San José State University
Department of Computer Engineering
CMPE-297: Special Topics
Topic: Virtual Reality

Instructors

Robert Bruce and Nanci Solomon

Prerequisites

Instructor consent

Course Description

Special topics to augment regularly-scheduled graduate courses. May be taken up to three times in different topic areas. Special topic to be covered: Virtual Reality

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of the course, you should be able to:

• Create a basic 3D virtual reality application in Unity.
• Apply software engineering principles in project management and scope used in virtual reality application development.
• Describe factors that influence and impact Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) in virtual reality.
• Define somatosensory limitations in virtual reality.
• Explain the impact of light and optics in virtual reality.
• Describe the impact of shading in virtual reality.
• Explain how linear transformations are used in virtual reality.
• Describe hardware considerations in developing virtual reality.

Required Texts/Readings

Virtual Reality by Steven M. LaValle. This book is freely available for download at http://vr.cs.uiuc.edu/

Other Readings

Designing Virtual Worlds by Richard A. Bartle. ISBN 9780131018167.

Unity in Action by Joseph Hocking. ISBN 9781617292323.

Unity 5.x Cookbook by Matt Smith. ISBN 9781784391362.

Grading

This is a project-based course. The project is comprised of six assignments: Personal bio / introduction, project proposal, Virtual Reality application, program documentation, project demonstration (live), and post-project assessment. There will also be one midterm and one final exam.

Grading will be based on a total accumulation of 100 possible points, distributed as follows:

Assignment	Points
Personal bio / introduction†	2
Post-project assessment†	8
Project proposal‡	10
Project documentation‡	10
Project demonstration†	10
Virtual Reality application‡	30
Midterm exam	15
Final exam	15
TOTAL POINTS	100

† Graded as an individual

‡ Graded as a group (each member of the group gets same grade)

Grading Scale

Percent range	Grade
97% to 100% inclusive	A
94% to 96% inclusive	A-
91% to 93% inclusive	B+
88% to 90% inclusive	B
85% to 87% inclusive	B-
82% to 84% inclusive	C+
79% to 81% inclusive	C
76% to 78% inclusive	C-
73% to 75% inclusive	D+
70% to 72% inclusive	D
67% to 69% inclusive	D-
Below 67%	F

Course Schedule

Week	Topics, Readings, Assignments, Deadlines
1	Part 1: Introduction - Course goals and objectives Part 2: Virtual Reality demonstrations in SJSU’s VR lab in ENGR-246. Read chapter 1 ("Introduction") of LaVelle’s Virtual Reality.
2	Part 1: Virtual Worlds - From past to present Part 2: Introduction to the Xulu system Read chapter 1 ("Introduction") of Bartle’s Designing Virtual Worlds.
3	Part 1: Computer graphics in 2D and 3D. Part 2: Introduction to Unity. Read chapter 3 ("The Geometry of Virtual Worlds") of LaVelle’s Virtual Reality. DUE: Personal bio / introduction.
4	Part 1: Virtual Reality Hardware Part 2: Unity programming lecture Read chapter 2 ("Bird's Eye View") of LaVelle’s Virtual Reality. DUE: Form a development team (three or four people).
5	Part 1: Light and Color. Part 2: Unity programming lecture. Read chapter 4 ("Light and Optics") of LaVelle’s Virtual Reality.
6	Part 1: Human vision and perception Part 2: Unity programming lecture Read chapter 5 ("The Physiology of Human Vision") of LaVelle’s Virtual Reality. DUE: Project proposal.
7	Part 1: Human vision - physiology and perception Part 2: Unity programming lecture Read chapter 6 ("Visual Perception") of LaVelle’s Virtual Reality.
8	MIDTERM EXAM
9	Part 1: Rendering in Virtual Reality. Part 2: Unity programming lecture. Read chapter 7 ("Visual Rendering") of LaVelle’s Virtual Reality.
10	Part 1: Physics in the Virtual Reality. Part 2: Unity programming lecture. Read chapter 8 ("Motion in Real and Virtual Worlds") of LaVelle’s Virtual Reality.
11	Part 1: Tracking motion in Virtual Reality. Part 2: Unity programming lecture. Read chapter 9 ("Tracking") of LaVelle’s Virtual Reality.
12	Part 1: Virtual Reality - Design considerations. Part 2: Unity programming lecture. Read chapter 4 ("World Design") and chapter 6 ("It’s Not a Game, It’s a ...") of Bartle’s Designing Virtual Worlds.
13	Part 1: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). Part 2: Unity programming lecture Read chapter 12 ("Evaluating VR Systems and Experiences") of LaVelle’s Virtual Reality.
14	Part 1: The future of Virtual Reality - stimulating the somatosensory system Part 2: Unity programing lecture Read chapter 13 ("Frontiers") of LaVelle’s Virtual Reality.
15	VR Application Demonstration DUE: Project documentation DUE: Post-project assessment DUE: Virtual Reality application