Instructor: Prof. Tommy Dang
Email: tommy.dang@ttu.edu
Office hours: 10:00 am - 10:45 am TR and available to talk right after the class
Office: Eng Center 306C

Class: MCOM 166, 11:00 am - 12:20 pm TR Jan 18, 2018 - May 15, 2018
Undergraduate level: Special Topics in CS: Virtual Reality (prereqs of 2365, 2350, and Junior standing) - 49146 - CS 4331 - 002
Graduate level: Special Problems in Computer Science: Virtual Reality - 32759 - CS 5331 - 001

Tutorial Assistant (TA): Vinh Nguyen
Email: vinh.nguyen@ttu.edu
Office hours: 10:00 am - 10:45 am TR, Eng Center 305
Course Description:
  • During the course, students will get hands-on experiences on building AR/VR for various real-world datasets. Students will be accessed their learning through three AR/VR projects.
  • Extensive computer use is required.
    • Prerequisites:
  • Students are expected to have basic programming skills. Completed material in computer programming topics (e.g. CS 2365: Object-Oriented Programming, CS 3364: Design and Analysis of Algorithms or equivalent) is helpful and required.
  • Students majoring in areas other than Computer Science are also encouraged to enroll.
  • Please contact the instructor if you are unsure if you satisfy the prerequisites.
    • Attendance:
    Attendance is required. Part of your grade is from your in-class participation/contribution. So, you should consider to go the all classes, make comments, and ask good questions (including contributions on Piazza).
    Absence due to religious observance:
    The Texas Tech University Catalog states that a student may be excused from attending classes or other required activities, including examinations, for the observance of a religious holy day, including travel for that purpose. A student whose absence is excused for this purpose may not be penalized for that absence and shall be allowed to take an examination or complete an assignment from which the student is excused. (see p.51)
    Absence due to officially approved trips:
    The Texas Tech University Catalog states that the person responsible for a student missing class due to a trip should notify the instructor of the departure and return schedule in advance of the trip. The student may not be penalized and is responsible for the material missed. (see p.50)
    Late Work:
    Assignments are due when specified, but will be accepted late (with a 20% penalty for each day) until graded work is returned. If you know you will be absent ahead of time, turn your assignment in early.
    Ethical Conduct:
  • Students are expected to comply with the Texas Tech Code of Student Conduct in all aspects of this class. The Code of Student Conduct may be found from the Student Handbook and/or Office of Student Conduct.
  • In order to assure that all students have the opportunity to gain from time spent in class, unless otherwise approved by the instructor, students are prohibited from engaging in any other form of distraction, such as reading newspapers, working on other classes, taking cell phone calls, text messaging, and working on laptop computers. Inappropriate behavior in the classroom shall result, minimally, in a request to leave class.
  • Violations of conduct including academic dishonesty, foul language, and classroom citizenship are eligible to be reported to Student Judicial Services.
    • Evaluation:
    All submissions are graded according to the assignment guidelines, course policies, verbal instructions/explanations and materials given in class lectures. The numeric breakdown of your final grade is computed as follows:
    Percentage What to do Notes
    Project 1: 20% Human scale scene experienced from the 'inside out' Individual/group project
    Project 2: 25% Virtual world from data and looking at it from the 'outside in' Group project (teammates are selected by students/instructor)
    Project 3: 25% VR or AR project of your own choice Group project (teammates are selected by students/instructor)
    Student's Choice Presentations: 10% of interest to you in the area of VR / AR Individual
    Peer evaluation: 10% Feeback from teammates for Project 2 and 3
    Class Participation: 10% Comments/Ask questions if you are a distant student, this 10% will go to your Project 1

      A = 85 - 100%
      B = 70 - 84%
      C = 55 - 69%
      D = 40 - 54%
      F = 0 - 39%
    Tentative Schedule:
    Topics
    Week 1: 1/18 - Course overview
    Week 2: 1/23 - 1/25 - Project 1 is out
    - Introduction to Javascript
    - Introduction to Three.js
    Week 3: 1/30 - 2/1 - Student's Choice is due at 11:00am, Tuesday 1/30
    - Introduction to VR, VR vs. AR
    Week 4: 2/6 - 2/8 - Student's Choice presentations
    - Fundamental units in visual design
    Week 5: 2/13 - 2/15 - Student's Choice presentations
    - Position Tracking
    - Interaction and Navigation
    Week 6: 2/20 - 2/22 - Project 1 link is due at 11:00am, Sunday 2/18 and code is due at 11:00am, Tuesday 2/20
    - Project 1 presentations
    Week 7: 2/27 - 3/1 - Project 1 presentations
    - Project 2 is out => Team assignment
    Week 8: 3/6 - 3/8 - Project 1 review, lessons learned
    - Introduction to Unity3D
    - VR hardware and software
    Week 9: 3/13 - 3/15 - Spring Break
    Week 10: 3/20 - 3/22 - Student's Choice presentations
    - Project 2 code is due
    Week 11: 3/27 - 3/29 - Project 2 presentations
    - Project 2 team report is due
    Week 12: 4/3 - 4/5 - Project 3 is out => Team formation
    - Visual rendering
    Week 13: 4/10 - 4/12 - Collaboration
    - Student's Choice presentations
    Week 14: 4/17 - 4/19 - Student's Choice presentations
    Week 15: 4/24 - 4/26 - Project 3 discussion
    - Project 3 is due
    Week 16: 5/1 - 5/3 - Project 3 presentations
    - Project 3 team report is due

    Topics and/or dates may be changed during the semester at the instructor’s discretion because of scheduling issues, developments in the discipline, or other contingencies.
    Textbooks:
    No official textbook but there will be some assigned readings. Here are some references:
    Jos Dirksen, Learning Three.js : The JavaScript 3D Library for WebGL, 2015
    Jos Dirksen, Three.js cookbook, 2015
    Andreas Anyuru, Professional WebGL Programming: Developing 3D Graphics for the Web, 2012
    Isaac Sukin, Game development with Three.js, 2013
    References:
    https://courses.engr.illinois.edu/cs498sl3/sp2017/
    http://creativecoding.evl.uic.edu/courses/cs491/
    Related Pages:
    three.js/
    unity3d/
    © Last revised: January 26th, 2017