A VR arena-scale co-location system for multiplayer in physical space

• Main Author: Tan, Mykell Zhi Kai
• Other Authors: Seah Hock Soon
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
• Subjects: Engineering::Computer science and engineering::Software::Software engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/145380
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

With the release of true standalone headsets like the Oculus Quest, co-location arena-scale VR, where multiple users are in the same room, is now feasible for the consumer market without the need for expensive setups. Oculus has not announced any plans to release an SDK for easy implementation of co-location. As such, VR developers are seeking alternatives to implement arena-scale experiences. The purpose of this project is to develop a possible method of arena-scale co-location, that is easy to set up by the consumer and requires no additional hardware nor visual markers, on stand-alone headsets like the Oculus Quest. By matching the same multiple points in physical space for all headsets, each headset's virtual space can be synchronized with the rest without requiring the active tracking of other headsets. Two prototypes have been made to test the viability of this method. The first prototype demonstrates the synchronization functionality with error minimization. The second, builds on the first to develop and test the method for viability using physical hardware and live testers. 2 points are required to sync virtual spaces with perfect matching. 5 points or more are found to provide very accurate synchronization in live tests, despite testers not standing directly on the same spots. This conclusively proves that this method of co-location is viable without the need for visual markers as guides for point matching.