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Our Latest Projects.


Here are some of our current projects — some ready for use, others still in pre-release development.

Molly AR Components.


There are many pieces to the Alternate Realities — Virtual Reality — Augmented Reality — Mixed Reality puzzle. We are working with many of these to fit them together in new and interesting ways.

Frameworks.

Good frameworks are very useful in abstracting complexity and speeding development; important in a rapidly evolving domain like Alternate Realities. The two frameworks we're working with the most right now are our own Molly server-side XML-based web development framework and Mozilla's A-Frame client-side tag-based VR rendering framework.

360° Videography.

360° Video can be a compelling and immersive component of an Alternate Realities experience. Additionally, it is a tool ripe for exploration as a new story-telling medium descended from the traditions of cinema, but requiring new techniques and opening new opportunities.

360° Photography.

360° Photographs can be used as a backdrop to an Alternate Realities experience, or as a first step in designing and rendering a VR environment. Like 360° Video, 360° Photography presents new problems to solve and new opportunities for experimentation.

Human Factors.

From a user interface perspective, Alternate Realities are a relatively new and unexplored area, despite having roots that go back into the last century. There is much yet to be tested, and new related technologies emerging at a rapid pace.

Web VR Development.

The World Wide Web is the de facto communication channel of our time, and a suite of technologies with which we are well versed, so it is natural to leverage the web in pursuit of VR application development.

Hardware Prototyping.

We have always embraced the Maker Culture and experiential learning, and so involvement with prototyping hardware is both rewarding and informative to our development process.

Who Are We.


We are academics. But we are not ivory tower academics. (Even though one of us once actually worked in a literal ivory tower on top of a hill.) We are all about preparing our students for the "real world" and whatever virtual worlds they may build.

Our Process.

Build. Test. Improve. Repeat.

Sounds simple, doesn't it? But it's an approach that applies to both the big picture of products or projects as a whole, and bits of code or hardware within a project.

Our Approach.

We (even those of us who don't build games) believe that play is an integral and perhaps even necessary part of learning. This applies to our students and ourselves. We often play with technology, play with the possibilities such technologies offer, even play with code to see if we can make something unexpected happen. It's fundamental to have fun on some level with what you're doing.

Our Goal.

We don't have a goal. There. We said it. We have processes, approaches, systems… ways to stimulate new ideas and then test them and if appropriate bring them to fruition. OK, so maybe we do have a goal — to make cool new things happen. But we try not to focus on that.

Our Mission.

To explore strange new virtual realities, to seek out new augmented realities, to boldly build new development tools. (Too much? OK, we'll work on that.)

Our Rockstar Team.


We come from different backgrounds, worked in different disciplines, have different approaches, different personalities, different skills and talents, but all share an enthusiasm for making new things and inspiring our students to feel the same way.

Dr. Vullo

Ronald P. Vullo, Ph.D.

Creative Director

Dr. Vullo is Associate Professor of Information Sciences and Technologies at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). He has extensive experience in the areas of web development, information sciences, and education, as well as medical informatics, dental informatics and education application development. Vullo is the creator and primary developer of Molly, a PHP web framework for the server-side development of virtual communities, electronic health record components, mobile web apps, distance learning tools, online communities, and myriad other web applications and services in addition to Alternate Realities applications.

Dr. Egert

Christopher A. Egert, Ph.D.

Technical Director

Dr. Egert is Associate Professor in the School of Interactive Games and Media at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). With background in both computer science and digital media, Egert engages students in both design-centric as well as technology-centric approaches to digital media solutions. He has a background in game engine development and systems architecture. He provided the architectural direction for Just Press Play, a gamification platform for higher education. He has also engaged in the design and development of educational games, educational games assessment systems, and educational games instrumentation and data collection systems. He has also served as the technology facilitator for commercially distributed student games on national delivery platforms.

Andrew Phelps

Coffee Spillage

Andrew "Andy" Phelps is a professor at the Human Interface Technologies Laboratory NZ (HITLabNZ) within the College of Engineering at the University of Canterbury. His work there is focused on virtual and augmented reality, games and education, and art and interactive media experiences of several varieties. In addition to his individual research and creative practice, supervision of students, and teaching activities, he is heavily engaged in building a new effort within the university, the Applied Immersive Gaming Initiative (AIGI), in collaboration with other faculty and staff at the HITLab, UC, and ChristchurchNZ, the city’s promotion and economic development agency.

Phelps also serves as a Professor in the Film & Media Arts division of the School of Communication at American University, and as Director of the AU Game Lab, a multidisciplinary effort that engages faculty, staff, and students from several divisions of Communication as well as the AU College of Arts & Sciences. AU offers several degrees and certificates relatived to games and media, including an MA in Game Design and an MFA in Games and Interactivity, and Phelps advises students in these programs as well as other areas of media arts.

Walter

Walter J. Weasel, Esq.

Weasel Words

Walter may not be an actual person, but he's who we turn to when we need inspiration in writing "important" documents like budget justifications, policies & procedures, and various and sundry strategic planning documents. We'd much rather be building cool new virtual worlds than patching together the old real world corporate hierarchy. So we leave that to Walter.

Our Latest Ramblings.


OK, we haven't set up our blog yet. But when we do, it'll totally be worth reading. Meantime, please enjoy this placeholder section.

December 2, 2018

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November 29, 2018

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November 28, 2018

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Proin gravida nibh vel velit auctor aliquet. Aenean sollicitudin, lorem quis bibendum auctor, isi elit consequat ipsum, nec sagittis sem nibh id elit. Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium.

November 27, 2018

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November 25, 2018

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November 23, 2018

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Get In Touch With Us.


Want to collaborate? Fund us? Seed us with new equipment? Then drop us a note and let's talk!

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