A talk from the Training & Education Track at AWE USA 2019 - the World's #1 XR Conference & Expo in Santa Clara, California May 29-31, 2019. Bill Meyer (Virtual Science Center): Turning Kids on to STEM by Letting Them Discover How VR and AR Tricks Our Brain How exactly does Virtual and Augmented Reality game human perception so things we know aren’t there seem to exist? Can simple and robust public learning experiences empower and delight people of all ages to experiment and discover the answers for themselves? The answer is yes. This talk will present examples and discuss how UX best practices can be applied to create effective inquiry-based learning experiences that unpack seemingly complex modern technologies. Through iterative design coupled with repeated visitor testing, we deconstructed the surprising perceptual science and technology behind VR and AR into 16 cool hands-on experiences that spark “aha” moments and minimize the need for wordy explanations. We keep concepts intuitive, playful, and fun to understand. Our traveling exhibition goal is to show visitors they're smarter than they suspect, inspire students to aim for STEM careers, and help teachers lead deeper NGSS and Common Core dives both in and out of the classroom. This 45 second video shows an example exhibit and part of our visitor testing process: https://youtu.be/Sgh0Sys57lY Without needing to learn the terms, visitors discover the secrets of how things like Motion Parallax, Stereo Vision, 3D Audio Spatialization, Outside-In, and Inside-Out Tracking work in concert to make virtual, augmented and mixed reality experiences possible. https://awexr.com

1. Turning Kids on to STEM
by Letting Them Discover How AR and VR Trick Our Brain
Bill Meyer, Chief Experience Officer

3. Inquiry-Based Learning

4. Reinventing Reality:
The Science of Virtual and Augmented Reality

5. We help scientists & technologists share
their world via cool hands-on exhibits

6. Research-Based Experience Development
Image credit: Christian Rohrer, Nielsen Norman Group
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7. Focus Groups

8. East and West Coast Visitor Testing

9. Mid-Stage Exhibit Prototype Examples

10. What If Digital Models Adapted To Your Perspective?

11. What If Digital Models Adapted To Your Perspective?
First step:
Notice perspective

13. Small fixed perspective viewing hole
Glass pane
Trace object’s
outline onto glass

15. Out-of-Headset Experiences
Encourage Shared Visitor Explorations

16. What are Translation, Rotation and Their Connection to VR?

18. Google Cardboard: only three degrees of freedom (3 DOF)

19. High-end headsets: six degrees of freedom (6 DOF)

21. Why do VR Headsets Display Two Similar Images?

22. 1850’s Stereoscope
Image credit: Science Museum Group Collection Online

23. 1850’s Stereoscope
Mirrors angled at 45° Visitor perceives single fused 3D image
Image credit: Science Museum Group Collection Online
Left Eye’s VR Headset View Right Eye’s VR Headset View

25. Iterative Exhibit Development
(Build, Measure, Learn)

26. Does Sound in VR Behave Like Real World Sound?

27. Spatialized 3D Audio Made Physical Outside VR
Head/ear position is tracked (eyes uncovered)
Each object has
a unique RFID tag
RFID reader pad tells VR simulation
which object is at this spot
Physical exhibit layout is precisely duplicated
in a behind-the-scenes VR simulation
Localized sound plays
from VR simulation

30. Can a Virtual Body Feel Like It’s Really Yours?

31. Seminal VR Research

32. Turning Cool Research Into a Cool Exhibit
Arm lengthens
in VR simulation
Physical exhibit is duplicated
in the VR simulation
Both real and virtual hand
are simultaneously brushed
“My arm feels
longer! ”

35. Future of XR, Reality Capture & More…

36. What’s Special About Depth Cameras?

40. Eye Tracking and Foveated Rendering

41. Center of Your Gaze:
Foveal Pixels
Peripheral Pixels

42. Bystanders see the truth:
most of the display is blurred!
Entire display seems sharp to user
when eye-tracking is on
External Eye Tracking Camera

44. Can Exhibits Be Timeless?

46. Bill Meyer, Chief Experience Officer
bill@VirtualScienceCenter.org