[SML] Anyone use VR in the (technical theatre) classroom?

[Jon Ares]

On Mon, Mar 20, 2017 at 11:34 PM, Joe D via Stagecraft
<stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:
> As for building stuff, I really doubt the benefit of a VR headset.  A set can be virtualized, but since an audience member is seated and viewing the set from only 1 position, there is not a significant benefit to bringing that into the VR world. A 2D monitor is even better than a VR headset, since it can be higher resolution and provide a wider display than a VR headset. Also, the user interface of a CAD system just does not work well in a 3D VR headset. People have been playing with some ideas to change that for many years.  But it is far from being viable yet.

I spent a lot of time yesterday painting, "building," and even
"sculpting" a costume on a dress dummy (a la that demo I linked to in
my previous post) - it was an amazing experience. The ability to
basically do 3D cad, life-size, and walk around my lines, snap and
drag from one polyline to another - so cool.  Precision of cad?  Not
so much... but for these experiences I envision for the students, it's
about utilizing space and scale, not creating something that is going
to be built in reality, or experienced by an audience.  But it's a
weird experience in the Virtual world - I'd find myself 'bumping' into
my own weird sculptures, and apologizing aloud.  I plan to import some
assets into the software so we can arrange furniture and props, as
well...

There's a lot of VR being used in vocational training (speaking of
commercial refrigeration) - I haven't visited myself, but there's at
least one college in my area that has a very sophisticated automotive
repair program that uses VR in training engine rebuilding, etc....

Just another tool in the box...
-- 
Jon Ares
www.arescreative.com
http://backstagethreads.com