Course Objective: The overall objective of this course has been stated as:At the end of this course, students will be able to write virtual reality programs using C programming and relevant programming libraries. They will be knowledgeable of, and able to implement, features such as action functions, object tasks, user interaction, lighting, viewpoint management, sound, paths, and motion links.The course project is the culminating evidence of how well this objective has been achieved. It should encompass a significant, comprehensive virtual reality simulation, that serves to demonstrate how well students have mastered the course topics. Ideally it should include most of the topics covered in class ( paths, sound, etc. ), although this may vary depending upon their applicability to the specific project.
Note: One copy of all submitted materials will be retained by the course instructor. If you would like to have a copy returned, please submit two copies. The materials to be submitted ( Report, computer files, project notebooks ) are all due in class on Tuesday the 7th of December.Project Report:
The project report should be a comprehensive document that fully describes the completed work, and include at a minimum the following information:
- An introduction / background section, that describes the purpose and goals of the project, and the benefits to be gained from its completion. Literature references should be included if relevant.
- A description of the completed project.
- User documentation - Information required for a user to effectively use the simulation.
- Programmer's documentation - Information required for a programmer who is knowledgable of both C and WorldToolKit to fully comprehend your code. This section should list all of the functions and describe their purpose, as well as any important data structures, global variables, data input formats, etc. as needed.
- Summary / conclusions / reccomendations. What is the final outcome of the project, and what, ( if anything ) do you reccomend be done next.
- Bibliography / References ( if applicable. )
- A one-page executive summary, NOT bound into the report. The one-page summary and the full report should be independant documents, fully complete without relying on the other.
Project Files
All files generated for this project are to be submitted both in the directory created for this purpose, and on the provided CD-ROM. If there are files that were created but which are not included in the final result, these should be placed in a separate sub-directory, and clearly labeled as "spares".
Project Presentation
Each group will have approximately 30 minutes to present their final results to the instructor and to the class at large, according to the following schedule:
Monday, 6 December
Skydiving
Cow
Perspectives
Fun Park ( if time allows, otherwise 1st on Tuesday. )
Tuesday, 7 December
Tank
3D Painting
Glitch
Project Notebooks
Each student should have a project notebook, in which (s)he has recorded his/her progress, activities, thoughts, ideas, sketches, and difficulties throughout the term. These notebooks will be used as an additional measure to determine how well each individual student has met the course objectives.
A major portion of the work in Eng 591 will center around a semester long programming project, to be commenced on the first day of class and continued throughout the term. Sutdents will be given a bare-bones VR application as a starting point, and will expand and augment the application each week as new topics are covered in class. By the end of the term, students should have developed a significant virtual reality application, encompassing most, if not all, of the material covered during the term. Work may be done either individually or in small groups, depending upon class size and shared interests.
Students are encouraged to choose and plan their own projects, which may be a continuation of projects developed for Eng 477. Alternatively, there are project ideas available from external sources, including but not limited to unimplemented Eng 477 proposals. In choosing a topic, students should think about the characteristics of VR, and how they can be applied to bring particular value to the topic of interest. ( I.e. what does VR provide to this project that could not be done better using some other technology. )
Students are expected to keep a notebook in which they record the progress made on their projects. The notebook should be sufficiently detailed so that a knowledgable person could reproduce their work based solely on the notebook ( and any references included therein. ) Note that this notebook is for the project only, and is NOT intended for general class notes. The pages of the notebook should be numbered, and a Table of Contents indexing important items included at the end ( starting on the last page of the notebook and continuing towards the front. ) These notebooks will be checked each week to ensure normal prograss, and handed in at the end of the term.