Virtual Reality with VRTK4 : Create Immersive VR Experiences Leveraging Unity3D and Virtual Reality Toolkit

381 Pages·2020·12.035 MB·English

by  Rakesh Baruah

Virtual Reality
with VRTK4
Create Immersive VR Experiences
Leveraging Unity3D and Virtual
Reality Toolkit
—
Rakesh Baruah
Virtual Reality
with VRTK4
Create Immersive VR
Experiences Leveraging Unity3D
and Virtual Reality Toolkit
Rakesh Baruah
Virtual Reality with VRTK4
Rakesh Baruah
Brookfield, WI, USA
ISBN-13 (pbk): 978-1-4842-5487-5 ISBN-13 (electronic): 978-1-4842-5488-2
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-5488-2
Copyright © 2020 by Rakesh Baruah
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Table of Contents
About the Author ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������xi
About the Technical Reviewer �����������������������������������������������������������xiii
Acknowledgments ������������������������������������������������������������������������������xv
Introduction ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������xvii
Overview: VRTK and Unity 2019 ��������������������������������������������������������xxi
Chapter 1: Setup �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������1
Downloading and Installing Unity2
System Requirements for Unity Development 3
Additional Platform Development Requirements 3
The Code Editor, an Integrated Development Environment 4
Downloading and Installing Git 5
Setting Up Unity and VRTK 6
Installing VRTK 12
Running the Example Scene 18
Summary22
Chapter 2: The Virtual Camera ������������������������������������������������������������25
Lights, Camera, Render! 26
Getting Started 27
Review: Setting Up a VR Scene in Unity and Importing VRTK 27
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Exercise 1: GlobeHopper 35
The Panorama 36
The 360-Degree Image vs the HDRI 38
The Cubemap 39
Summary55
Chapter 3: Game Objects, Components, and an Introduction to
C# Scripting ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������57
Components as Attributes 58
Exercise 2: Animating Virtual Objects in a Scene 59
Step 1: Adding a 3D Object, Cube 59
Step 2: Editing the Rotation Parameter 62
Step 3: Creating a C# Script 64
Step 4: Adding the Script as a Component to the Cube 67
Step 5: Calling a Function in the Update( ) Method of the Script 70
Step 6: Setting the Spin Distance Parameters on the Script Component 74
Summary75
Chapter 4: Doin’ Thangs: Input, Events, and Action ����������������������������77
VRTK, Please Stand Up 78
The Unity Event System 79
What Are Events? 80
Welcome to Function Junction: Population 0 or 1 81
Inputs, Outputs, Parameters, Arguments, and Results 83
Method Signatures and Overloading 84
Generics and Collections85
Creating a List 89
Creating a Dictionary 89
Creating an Array 89
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Havin’ Class 90
Two Events Walk into a Bar … 92
Summary94
Chapter 5: Keyboard Input as Action ��������������������������������������������������97
Exercise: An Interesting Calculation of One’s Interest in Calculating
One’s Interest 98
User Story 99
Step 1: Create a Project 99
Step 2: Set Up the Scene 101
Step 3: Add Game Objects 103
Step 4: Change the Color of a Game Object 105
Step 5: Create a C# Script 107
Step 6: Write Code in Your IDE 107
Step 7: Compile Our Code by Returning to Unity 112
Step 8: Activate Our Script by Attaching It to a Game Object in
the Scene 113
Step 9: Define the Game Object That Responds to the User’s Input 114
Step 10: Define the Arguments for Our Function 116
Step 11: Play-Test 118
Step 12: Replacing Our Cube Game Object with a 3D Model 119
Step 13: You’re Done! 122
Summary122
Chapter 6: Controller Button Inputs as Actions ��������������������������������123
VR SDK Integration Packages 124
The Tracked Alias 124
Step 1: Drag and Drop the Tracked Alias Prefab into the Hierarchy 125
Step 2: Connecting Our Touch Controllers to VRTK 126
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Step 3: Importing an SDK-Specific Virtual Camera Object 128
Step 4: Connect the SDK Camera Rig with the TrackedAlias
Game Object 132
Step 5: Play-Test 140
Step 6: Tweak Some Code 142
Step 7: Add a Unity Action Component 144
Step 8: Tell Our Button Component What to Do in Case of an Event 147
Creating Proxy Actions and Chaining Actions 149
Step 1: Connect Our Touch Controller Hardware to Their Virtual
Counterparts 149
Step 2: Map a Unity Button Action Component to Our Controller 151
Step 3: Define the Action to Occur in Response to a Button Event 154
Step 4: Play-Test 155
Step 5: Cleanup 156
Summary162
Chapter 7: Trigger Input Through One-Dimensional Axis Actions ����163
The Psychology of Touch 164
Body and Mind 166
The Unified Whole 167
Enter the VRTK Axis Action 169
Exercise: Location Scouting 170
Step 1: Project Setup 172
Step 2: Swap the Skybox 177
Step 3: Change the Value of the Directional Light 178
Step 4: Add a Doorway Point Light 182
Step 5: Allow the User to Change the Point Light Through
the Keyboard 185
Step 6: Play-Test 189
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Step 7: Practice Moving Lights, Cameras, and Yourself Around
the Scene 190
Step 8: Change the Value of the Rate Variable in the Unity Editor 192
Adding a Unity Axis Action 194
Step 1: Add a Second Point Light 194
Step 2: Write a Second C# Script for the New Axis Action 196
Step 3: Add a Unity Axis Action Component to a Game Object 202
Step 4: Identify the Controller Button to Connect to the Unity
Axis Action Through the Input Menu 204
Step 5: Connect the Chain of Events 209
Step 4: Add a Virtual Camera and a TrackedAlias Prefab to the Scene 213
Step 5: Play-Test 215
Summary216
Chapter 8: Interactors and Interactables �����������������������������������������219
Exercise: A Physician’s Cognitive Testing Tool 221
Part 1: The Scene222
Part 2: The Code 263
Summary291
Chapter 9: Movement in VR ��������������������������������������������������������������293
The Elusive Nature of Movement 293
Movement vs Motion 294
VRTK Tools for Movement 295
Exercise: Virtual Tour Guide 295
Creating the Environment 296
Introduce Movement to the Scene Through Keyboard Input 304
Continuous Movement of a Camera in VR 310
Movement and VR: It’s Complicated 311
VRTK to the Rescue! 312
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Adding a VRTK Pointer to the Scene 313
The VRTK Teleporter Object 322
Create a Button Action to Display Statue Information 331
Fun with Vector Math332
Play-Test 341
Summary344
Conclusion 344
Index �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������347
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