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What is the Mobile VR Development Challenge?
VR is a revolutionary new medium on the verge of exploding in popularity. The 2017 Mobile VR Development Challenge (6.s096) is an introduction to Virtual Reality development in partnership with Google. This is the first time a course like this has ever been offered at MIT and is a huge opportunity for students interested VR to learn the skills they need to enter the VR space and join this revolution. We provide you with the hardware, the knowledge, and the mentorship to build your first VR app. Teams of 2-3 will have the unique opportunity to work with Google’s Daydream platform and hardware (Daydream View headset and Pixel smartphone). You will receive instruction and feedback directly from Google engineers. You do not need previous experience in VR to take this class.
The class is designed to teach/train/mentor/and support students as they develop their own VR project over the course of 3 weeks. The class will have 6 lectures to teach you how to develop and design for Mobile VR using Unity. During this time you will have the chance to ideate and collaborate on your project for the final competition. You need to attend all lectures. With the instruction and knowledge from the lectures, teams will take a hands on approach and build their applications for the final competition. Students will also receive mentorship and help from class TAs and lecturers.
At the final expo, the projects will be judged based on complexity, creativity, and overall innovation in design. Following this will be an open-to-public expo to showcase your project. Projects will be judged by industry experts and winning teams will take home VR equipment, cash, and other exciting prizes from our sponsors.
We’re looking for students with an open mind to learn, some programming experience, but most of all creativity to build out amazing experiences for mobile VR.
Dates:
Dates will be announced closer to IAP 2018.
FAQ:
IS THIS COURSE PLATFORM SPECIFIC?
While the skills you learn in this course can be applied in VR development for any platform, this course will specifically focus on mobile development for the new Google Daydream mobile VR platform.
WHY MOBILE VR?
Mobile VR allows smartphone users to experience VR without a high powered computer or expensive headset. It’s inexpensive and portable. Mobile VR enables the developer to build and test applications quickly, as well as reach a large user base. Mobile VR is perfect for first time VR developers.
CAN I ENTER THE COMPETITION WITHOUT ATTENDING THE CLASSES?
No. The course is team-based, and class attendance by all members of the team is a prerequisite for entering the competition and to receive credit for the class.
WHAT TYPES OF PROJECTS CAN I BUILD?
The preliminary project proposal is an idea that you are interested in exploring in VR. It does not have to be the project you ultimately decide to pursue in January. Some ideas for projects are in games, education, and entertainment. We want to see your creativity in using VR technology in new applications. During the first week of the class, we will help teams finalize project ideas. In your application, feel free to think of any implementations of VR that interest you. Projects should be achievable within the scope of the class and should be focused on mobile, 3DoF VR experiences that use the Daydream controller, which sets Daydream apart from other mobile VR technology.
DO I HAVE TO BE AN MIT STUDENT TO PARTICIPATE?
Yes. You must be registered for the MIT IAP class to participate in the course/competition. If you are planning on cross registering, please make sure to bring the necessary papers to class. If you aren’t a student but still wish to attend the lectures, please be sure to sign up for the VR@MIT mailing list, as some lectures may be open to the public.
HOW DO I GET IN?
Interested MIT students must apply above through the VR@MIT website. We’ll send out acceptances in December. Then, you will register for the course through WebSIS.
DO I GET CREDIT FOR THIS COURSE?
You will receive 6 credits for participating in this class.
HOW MUCH PROGRAMMING EXPERIENCE IS RECOMMENDED?
Programming in the class will be done in Unity C# scripts, however we do not expect prior experience with C# or Unity specifically. Basic programming knowledge in a Python or Java equivalent language will be all you need. Students that have taken 6.0001 will have all of the necessary programming experience to take this course.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON’T HAVE A TEAM?
We highly encourage applying with a team (increases your chance of acceptance). However, if you don’t have a team, we’ll help you form a team in the first week of the class.
Schedule:
Sponsors:
Organizers:
VR@MIT: Eswar Anandapadmanaban, Judith Amores, Jacob Loewenstein, Ryan Senanayake, Michael Shumikhin.
Faculty: Pattie Maes.