Uploaded June 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
This is the project video of Dan Simonin's bachelor thesis at the Computer Science Department of the Bern University of Applied Sciences in the spring semester of 2024.
As virtual reality (VR) evolves, the Computer Perception and Virtual Reality Laboratory at the BFH wants to upgrade its existing Unity VR solution by adding networking capabilities. In addition to full-body avatars and grouped teleportation, multiple players in the same physical space must see their friends' avatars in their actual physical locations to enable real-time interactions.
Use cases
Two distinct use cases were considered during the development process to guide feature choices to be as generic as possible:
1) This use case involves sending headsets to a school via a postal system, allowing children to virtually visit with friends the Cigognier temple of Aventicum, once the capital of Roman Switzerland, before exploring the existing ruins in person.
2) The second one is a professional application where architects can present the current state of a project to their clients.
Features
Standalone
Even though using Android headsets like the Meta Quest comes with the downside of limited performance, which needs to be managed carefully, this makes the entire project versatile. Removing the requirement for a computer reduces the project's size, keeping it simple and future-proof. Additionally, it makes the headsets easier to send through the post.
Calibration
Headsets need to be calibrated so players can see each other's avatars in the same physical locations, enabling physical interactions between them. This calibration is done using two physical markers each player selects using the headset's passthrough feature, which displays the camera feed to perform augmented reality.
Grouped Teleportation
If teleportation is not managed over the network, the calibration will be disrupted if a player teleports. To prevent this, teleportation is managed so that only one player can teleport at a time, and the ray displaying the teleportation destination is synchronized over the players.
Avatars
Virtual reality relies heavily on a sense of presence, making it crucial for players to notice minimal discrepancies from reality. Since this project emphasizes physical interaction, the visual representation must be highly accurate to enhance the sense of presence. Using inverse kinematics to compute bone positions based on the headset and hand positions, a customized full-body avatar is displayed for each player.
This is the project video of Dan Simonin's bachelor thesis at the Computer Science Department of the Bern University of Applied Sciences in the spring semester of 2024.
As virtual reality (VR) evolves, the Computer Perception and Virtual Reality Laboratory at the BFH wants to upgrade its existing Unity VR solution by adding networking capabilities. In addition to full-body avatars and grouped teleportation, multiple players in the same physical space must see their friends' avatars in their actual physical locations to enable real-time interactions.
Use cases
Two distinct use cases were considered during the development process to guide feature choices to be as generic as possible:
1) This use case involves sending headsets to a school via a postal system, allowing children to virtually visit with friends the Cigognier temple of Aventicum, once the capital of Roman Switzerland, before exploring the existing ruins in person.
2) The second one is a professional application where architects can present the current state of a project to their clients.
Features
Standalone
Even though using Android headsets like the Meta Quest comes with the downside of limited performance, which needs to be managed carefully, this makes the entire project versatile. Removing the requirement for a computer reduces the project's size, keeping it simple and future-proof. Additionally, it makes the headsets easier to send through the post.
Calibration
Headsets need to be calibrated so players can see each other's avatars in the same physical locations, enabling physical interactions between them. This calibration is done using two physical markers each player selects using the headset's passthrough feature, which displays the camera feed to perform augmented reality.
Grouped Teleportation
If teleportation is not managed over the network, the calibration will be disrupted if a player teleports. To prevent this, teleportation is managed so that only one player can teleport at a time, and the ray displaying the teleportation destination is synchronized over the players.
Avatars
Virtual reality relies heavily on a sense of presence, making it crucial for players to notice minimal discrepancies from reality. Since this project emphasizes physical interaction, the visual representation must be highly accurate to enhance the sense of presence. Using inverse kinematics to compute bone positions based on the headset and hand positions, a customized full-body avatar is displayed for each player.
