DURHAM COLLEGE
MRC Studio, AI Hub make a splash at virtual reality conference

Durham College (DC) students and employees showed off their applied research work at the VRTO Spatial Media World Conference & Expo in July, displaying their talent and ingenuity and making connections in the tech industry.

Representing DC's Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ORSIE), the MRC Studio and AI Hub attended the conference to showcase their latest breakthroughs.

A team of work-study students showed off a mixed reality demo using the Meta Quest 3 virtual reality (VR) headset. By scanning real world objects and digitizing them for manipulation in 3D space, the demo allows users to pick up and examine items within an augmented reality.

The mixed reality demo was prepared by Game - Art students Joshua Vandergeer, Alexis Mantler and Nathan Lang and Computer Programming and Analysis students Connor Vandergeer and Manu Sugunakumar.

The experience of showing off their own work while rubbing shoulders with accomplished industry veterans was a highlight for the students, according to Connor Vandergeer.

"It felt really rewarding to be a part of the community," he said. "Speaking to professionals, seeing what they think and how impressed they were and just enjoying the demo, it was a really great experience."

The applications for the demo are practically limitless according to Jason Hunter, Manager of the MRC Studio.

"A lot of people still relate VR to entertainment and games only, but there's a lot of applications within other industries that the hardware and software can be used for," he said. "We have a lot of industry partners who want to find ways to do digital twinning, either of spaces or of objects, particularly for training and simulation."

For example, an industrial company could use the technology to train new employees on heavy machinery, remotely and with no risk to their safety.

A second demo, developed by Game - Art student James Gleeson, used a Looking Glass display and Unreal Engine to create holographic 3D models that could be turned and rotated manually.

Both demos wowed the crowd, according to Hunter.

"There were a lot of smiling faces and minds blown," he said. "It's really satisfying to see that we could still impress people who have been working within the field for a long time. That's really gratifying for the students."

Working with the MRC Studio over the summer has been an invaluable experience for them.

"It's a great opportunity for students to start getting industry experience within their field, and it's a great place to test what you're learning," said Joshua Vandergeer.

Students weren't the only ones making us #DCProud at the event. MRC Principal Investigator Harrison Forsyth was invited as a guest speaker to discuss his recent work digitizing real world objects and environments for virtual applications.

"It was a great pleasure to speak at the event on behalf of Durham College," said Forsyth. "Most importantly, the teams from the MRC Studio and AI Hub got an opportunity to engage with leaders in the extended reality community. This was a huge win for our teams and I am certainly very proud of the work we do."