Learning Virtual Reality: Developing Immersive Experiences and Applications for Desktop, Web, and Mobile

Tony Parisi

"O'Reilly Media, Inc.", Oct 26, 2015 - Computers - 172 pages

As virtual reality approaches mainstream consumer use, a vibrant development ecosystem has emerged in the past few years. This hands-on guide takes you through VR development essentials for desktop, mobile, and browser-based applications. You’ll explore the three go-to platforms—OculusVR, Gear VR, and Cardboard VR—as well as several VR development environments, programming tools, and techniques.

If you’re an experienced programmer familiar with mobile development, this book will help you gain a working knowledge of VR development through clear and simple examples. Once you create a complete application in the final chapter, you’ll have a jumpstart on the next major entertainment medium.

• Learn VR basics for UI design, 3D graphics, and stereo rendering
• Explore Unity3D, the current development choice among game engines
• Create native applications for desktop computers with the Oculus Rift
• Develop mobile applications for Samsung’s Gear VR with the Android and Oculus Mobile SDKs
• Build browser-based applications with the WebVR Javascript API and WebGL
• Create simple and affordable mobile apps for any smartphone with Google’s Cardboard VR
• Bring everything together to build a 360-degree panoramic photo viewer

Contents

• Chapter 1 Introduction: 1
• Chapter 2 Virtual Reality Hardware: 11
• Developing for Oculus Rift on the Desktop: 27
• Developing for Gear VR: 49
• BrowserBased Virtual Reality in HTML5: 63
• Google Cardboard for LowCost Mobile Virtual Reality: 93
• Chapter 7 Your First VR Application: 119
• Appendix A Resources: 141
• Index: 149
• About the Author: 157

About the author

Tony Parisi is an entrepreneur and career CTO/software architect. He has developed international standards and protocols, created noteworthy software products, and started and sold technology companies. Tony’s passion for innovating is exceeded only by his desire to build great products. Tony is a pioneer in virtual reality, the co-creator of the VRML and X3D ISO standards for networked 3D graphics, and continues to innovate in 3D technology. Tony is the co-organizer of the San Francisco WebGL Meetup, and the San Francisco WebVR Meetup, and a member of the Khronos COLLADA working group creating glTF, the new file format standard for 3D web and mobile applications. Tony is also the author of O’Reilly Media’s books on WebGL: WebGL Up and Running (2012), and Programming 3D Applications in HTML5 and WebGL (2014). Tony is currently VP of Platform Products at WEVR, a virtual reality community and VR media player for aspiring and professional creatives.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Learning Virtual Reality: Developing Immersive Experiences and Applications for Desktop, Web, and Mobile
• Author: Tony Parisi
• Publisher: "O'Reilly Media, Inc.", 2015
• ISBN: 149192280X, 9781491922804
• Length: 172 pages
• Subjects: Computers / Software Development & Engineering / Computer Graphics