Course Content

The creation of a Unity project for use with Microsoft MR

• Setup of a specific enviroment for Microsoft MR solutions inside Unity is discussed and the relevant project structures and settings are explored. This incorporates a proper integration of version control and explanation of the various paradigms found in a Mixed Reality production.

Deployment of the project to the target devices

• Limitations and proper handling of the hardware is the focus of this module. After setup of the project we’re using the new environment to publish a first demo to the desired Univeral Windows Platform (UWP) output device.

The positioning of 3D objects in the real word

• To make proper use of the Virtual Reality environment, we need to understand the Unity process necessary to structure a scene, and furnish it with 3D objects. To seemlessly integrate any geometry into the Microsoft Mixed Reality, various concepts have to be understood first. The ability of the MR solutions to sense it’s surroundings and accessing specific data of this kind is explained in detail. Combining the devices abilities as well as a solid Unity scene setup is key to any visualization.

Dynamic instantiation at runtime

• Not everything in the scene can be setup before the application is started on the output device. To be able to change the scene layout or introduce new geometry, dynamic instantiation has to be incorporated at runtime. We discuss the handling of Unity for these situations. This will incorporate Prefabs, object hierarchies and performance considerations.

Input in a Mixed Reality scenario

• Regular input devices like mouse or keyboard are not present in the MR scenario and are substituted by voice commands, gaze directions and tracking controllers. How to apply these special input vectors to a proper 3D application needs to be understood and is discussed here.

Understanding realtime 3D graphics in detail

• To visualize any desired setting in a Mixed Reality scenario, it is important to understand the underlying concepts of the displayed 3D graphics as well as their benefits and limitations in production. Various concepts like basic polygons making up the geometry, UV set mapping and textures, shaders and materials as well as lighting setups are discussed and used to refine the look of the output application.

Best practices for production in Microsoft MR

• The ability to avoid the most common pitfalls in production is a very worthwile skill. Experience allows for swift execution of a production idea and in this module we learn how to apply the best fitting strategy to the correct situation. This will allow the students to side step any pitfalls that might otherwise show up down the road.

Troubleshooting problems with framerate and performance

• Productions often suffer from many kinds of ill-tuned assets which show up as playback problems at application runtime. Programming code can be tricky to manage as well. Therefore the students need a solid footing in the ability to troubleshoot and debug their own productions. This is explained in detail in this module. Topics like the profiler and graphical debugging are incorporated as analysis tools for further study of the project internas.

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Target group

The target audience are artists with a moderate technical background, with the intend of starting to work with Microsoft MR solutions and Unity.

Prerequisites

Attendees must have some experience with Unity and have a basic understanding of programming in C#. It is advantageous to know about the theoretical background of 3D graphics and have hands-on experience regarding 3D content creation in any of the commonly available software packages.

Organizational matters