yet-to-be-completed Library, innovation centre and institute for Indigenous entrepreneurship. Experience VR in the C Building hallway off the Four Corners across from the 50th Anniversary legacy centre display.

What: Virtual Reality demo of AC’s new building, opening spring 2018
Date: Friday, Sept. 15
Time: 3 to 4 p.m.
Location: C Building hallway off the Four Corners across from the 50th Anniversary legacy centre display

Project Profile:

If you build it (virtually), they will come. Come for an early visit to the yet-to-be-completed Library, innovation centre and institute for Indigenous entrepreneurship.

Using a headset and hand-held controller, participants – either individually or in small groups – can experience the sensation of walking the floors, climbing stairs, and inspecting the building from many angles. The technology was recently showcased at last week’s Applied Research Day.

Virtual reality (VR) and 360-degree video are quickly becoming critical tools in such fields as driver/flight simulations, architecture, and product research.

“This project has proven to be a strong benefit to the actual architects and designers of the structure,” said Ali Monette, 3D technical artist, Algonquin College Game Development graduate, and member of the development team. “They have entered the VR project several times to review and give copious feedback on all the elements of the structure, and the team has used the feedback to refine and ensure the final product is highly accurate to the last building.”

The VR project began early this summer, undertaken by an AC group that consisted of Game Development grads and a Game Development coordinator. Following the success of the first two VR demos created for the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum’s steam punk gala, the team was tasked with creating the new building, the future home of the Library, innovation centre and institute for Indigenous entrepreneurship building.

The core group consisted of Monette, Dushan Horvat, project designer and main lead (Game Development co-ordinator and full-time professor); Tilan Gunawardena, project technical lead (Game Development full-time professor); Cameron Zylinsky, 3D technical artist (Game Development grad); Alvaro Chavez-Mixco, 3D programmer (Students & staff can (virtually) explore the yet-to-be-completed Library, innovation centre and institute for Indigenous entrepreneurship. Experience VR in the C Building hallway off the Four Corners across from the 50th anniversary legacy display), and Juan Calvin Raymond, 3D programmer (Game Development grad). The team also included other students in Applied Research programs, along with the building’s original architects and designers.
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Horvat and Gunawardena had already worked on leveraging, creating, and ultimately merging new technologies, allowing Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality and Augmented Reality to work on the same platform in a fully collaborative, multi-user environment. When the new building project came about, it was absorbed into the original technology framework. The resulting VR experience is a showcase of the structure. Several tools — including a transporter function — give the various architects, designers, and other stakeholders the ability to explore the building and annotate.

Monette explains that “several powerful annotation tools were developed to allow this feedback to be captured and saved. Reviewing structures in VR, along with these annotation tools, will prove to be highly advantageous to architectural firms and complex projects, giving Algonquin a stronger foundation on which to adopt and implement all the new, exciting technologies emerging from industry.”

Although the virtual reality project is in a pre-alpha stage, it is projected to be officially launched Oct. 31. At the conclusion of the project, the public can fully explore all areas of the IELC structure and even have a designated tour leader for multi-users.


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