VR project from MIT Fluid Interfaces Group can procedurally generate a virtual scene using a 3D scan captured with a depth capturing Project Tango smartphone:
Oasis changes the way how we create and experience digital content. For decades, we have been creating digital media, 2D or 3D, with a mouse and keyboard and Oasis makes the digital creation process more intuitive, by allowing creators to use the space and the real world around them as templates for creating virtual spaces and experiences.
Oasis is a novel system for automatically generating immersive and interactive virtual reality environments using the real world as a template. The system captures indoor scenes in 3D, detects obstacles like furniture and walls, and maps walkable areas to enable real-walking in the generated virtual environment. Depth data is additionally used for recognizing and tracking objects during the VR experience. The detected objects are paired with virtual counterparts to leverage the physicality of the real world for a tactile experience. Our system allows a casual user to easily create and experience virtual reality worlds in any indoor space of arbitrary size and shape without requiring specialized equipment or training using a Google Tango tablet.
Oasis can be used, for example, to create storyspaces where friends and family can remotely participate in a session of storytelling around the campfire. The freedom to move around and interact with the virtual world allows for a new form of storytelling when combined with traditional narration techniques like vocalization, movement, and gestures. We call this human in the loop storytelling distinguishing it from current VR storytelling experiences where the software system is the storyteller.
