3DCamp and Irish VR Meetup #3

First 3DCamp/Irish VR meetup of the New Year!! I'm sure many people have made New Years resolutions to lose weight; maybe VR can help? Introducing: VR cycling! Why cycle in a studio or outdoors when you can cycle on an immersive track in VR? Featuring futuristic racecourses or nature scenes, you can cycle anywhere in the world (or out of it!) from the comfort of your home (not that exercising is comfortable bahaha). 

I also tried the VR+amusement park machine. I had tried something similar at the Smithsonian over winter break, in the Air and Space museum, and like with that...I wasn't too terribly impressed. The movements of the machine kind of distracted me from the VR. I know VR roller coasters are coming to Universal Studios. I wonder if those will be better? I think the smoother the movement, and the more it matches up to the motion in the headset, the more effective it will be. 

Still, while I'm think it's radical, I'm sure a lot of people will lose their lunches while trying it out!

Dublin AI Launch

Went to the launch of DublinAI. Supposedly they have many chapters; it's cool they've spread to Ireland. Not a lot of talk about AI programming for games, but I learned a lot nonetheless! 

3D Camp Dublin and Irish VR

I'm checking out the VR/AR/MR scene here in Dublin, Ireland. MeetUp is possibly the most helpful social app I have ever used (no, not Tinder. I know, I know...). There are some well-established groups here in Dublin, unsurprising I suppose since Dublin is the capital (if something is happening in Ireland, it's happening in Dublin). WorkDay has a gorgeous space for groups to rent; it's on the very top floor of their office and it's completely glassed in, meaning you get lovely view of Dublin, the Dublin Mountains, and the Irish Sea. I wish I had taken some pictures!

I was too distracted by...the wicked awesome demos here for virtual reality. Indie and corporate developers are both here to show-off their newest creations or works-in-progress. I got to try the Oculus and the Vive and I like them both. I think I prefer the Vive's hand controls, however, though I think Oculus is releasing something called Oculus Touch soon. I don't have a phone capable of VR so I also tried some Cardboard apps. I think I'd enjoy the Cardboard apps more if there was a controller instead of just a button. 

I am definitely going to check out a phone from the school's lab to try out more VR!

I think I'm hooked. I'm falling in love with Unity and all this AR/VR content.