Leia Brings 3D Lightfield to MIT Reality Hack
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Imagine being in the same room with some of the most creative, forward-thinking minds in the XR space. MIT Reality Hack is just that. Held annually at MIT, people fly in from all over the world to participate and see what they can build based on the latest XR technology. In previous years, Leia’s Nima Zeighami and Marlon Fuentes have attended. This time around, both are bringing Leia’s Award Winning 3D Lightfield displays with them.
Attendees get to see how quickly the technology is changing with new devices at these events. In fact, we’re providing the teams with a number of 3D Lightfield displays equipped with stereoscopic cameras and full access to Leia’s game engine SDK plugins to see what people will be inspired to create during the weekend-long hackathon.
“MIT Reality Hack really is an amazing experience,” says Fuentes. “It’s a really inspiring place, and growing every year, but the XR world is a very tight-knit community and things like the MIT Reality Hack are how we all come together, getting challenged to improve our skills.”
It’s a place to give hackers another place to express themselves through different mediums – and, really, that’s what the MIT Reality Hack is all about.
HOW THE MIT REALITY HACK WORKS
At the kickoff, anyone that has an idea, jots down their concept ideas on a poster-board. Other participants go around and start joining projects that excite them the most, sharing what skills they have. The goal is to get to some kind of completed proof of concept project that you can demo to the community and judges before the event ends.
Some of the things that Fuentes hopes to see at this year’s event: How can we increase our sense of presence through immersive experiences – especially after these past few years. There’s a theme to this year’s Hackathon, Presence. Participants will be able to get hands on with our glasses free 3D Lightfield technology to explore the concept.
TIPS FOR THOSE ATTENDING
Marlon has some key bits of advice for anyone attending:
“The great thing about hackathons is that it forces you to do an audit of your skills. It’s not an event for wallflowers. Everyone needs to be able to contribute to the team in a meaningful way. Be self aware. For example, even if technical skills are not your strength, in what other ways are you able to help move the project forward? Whether it’s project management, content creation, or something else. Leading up to the event, brush up on game engines, Unity, Unreal Engine, Github, Adobe Creative Suite – basically any tools that will be needed for the event.”
Most important bit of advice: “Once you’re there, be ready to collaborate - and have fun! It’s a community event where people are working together to create. Like I’d said earlier, this is an amazing opportunity not just to learn, but to connect with other passionate, creative people. We’re talking about lifelong friends and potentially future work colleagues.”
WHAT WE’RE HOPING TO SEE AT MIT REALITY HACK
MIT Reality Hack participants will have the opportunity to be among the first to work with this remarkable platform that recently won four Innovation Awards at CES 2023. Considering the theme of PRESENCE, how might we utilize familiar handheld devices with 3D Lightfield technology?
Presence can mean many things to different people and we're excited to see what you come up with!
One key aspect of our platform is the accessibility of how you can deliver immersive 3D experiences to people who aren’t able to wear headsets. You may even come up with a speculative design that prompts us to think about how technology will enable presence through familiar devices, whether it’s a watch, tablet, or something else.
“We have many ideas to help participants ideate at the event using 3D Lightfield displays, but I’m really excited to see what others can come up,” says Fuentes.
Some really interesting ideas have come out of this hackathon in the past – from education to health to architecture to fashion and design and Fuentes can’t wait to see what happens this year. Follow us on our social channels @Leiainc or reach out to us on the MIT Reality Hack Participant Discord server for support!
MIT Reality Hack will take place from January 12–16, 2023. The public is invited to attend the Expo on 1/16. Tickets can be reserved here.