Finding novel uses for real-time 3d, VR and AR really excites me. I always have a few little projects on the back burner and here is where I share some of my favourites.

ZED Mini Mixed Reality

Using a ZED Mini depth camera attached to a VR headset, I was able to produce a mixed reality experience that allowed the user to occlude virtual objects with real world ones, including the user’s own body.

Using some free assets from Epic Games as a test piece, I was able to have a large character emerge from around a corner in the office and approach the user. The sense of scale and presence was really impressive. The monster could cast shadows onto the environment, myself, and even complex, curved shapes like a designer seat.

Zen Particles

While familiarising myself with Unreal Engine’s Niagara particle system, I tried to come up with a concept that didn’t rely on pre-sets or known strengths of the system. I arrived on the idea of a magical, changing Zen Garden, that would morph and bring to life different elements of Japanese culture.

The gravel patterns change and stones emerge to symbolise things like Tori gates and Mt. Fuji. Then the gravel itself comes to life to form the subject briefly, before falling back to the ground.

AR Posters

Whilst trying to come up with some interesting uses for natural form tracking in AR, posters are an obvious choice. The images are large and can contain complex, non-repeating shapes that are easy for AR systems to detect and track.

For some of my experiments I wanted to do more with the posters then simply animate the existing content. It seemed a shame to track the images in three dimensions and then only alter them in two.

Elmwood Simulator

One of Elmwood’s most popular traditions is their Friday ritual, which includes a presentation about the office goings on over a drink. When it was my turn to build the presentation, I decided to take it a step further.

I found the character models from Final Fantasy 7 on the Playstation and modified them to look like people from the office, then quickly built a treasure hunt game for the rest of the team to guide me through. My intent had been to make the whole experience reminiscent of Playstation era graphics but time constraints meant I did the opposite. It uses ray-traced reflections and global illumination, rendering features which few top end computers are capable of even today.

Kyoto House Flip

During the Corona-virus lockdown, I have been building a Japanese house, based on a real building that was being advertised for sale.

In Unreal Engine 4, I built the structure and surrounding street, as well as the garden and additional building at the rear of the property. I’m using the project to become familiar with the new ray-tracing effects now possible in Unreal 4.25 and also to learn to use new tools like Substance Designer and Painter. There is already some simple interactivity and I hope to release the project for the public to explore in the next few months.

Edo Museum AR Concept

During a visit to Tokyo in 2018, I visited the Edo Museum and I was captivated by the fantastic dioramas there. I realised it was also the perfect use case for augmented reality. One of the issues with mobile AR is that the user can and will try to use it in sub-optimal conditions. However in a museum setting, factors such as lighting, location and tracking subject can all be controlled.

Tracking a complex object like these dioramas is simple when you know exactly where it will be, and it means very complex effects can be used with confidence. These experiences could be added into a museum map app, or vise-versa, and could really enhance the visitors experience. This is just a video example, but I think the real thing could be incredibly exciting.