Empowering With XR

Over Coffee® | Stories and Resources from the Intersection of Art and Science | Exploring How to Make STEAM Work For You

"XR...is for everyone," says Unity Technologies XR Technical Specialist Antonia Forster. And she can show you how to use it to create something amazing. You don't have to spend a lot of money. And, you don't have to know how to code! That's because Unity, the leading platform for creating immersive content, is highly accessible. They offer free downloads to individuals, and have a number of free tutorials and educational events.s Now, just in case you're unfamiliar with it--what is XR, anyway? Extended reality--which encompasses virtual reality, augmented reality and a blend of the two. In other words, it's technology that enables you to create amazing things in 3D. You can layer your creation on top of something existing, with AR--or create a whole other world, with VR. Or put the two together. And, the best news? Absolute beginners can design something amazing. Antonia gives digital presentations, on a regular basis, on creating with Unity. And while we can't say much about it here, Unity Technologies are about to premiere something exciting, in a digital training, in March, that you won't want to miss! We talked about Antonia's professional journey, some of the creative lessons from her experience, and how to get involved in creating XR with Unity Technologies if you're an artist, educator or maker. On this edition of Over Coffee®, we cover: The science background which led Antonia to her current career (surprisingly, it's not computer science!); Free and inexpensive resources available for anyone who'd like to learn to build games and applications in VR and AR; A new development that's making XR more accessible; A very cool app project that can get you started, creating augmented reality; A newly open-source VR application in which artists will enjoy creating; How one artist developed an AR application to make a social statement; A preview of two exciting upcoming Unity "Digital Developer Days" coming up in March; An exciting LIDAR-related capability which can enable you to put your surroundings into a virtual world!; Learning insights that apply to working with any technology!; A preview of a cool new Unity asset, set to premiere in March; And, a virtual project on which Antonia is currently working, which tends to wow everyone--and has some exciting potential for performers. UPDATE: As promised in our podcast episode, here are the links for Unity Technologies' two upcoming "Digital Developer Day" events! Friday. March 19th, Industrial Digital Developer Day: https://industrialddd.splashthat.com/ (Mainly for architects, engineers, etc.) Friday, March 26th, Media & Entertainment Digital Developer Day: https://mediaandentertainmentddd.splashthat.com/ (For filmmakers, reporters, artists and other creatives who would like to learn more!)