ABOUT THE COURSE:Extended Reality (XR), covering the areas of Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality technologies, has become quite popular nowadays. The reason is primarily the advancements in relevant hardware, which made such technologies affordable. As a result, there is huge interest in building applications of such technologies in various domains, the most notable example being the idea of Metaverse. This course is focused on explaining the foundational aspects of the technology in a lucid manner, through a practical case study. The topics include the basic concepts of XR, the hardware and software used, the issues (both psycho-physiological and technological) and how to address those from the user’s and developer’s perspective, stages of system development and finally, optimization issues and approaches to resolve. Each concept is explained in details, with the help of the use case, whenever appropriate. The overall aim of the course is to impart foundational knowledge to the learner to understand and implement an XR system with confidence.INTENDED AUDIENCE: UG/PG/PhD students in Computer Science & Engineering and/or allied disciplines. Also useful for software/system developers, with interest in extended reality.PREREQUISITES: Science/engineering background preferable. Knowledge in software system development, data structure, algorithms and computer graphics will be helpful although not mandatory.INDUSTRY SUPPORT:Application-focused companies should be interested, cutting across domains. Some of the relevant industries include,MicrosoftAlphabetMetaSamsungMany startupsCompanies focused on hardware (GPU, headsets) – e.g. Nvidia, Qualcomm etc

Syllabus

Week 1:Introduction1. General introduction2. Application domains & system categories3. Definitions
Week 2:Introduction4. Historical evolution5. Issues & challenges6. Cybersickness
Week 3:XR Hardware & Software7. VR Hardware8. AR Hardware9. Understanding Tracking I
Week 4:XR Hardware & Software10. Understanding Tracking II11. VR Software12. AR Software
Week 5:Human factors in XR experience13. XR as Interactive Systems14. Human Factors in XR15. Visual Perception & Displays I
Week 6:Human factors in XR experience16. Visual Perception & Displays II17. Auditory Sense & Immersive Experience18. Other Senses & Full Immersion
Week 7:Building of an XR System –understanding with a case study19. Interactive System Development Life Cycle Stages20. Introduction to the Case Study21. Requirement Gathering I22. Requirement Gathering II
Week 8:Building of an XR System –understanding with a case study23. System Design I24. System Design II25. System Design III
Week 9:Building of an XR System –understanding with a case study26. System Implementation I27. System Implementation II28. System Implementation III
Week 10:System Optimization29. Optimizing User Experience I – Basic Idea30. Optimizing User Experience II – Navigation Time31. Optimizing User Experience III – Navigation Path
Week 11:System Optimization32. Optimizing Resources I – Basic Idea33. Understanding Resource Requirements – Introduction to Computer Graphics I34. Understanding Resource Requirements – Introduction to Computer Graphics II
Week 12:Conclusion35. Understanding Resource Requirements – Introduction to Computer Graphics III36. Resource Optimization Techniques
37.Concluding Remarks