HTC Vive, VR tests and Tilt Brush

First training session in the HTC Vive VR room at the Medical Institute, University of Dundee

Dr. Caroline Erolin - HTC Vive in the Medical Institute at University of Dundee

HTC Vive headset

To get acclimatised to using VR, Caroline suggested looking around some landscapes, starting with 360 degree, rather than fully immersive VR beach...With an intense dislike of geodesic domes and cavernous interiors this seemed like a great idea!

Progressing into interiors, Caroline introduced me to the LAB within Steam ..https://store.steampowered.com/, where there was an option to enter into a 'game-like' environment, pick up a bow and arrow and shoot at soldiers. The game appearance and environment was far more familiar and reminded me of my gaming experiences Atari > Sega Mega Drive > Playstation....

Next up was the lab, where I could teleport and select different worlds to enter. I jumped out of my skin when I stooped down to pick up the controllers, which were actual hardware and replicated in VR too, and a digital dog was bouncing around at my feet.
Interesting to find that this digital dog was a great companion in a virtual world. Neither of us were real and yet its movements were very convincing....

I took my companion to an outdoor 'live-action' environment with the ability to throw sticks which it retrieved repeatedly...

And then....TILT BRUSH!!! The ability to paint in 3D space and walk around inside the drawing. My phobia of geodesic domes vanished on the spot...here I was with characters I created.

A few quick tests and a movie link of Caroline wandering around in the doodles I created. Inspiring and very creative experience....to be continued!!!