An Apartment on Mars
Udacity VR Student Showcase
Ever wanted to visit an apartment on Mars? In virtual reality, now you can.
Udacity’s VR program is committed to creating the next generation of professional virtual reality developers, and our project-based approach is all about encouraging students to explore, create, and build. Our students are developing amazing new things every day, and it’s a great pleasure to share their successes with you.
Today, we’re going to look at a project created by Udacity VR student Vova Manannikov. As part of his student work, he created this Apartment on Mars. This is a mobile VR application that runs on Google Cardboard. As one of several required projects, this submission demonstrates his knowledge of texturing 3D objects, placing them in a scene, and designing high-performance lighting and shadows to guide the user’s attention.
“My inspiration came from the project requirements,” explains Vova. Students must create a globe model, texture it, and animate it. Instead of Earth, Vova decided to create a globe of Mars. Then the rest of the concept fell into place.
He searched Martian movies for get further inspiration. Borrowing from movies like Red Planet and Total Recall, he created custom textures for the walls, floor, and skybox. As a joke, he put a poster of Elon Musk on the wall and a SpaceX wallpaper on the computer monitor.
“This project was a great way to learn something by doing it.”
The project took one day to complete. One third of his time was spent creating textures and placing models. Another third was used to create interested lighting and shadows. The final third was used to create the globe animation and scripting.
Check out Vova’s LinkedIn Profile
The Udacity VR Program
Vova’s work is exciting to see in development, and we’re thrilled by what he’s working on. This project is but one great example of all the amazing things our students are building. When you’re in a program like this one, learning from best in class instructors, and engaging with mentors, progress is both rapid, and exciting. Knowing that excellent hiring prospects await you through our exclusive hiring partnerships is great incentive as well, but really, it’s about the creativity!
