Daily Archives: March 20, 2021

Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) has revealed a new virtual reality controller for its PlayStation 5 gaming console, which it claims unlocks a way to tap into the sense of touch.

What Happened: The orb shaped controllers allow for a high degree of freedom while playing, wrote Hideaki Nishino, senior vice president of platform planning and management of Sonys gaming arm, in a blog post Thursday.

Nishino said the company"designed the new controller with great ergonomics in mind, so its well-balanced and comfortable to hold in each of your hands.

We applied learnings from testing users with a range of hand sizes, as well as the decades of insights from controllers across all PlayStation platforms, he said.

The features of the new controllers include adaptive triggers that are similar to Sonys DualSense controller in terms of giving the feel of palpable tension during gameplay. Other features span haptic feedback, finger touch detection, tracking, and action buttons. The left controller also contains one analog stick.

Why It Matters: Sony isnt the only company jumping on the VR product release bandwagon. Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) too is said to be planning a VR headset for 2022, which would come along with a steep price tag.

The Apple headset could cost as much as $3,000 and come equipped with interchangeable headbands, according to Business Insider.

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB) launched its Oculus Quest 2 VR headset in September last year.

The Mark Zuckerberg-led company has nearly 10,000 people or 20% of its workforce dedicated to developing augmented and virtual reality devices, according to The Information.

As for Sony, the company showcased its next-generation VR system for PlayStation 5 in February and said it wont be launching in 2021. In a separate blog, Nishino wrote, theres still a lot of development underway.

Price Action: Sony shares closed nearly 0.6% lower at $105.34 on Thursday.

Photos: Courtesy of Sony

2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Take A Sneak Peak At The Weirdly-Shaped New PlayStation5 Virtual Reality Controller - Benzinga

Debuting in Las Vegas after international stops in Asia, the Middle East and Europe, its arrival at AREA15 marks the first time a digitally immersive andvirtual reality experienceof this magnitude and complexity featuring the art of Vincent Van Gogh will be seen in the United States. In advance of its wider North American release to at least eight cities this year, including Atlanta, New York, and Boston, Van Gogh: The Immersive Experiencewill debut an exclusive preview inside The PORTALAREA15's360-degree projection-mapped room designed for events, performances and digital art installations.

"The PORTAL at AREA15 was created to stage exactly this sort of immersive, 360-degree experience," said Winston Fisher, chief executive officer, AREA15. "We're thrilled to be the first U.S. location to preview this mesmerizing, art-and-technology phenomenon celebrating the life and art of Van Gogh."

On view from April 6 through July 5 at AREA15, Van Gogh: The Immersive Experiencewill be a timed experience encompassing 35 minutes and mapped specifically to fit the nearly 7,000-square-foot PORTAL. General admission tickets will include lounge seating where guests are enveloped in sensational artistry, while VIP tickets will include VR goggles to experience "A Day in the Life of the Artist in Arles, France," a virtual stroll alongside Van Gogh himself to explore the countryside settings that inspired his artwork.

Captivating a worldwide audience for more than four years in cities such as Brussels, Naples,Tel Aviv, Beijing, and Antwerp, Van Gogh: The Immersive Experienceis an awe inspiring 360-degree experience making visitors feel as though they have stepped into the famous artist's masterpieces. The immersive experience invites guests to revel in a transcendent display of this 19th century artistic genius' life, work and secrets as never before all seen through high-resolution digital projections and an accompanying original VR experience. The uniquely atmospheric light and sound show features dazzling animations of more than 300 of Van Gogh's works set to a custom score and punctuated by voice actors sharing poignant quotes from Van Gogh's letters to his brother,Theo.

The production, brought to life by European entertainment producer,Exhibition Hub, whichhas produced more than 70 experiences around the world, and presented by U.S.-based Immersive Hub, is a culturally enlightening, educational experience appropriate for all ages. All attendees will abide by prevailing public health and safety protocols.

"Having created numerous immersive experiences around the world, I am thrilled to bring Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience to AREA15, which lies at the heart of the city's new entertainment landscape," said Mario Iacampo, CEO of Exhibition Hub. "The innovative storytelling and technology that define Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience make ita perfect fit for AREA15."

Van Gogh: The Immersive Experiencewill be on view Sundays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Monday through Thursday, 3 to 10 p.m.; Fridays, dark; Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Adult tickets start at $35 with 20 percent off for military and seniors; children's tickets are $19. Nevada residents receive additional discounts. VIP tickets, which include the VR experience, can be added to the general admission ticket for $10 more. Family-friendly ticket bundles are available at $80 for 2 adults and 2 children.

PUBLIC HEALTH NOTICEAREA15 and all its experiences follow the latest recommendations of leading health experts and government authorities, including theWorld Health Organizationand Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And true to the insatiable hunger for all things inventive and groundbreaking, AREA15 uses cutting-edge, state-of-the-art technology to help implement these recommendations, including an AI-driven thermal scanning platform that screens temperature accurately and non-invasively, detects the absence of a mask, and alerts staff when social distancing thresholds are not being met.

ABOUT AREA15AREA15, located minutes from the Las Vegas Strip, is the world's first purpose-built experiential entertainment district offering live events, immersive activations, monumental art installations, extraordinary design elements, unique retail, ground-breaking technology, bars and eateries and much more. With a growing collection of dynamic destinations including Dueling Axes, Emporium Arcade Bar, Lost Spirits Distillery, Oddwood Bar, "Wink World: Portals Into The Infinite," Museum Fiasco, Rocket Fizz, Five Iron Golf, The Beast by Todd English, OZ Experienceand anchor experience, Meow Wolf's Omega Mart, AREA15 is an ever-changing art, retail and entertainment district attracting locals and tourists of all ages.

AREA15 represents a collaborative venture between real estate development firm Fisher Brothers and creative agency Beneville Studios, both of New York.

ABOUT EXHIBITION HUBSince launching in 2015, Exhibition Hub has produced more than 70 exhibitions and immersive experiences around the world, reaching more than six million visitors. The company curates, producesand distributes a large number of exhibitions across the globe, from Brazil to China, delivering experiences to wide audiences and adapting its productions to numerous types of unique venues: from museums to exhibition centers, galleries to shopping malls, and cathedrals, and historical sites.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS: Facebook:@AREA15LasVegas, @VanGogh.Experience Instagram: @AREA15Official, @VanGogh.ExperienceTwitter: @AREA15OfficialYouTube:AREA15

HASHTAG:#AREA15

MEDIA CONTACTS: Desiree Webb/Erika Pope The Vox Agency [emailprotected], [emailprotected] (702) 569-0616, (702) 249-2977

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Global Sensation, "Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience," A Digital And Virtual Reality Exhibition, Coming April 6 To The Portal At AREA15 -...

SURPRISE, Ariz. This is how new technology becomes trendy in a clubhouse.

On Tuesday afternoon, preparing to face San Francisco veteran Johnny Cueto, David Dahl donned a pair of virtual reality glasses and opened the app sent to him by a former minor league teammate. It was a little bit of a lark. He had only installed it on his computer on Mondays off day. But he picked up his bat, peered into the glasses and tracked Cuetos pitches in 3D.

Then he went 3 for 3.

Sold.

The program, WIN Reality, was designed by Chris ODowd, the son of former Colorado general manager Dan ODowd. Its been making its way to different teams over the last three years after the Tampa Bay Rays partook in a pilot program. It may start to gain popularity in the Rangers clubhouse.

The program is designed to provide hitters with exercises designed to promote earlier recognition of pitches, better feel for how a particular pitchers particular pitches move in real time and an improved ability to identify a ball/strike.

I felt like it helped, Dahl said Wednesday. But obviously when you get a couple of hits, you feel like it helps. I think Im going to continue to do it. It was something I was planning on doing this year after hearing some of the other guys talking about it through the league and how its helped them.

It dovetails with Dahls attempts to refine his control of the strike zone. Always more of a free swinger, he said he has taken more counts deep this spring than usual.

Im just trying to not swing at as many balls and trying to lock in on the strike zone, Dahl said. Its definitely hard to do. Im a swinger; I like to swing. So, Ive been aggressive. I want to be aggressive, but in the zone.

Dahl was in left field Wednesday against Arizona for the second straight day and just the third time this spring. He had been limited to DH duty for the first two weeks of games as he continued to build up arm strength after offseason shoulder surgery.

Briefly: With Wednesdays game, the Rangers began a stretch of five consecutive broadcasts on KRLD-105.3 FM. Matt Hicks and Jared Sandler will be providing the call.

-- LHP Brett Martin took a step towards bouncing back from back spasms that have prevented him from appearing in a game this spring with a bullpen session on Tuesday. It is unclear, though, when he would appear in a game.

-- Former Rangers minor leaguer Tim Dillard, known as much for his sense of humor as his fastball, has officially retired after 18 professional seasons and has joined the Milwaukee Brewers broadcast crew.

-- Rangers co-owner and President of Business Operations Neil Leibman joined a group of investors, including former NFL punter Jon Ryan, that has taken a significant stake in the Cleburne Railroaders of the independent American Association.

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Find more Rangers coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

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Virtual reality training in baseball? Rangers OF David Dahl is giving it a try with positive early results - The Dallas Morning News

The military is turning to virtual wargaming as climate events such as floods reduce access to training sites overseas.

The Ministry of Defence is testing a digital replica of the world to assess personnels resilience to pandemics, natural disasters and attacks by hostile states. Soldiers, sailors and airmen can wear virtual reality headsets in war simulations. The training does not use fuel or damage the environment.

The single synthetic environment uses Call of Duty-style simulations to create a replica of the real world, including infrastructure such as water supplies and the changing weather.

The technology creates a virtual situation room that can simulate scenarios across land, sea, air, space and cyberspace

Census data is included so the system knows where people are living, their income distribution and what they might be saying on social media posts from Facebook and Instagram.

If there

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Troops answer call of duty in virtual-reality battles as floods hit training sites - The Times

A mixed reality headset being developed by Apple and expected to arrive in 2022 will feature eye-tracking technology, according to a prominent and often accurate analyst.

Ming-Chi Kuo has a strong track record for Apple news, and in his latest note sent to investors sheds some new light on the upcoming Apple headset.

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The device is described as mixed reality, meaning it can offer both virtual and augmented reality. It is expected to arrive at some point in 2022, and be followed by a pair of augmented reality smart glasses in 2025.

Kuo's latest research note on the mixed reality headset, published by MacRumors, states: "Apple's eye tracking system includes a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitting end provides one or several different wavelengths of invisible light, and the receiving end detects the change of the invisible light reflected by the eyeball, and judges the eyeball movement based on the change."

It is Kuo's understanding that Apple is working hard on eye tracking technology because of how current virtual reality headsets rely on handheld controllers that the analyst says don't provide a smooth enough experience.

Apple smart glasses are expected to arrive in 2025 iStock

Kuo says the eye tracking technology will provide a more intuitive user experience, letting the wearer interact seamlessly with their environment. It is also suggested how the headset would reduce the resolution of areas of its display that the user isn't looking at, which in turn could reduce computational burden.

The analyst also suggests that, based on hardware specifications, the headset could feature iris recognition, which could act as a form of biometric security and bring Apple Pay to the headset.

The headset has previously been described by Kuo as portable rather than mobile. It is also thought to be an accessory to the iPhone rather than a standalone device. Despite its accessory status, the headset is thought to carry a high price tag of around $1,000. A such, it will almost certainly be a niche device by Apple's standards, selling in fewer quantities than products like the Apple Watch.

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Apple mixed reality VR headset to have eye tracking and iris recognition - Gearbrain

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If there's one thing I miss about commuting to work every day on the subway pre-pandemic, it's people-watching. My ability to create fake narratives in my head about random strangers really helped flex the creative part of my brain each day. So, when I put on my virtual reality headset to find myself seated on a train next to people I didn't know in The Passengers, I felt right at home.

Premiering at this year's SXSW, The Passengers is an interactive VR experience that tells the story of four strangers, all dealing with their own internal struggles, traveling on a train together. As the viewer, you have the opportunity to embody each one, getting to know them on a more personal level via their inner thoughts and flashbacks.

Image: courtesy of Couzin films

"When you're taking public transit, you see different people and everyone's in their own heads. You start making assumptions [based on] their body language and maybe physical characteristics. So, this experience really immerses you in the thoughts of someone that you may have judged from the other point of view," Ziad Touma, director of The Passengers, said.

The game is built as something of a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure, with your experience based on the passenger you choose to play as and the characters you interact with. But rather than presenting you with options to physically tap through to trigger a scenario, the sequences are controlled strictly through your gaze and voice. Who you stare at impacts the narrative, and whether or not you speak up determines if the character completes their quest to solve issues in their personal lives.

The controls aren't as intuitive as they could be, but it's easy to get used to after a few tries. It's all based on visual cues: Depending on the direction you move your head (whether it's looking straight ahead, diagonally, or the right and left), it recognizes which character you're looking at. If you stare at a character long enough, you'll see an icon load above their heads that will trigger audio.

Other times, when the narrative calls for it, another circular icon will appear in front of you to prompt you to speak out loud. There aren't any specific keywords you need to say, though, it just needs to recognize a voice to continue on with the story. I really only stuck with "yes" or "no," along with "hi," depending on what the prompt was.

As of right now, only two chapters are available to view. They're titled "Him" and "Her," standing for the man and woman passengers you see in the train cabin. Later this year, users will also be able to access the young child and older lady sitting alongside them. But as of now, the narrative only goes as far as what you learn about the man and the woman.

Below are a few clips that I recorded of my own experience playing both the male and female passengers.

When you ride as "Him," your goal is to muster up the courage to talk to the woman across from you. When you ride "Her," your goal is to answer your boyfriend's call and admit to him that you don't want to have children. While these aren't directly stated from the beginning, you manage to piece it all together as the narrative progresses.

But whether you're riding as the man or the woman passenger, both are making assumptions about what the other is thinking. He assumes she's internally attacking his masculinity for not making a move. Meanwhile she can tell he's into her but shuts down the idea of his advances in fear that he'd also want children one day.

"He's infatuated by her, the passenger in front of him. And he remembers all the times in his life, from his teenage years, where he fell in love in his own head with different women," Touma explained, "All of her inner thoughts [change] depending on which character she's looking at....Whether she's looking at the lady, [who] will remind her of her mother, or the child [who] is going to remind her of the son she's not going to have."

Of course, it doesn't take much to see that both their situations are extremely different. Having to decide whether or not motherhood is the right path (a question women are constantly asked as they get older, and often wrestle with significantly) isn't quite the same as finding the courage to approach someone you're interested in (something everyone faces).

According to Touma, the goal was to provide deep personal experiences from different genders and ages. That way, viewers could experience specific point of views and themes that resonate with each character. By virtually embodying each character, viewers can gain a deeper understanding of what it's like to switch places among different walks of life.

Image: courtesy of Couzin films

Regardless of the difference in their situations, both characters can only change their path by speaking up. If you decide to stay quiet as the man, you're met with his same negative thoughts. If you do say hello by the last stop, mission accomplished, and you can hope that something comes out of it once they step off the train.

Meanwhile, if you don't answer your boyfriend's question while embodying the woman, the man across from you never ends up saying hello and you're stuck with your boyfriend continuously calling.

Eventually, when all the chapters are available, you'll be able to piece together the narratives surrounding all four characters on your own by going through them one by one. But here's the thing: The Passengers wasn't originally built as a one-player experience.

If SXSW wasn't fully virtual again due to the ongoing pandemic, it would've been more of a social and theatrical event. Users would enter a set that mirrored the same train cabin set in the VR world complete with ticket stubs, leather seats, and a table and your character would be chosen for you. Once it started, everyone would "play" along together, ultimately helping to influence the other's decisions depending on where they looked or whether they spoke up.

However, for me, the experience consisted of sitting on the hardwood floor in my room, with an HP Reverb G2 on my head, tethered to a bulky PC. And I'll assume that others who watch The Passengers will also be at home in their rooms. But while the aforementioned event setup sounds lovely, sitting alone in my room felt far more fitting for this type of thing.

The beauty of VR is that it allows you to escape your current setting. That meant I was fully tuned into what was happening in front of me without all the distractions that come with being on a full-blown set alongside other people. I had the option to stare at one person the entire time, allowing the character's inner thoughts to zone in on one narrative, or go back and forth between multiple people to elicit a variety of thoughts. After a while, I found myself replaying the experience over and over in an effort to discover all the different audio combinations. Since both passenger experiences are only 10 minutes each, it goes by super quick.

Image: courtesy of Couzin films

While having to nix the in-person demonstration of it all wasn't ideal, Touma expressed the silver lining: The experience can now reach a lot more people.

"[The Passengers] was designed [as] onboard entertainment. Ideally, we wanted to see it on trains, while you're traveling and on airplanes. That was our ultimate goal. Now, having invested money and time to pivot into the single user [experience], it's going to have more accessibility [and] more viewers will be able to download it in VR stores," he said.

As of now, the experience will only be showcased at festivals, art galleries, and museums. And, at the moment, accessing it requires a hefty VR headset, a fairly powerful PC, and the patience to set everything up. But according to Touma, its availability will expand to more viewers over time. The team is also exploring the possibility of adapting it to non-tethered headsets, like the Oculus Quest 2.

And, even though The Passengers is still very much a work-in-progress, it still made for a nice little escape during a pandemic. After all, I can only rewatch my favorite TV shows so many times in one year. Having the ability to escape into a different world and virtually take on the roles of other people thoughts included provided some respite I didn't know I craved.

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'The Passengers: Him and Her' is a virtual reality experience that's best enjoyed on your own - Mashable SE Asia

By The Washington Post 11h ago

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By Dalvin Brown

It's hard to understand an experience you've never had.

Still, in an era marked by heightened social awareness on race, expressing empathy and realizing what other people go through can be a powerful catalyst for change. This is especially true in the workplace, where we often interact with people from different backgrounds.

Companies have traditionally responded to this with unconscious bias training, which typically involves PowerPoint presentations or click-through courses for employees to check off. Maybe that's coupled with a Zoom session with experts on diversity and inclusion.

But it's often easy to get through those tasks without paying full attention, and the impact of those efforts is tough to measure.

With that gap in mind, the curriculum development start-up Praxis Labs launched Pivotal Experiences, a VR-based tool meant to take diversity and inclusion training to the next level. The platform lets employees experience what it's like to face bias and discrimination in the workplace and teaches them how best to respond.

Users are asked to speak aloud to other avatars and reflect on what happened for a more impactful experience.

"By providing perspective-taking and immersive experiences that build empathy, we're helping to build understanding," said Elise Smith, co-founder and chief executive of Praxis Labs. "By providing opportunities to practice interventions, we're helping to change how people actually act in the workplace."

Last month, the New York City-based firm raised $3.2 million in seed funding from backers, including SoftBank's SB Opportunity Fund. Uber, eBay, Amazon and Google were among the company's early test partners. It's now hiring to expand the platform to other partners.

The platform is launching at a critical time for companies in the United States as the pandemic spotlights disparities across the nation's labor force.

"If the last 12 months have shown us anything, it has brought to light what has been around for a very long time," said Kavitha Mariappan, an executive who leads diversity efforts for Zscaler, a cloud security platform. "There's a certain level of corporate urgency around having to act on diversity and inclusion rather than just being aware."

The software works on smartphones and computers, but the magic seems to happen in virtual reality, where each month, employees are assigned an avatar facing a specific issue at work.

The digital scenarios reflect insights gathered from employees with a wide range of backgrounds. For instance, it could be someone facing implicit bias, ageism or other forms of discrimination at work. The avatar might also be a bystander witnessing someone who's a target of unfair treatment, so it gives workers a chance to practice being an ally.

The start-up designed the avatars to be representative of a global workforce.

If you look into a mirror in the virtual space, you'll see someone else's image reflected back at you. They could be of a different race, gender or body size. They may be an executive or a lower-ranking employee.

Users are required to respond out loud as if they are that person "to get as close as you can to experiencing the perspective of someone else," Smith said. It's a subscription-based service. Companies are signing up for six-month to year-long commitments.

While no amount of training can change everyone, data suggests that virtual reality experiences can leave a lasting impression and alter perceptions.

Researchers from the University of Barcelona found that men who committed domestic violence showed more signs of emotional empathy after virtually putting themselves in the victim's shoes. Other studies have shown that VR scenarios are just as likely to increase empathy as "embodied" experiences, in which people physically re-create someone else's lived experience.

"By putting people on the scene, at a real situation, these invisible situations suddenly become visible," said Nonny de la Pea, a pioneer in empathy VR and founder of Emblematic Group.

Praxis Labs' strategy is to create a feedback loop.

The software asks the employee how they might react to certain situations in real life and then offers approaches for best dealing with the scenario. Aggregated insights are shared with the user's employer, while individualized data is shared with the trainee, who can continue to learn over time.

"Even if we can see someone is experiencing bias or discrimination or there's something truly inequitable happening, it's really hard to speak up. And the only way to change that is by building that muscle," Smith said.

Empathy training in VR doesn't solve everything. Lack of inclusivity is a deep, complex problem that starts from the top down. But it does give organizations a new tool that might have a wider impact, according to Jennifer Mackin, chief executive of the Leadership Pipeline Institute, a workplace consulting firm.

Diversity and inclusion experts champion the idea, saying it would probably be appealing to Generation Z, whose members, studies show, are more likely to stay with organizations they perceive as having a diverse and inclusive workforce.

"The generation entering the workforce today is going to be so much more comfortable with this form of learning than something static or prerecorded," Mariappan said.

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Diversity training enters the future with virtual reality - IOL

Every minute, a person just sitting or standing without moving sheds 100,000 particles that are 500 nanometers or larger. Is that person exercising? Now its 10 million particles per minute, says Jorg Scholvin, assistant director of user services for Fab.nano.

Thats why users of the MIT.nano cleanroom which is controlled to have fewer than 100 such particles per cubic foot of air wear full-body bunnysuits and other specialized garments to maintain the pristine environment required for nanoscale research.

Scholvin shared this lesson on gowning up during a virtual series of tours of the facility that was one of five courses highlighting the breadth of MIT.nanos capabilities, initiated during MITs Independent Activities Period (IAP). The courses, several of which will be offered again this semester, also included a live nanofabrication demo and virtual classes on 360-degree photography, biomechanics in everyday life, and storytelling for science and engineering communication.

A glimpse at the guts of MIT.nano

The three-part series of virtual tours brought 56 attendees inside MIT.nanos facilities. With a camera on a rolling tripod and a little ingenuity, Scholvin led the Zoom attendees through the cleanroom, comparing the layout to that of a grocery store: the bays where researchers work are like the aisles where customers shop, and the chases with the back ends of the equipment like the product shelves.

On the second day Scholvin was joined by Anna Osherov, assistant director for user services at Characterization.nano, for a tour of the nanoscale imaging suites located in MIT.nanos basement level. Attendees learned about the planning that went into creating an ultra-quiet environment for the nano-characterization tools, including a vibration demo showing the importance of the plinth a 50,000-pound slab of concrete balanced on a set of springs four feet above the ground to create a quiet, stable island for the ultrasensitive microscopes that sit on top.

The final tour in the series, led by MIT.nano Assistant Director for Infrastructure Nick Menounos, took virtual attendees on a walkthrough of the non-public spaces that keep MIT.nano running. Attendees rolled through the mechanical penthouse, basement water preparation space, centralized gas delivery system, and a freight elevator big enough to carry equipment the size of 14,000 large pizzas.

Following this series, Scholvin led a separate class on thin-film deposition, lithography, and etchingprocesses at the micro- and nanoscale. Attendees followed along with Scholvin as he worked in the cleanroom to expose, develop, and etch screenshots of the Zoom workshop attendees and secret messages from the class etched in letters less than one millimeter high into a 100-nanometer thin gold film on a silicon wafer. Seeing the actual fabrication processes really made the technology accessible," said one attendee. "Getting this type of access to the lab and process has been a truly unique experience."

Melding the physical with the digital

MIT.nanos Immersion Lab found a different way to engage with the students in its courses by sending the hands-on experience to them through the mail. For Creating, Editing, and Distributing 360 Photography a course facilitated by Rus Gant, director of the Harvard Visualization Research and Teaching Laboratory, and Samantha Farrell, MIT.nano senior administrative assistant MIT.nano loaned each participant a 360-degree camera, a Quest 2 virtual reality (VR) headset, and a monopod.

The course began with an overview of virtual reality theory and technologies, along with a history lesson on immersive art and panoramic photography spanning from pre-Civil War era to present day. The class then transitioned to workshop-style, with students creating content in their own environments, from 360-degree nature photography to videos that place viewers into the film via VR headsets.

Having experience using tools including a 360 camera, Photoshop/Premiere Pro, and a VR headset has empowered me to pursue 360 projects on my own in the future, said one participant. For example, virtual reality developer Luis Zanforlin, part of a team that received an MIT.nano Immersion Lab Gaming Program seed grant in 2020, created a film of himself hanging out with all his friends during Covid-19. Zanforlin used a Ricoh Theta V 360 camera and a monopod, along with editing software from Adobe Premiere, to create the video best viewed using an Oculus Quest headset.

This is me hanging out with my friends during COVID.

Biomechanics in everyday life, another IAP offering organized by the Immersion Lab, explored human movement through cardio exercise, yoga, and meditation. The four-session course, co-sponsored by MITs Clinical Research Center and led by Praneeth Namburi, postdoc in the Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE), used motion capture technology and wireless sensors to explain how simple tasks such as walking or jumping may improve human health and well-being.

During sessions on yoga and breathing, students learned how virtual reality could improve awareness and coordination. In focusing on balance, they were introduced to recording muscle activity using electromyography. When I think about movement now, said one participant, I will think beyond just copying the positions of people who move well and instead think about how they cycle through the energy process.

Storytelling at the nanoscale

The final MIT.nano offering, nanoStories, was a workshop focused on building narratives using text, video, and interactive media to demystify science and nanotechnology. Guest speakers from the Boston Museum of Science, PBS NOVA, and MIT joined workshop instructors MIT.nano Director Vladimir Bulovi, Research Scientist Annie Wang, and Samantha Farrell in discussions and exercises on crafting exciting and understandable presentations of nano-topics for a general audience. Students developed their own stories throughout the course, presenting final projects that enthralled with expositions of how snowflakes form and why pencils work, explaining the color perception of ones eye, and demystifying the activity of semiconductors in solar cells.

In addition to these five courses, MIT.nano collaborated with MITs Clinical Research Center (CRC), MIT Medical, and the Department of Mechanical Engineering to offer a three-module course on the basics of and resources for human subjects research, as well as technology for symptoms monitoring during the Covid-19 pandemic. Led by MIT.nano Associate Director Brian W. Anthony and CRC Director of Clinical Operations Catherine Ricciardi, the course explored how MIT researchers have deployed and developed physiological sensing technologies for Covid-19 research and highlighted the resources available through the CRC, the MIT.nano Immersion Lab, and MIT ecosystem partners.

Visit MIT.nano to see more images and videos from the courses.

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MIT.nano courses bring hands-on experimentation to virtual participants - MIT News