VR for Spatial Computational Thinking

• Title: VR for Spatial Computational Thinking: A VR Viewer for Mobius Modeller
• Project Period: Jan 2021 to May 2022
• Funding Source: NUS LIFT
• Principal Investigator: Patrick Janssen (PI)
• Budget: SGD $91,210

The VR Viewer embedded within Möbius Modeller.

Research Overview

The research aims to develop tools and methods that leverage Virtual Reality (VR) to improve spatial understanding. The tools and methods will allow designers to iteratively generate and evaluate 3D models using immersive VR with Head Mounted Displays (HMDs).

The designers will define computational procedures (using Möbius Modeller) to generate models that are VR enabled. Designers will then be able to view these models in a custom viewer. The process is highly iterative, so designers will be continuously and rapidly switching from writing computational procedures, generating 3D models, and evaluating 3D models in immersive VR.

Three specific VR capabilities have been identified:

1) LOD: Generation of VR content at a minimal level of detail (including textures and imported objects, such as people, trees, cars etc). 2) Interactivity: Interaction in the VR environment, including movement and navigation (walking, running, flying, and teleporting). 3) Sensory Experience: Inclusion of sensory data into the VR environment (360 images and audio recordings).

The overarching research goal is to discover an effective set of VR capabilities for improving spatial understanding.

VR Viewer in Möbius Modeller

The VR Viewer has been implemented in version 0.8 of Möbius Modeller.