Look in the Lab — Fall 2022
Fall 2022 Newsletter
This fall has been filled with wins for UNC athletics — field hockey claimed its 10th NCAA title, and we’ve got a Heisman-worthy candidate in Drake Maye and an ITA National Champion in Fiona Crawley, among other Ws. They’re not the only ones winning though! Read through to hear about some of Blue Sky Innovations’ “victories” from this fall.
The Latest
As Thanksgiving approaches, we’re spending time reflecting on what we’re grateful for. At the Lab, we’re thankful for our community — including all of you — and the opportunities we’ve had to work on some stellar projects this fall. From partnering with the Marching Tar Heels to attending Kenan-Flagler’s groundbreaking, there have been lots of projects worth celebrating!
Blue Sky Innovations Hosted In-Person Opportunities
For the first time, the Reese Lab opened its doors to the general public for two in-person events! Through these hands-on opportunities, we were able to share our work in emerging technologies and stir excitement about the future of tech. We hosted BSI’s inaugural open house and followed that up with a hybrid talk, “What’s Next in Emerging Tech?”
It was extremely rewarding to see folks engaging with our technologies first-hand. At the Open House, visitors saw themselves as 3D point clouds through volumetric capture, felt the gravitational forces of a rollercoaster in virtual reality, and engaged with our robot journalist, Loomo, who even snapped some photos of the event. During our emerging tech talk, guests joined us in person and in our Metaverse classroom to hear from our experts on the future of robotics and artificial intelligence.
If you couldn’t join us this time around, don’t despair — we’re planning for another open house in the spring! Details forthcoming (and we’ll make sure you all are the first to hear 😉). In the meantime, feel free to browse through the images from the event on our website.
VR Debuted at Kenan-Flagler Business School Groundbreaking
Our partners at UNC Kenan-Flagler celebrated the groundbreaking of Steven D. Bell Hall in late September. We were fortunate enough to have been invited to join in the festivities, contributing to the event in the best way we know how: through virtual reality. Blue Sky Innovations conceptualized and produced an architectural 3D tour that helped users envision themselves in the new space.
Halloween Surprise Developed Alongside Marching Tar Heels
We had the opportunity to collaborate with UNC’s marching band on their halftime performance at the October 29th home game vs. Pittsburgh. The show, which was Stranger Things-themed, featured augmented reality (AR) elements developed by the Lab. The team, comprised of Joe Laird, Claire Revere, Bhargav Bompalli, and Liz Gibson, developed visual elements using Adobe After Effects, Blender, and 8th Wall to overlay atop a video feed of the band’s performance. The resulting experience, featuring a larger-than-life 3D model of Vecna and Rameses crushing a guitar solo à la Eddie Munson, helped bring the Upside Down to Kenan Stadium.
A repeat performance is scheduled for the senior night game on Nov. 25th vs. North Carolina State University, so if you want to rock out to “Running Up That Hill” and see our AR on the stadium’s big screen, grab your tickets for the game!
Project Spotlight: The Blank Odyssey
Innovation Fellow, Myla Athitang, is currently leading the game development and graphic design for our educational game, The Blank Odyssey. The goal of the experience is to increase awareness and pursuit of post-secondary education opportunities among North Carolina students. Within the game, players are able to explore a variety of careers — from nursing to managing a restaurant — and learn about the educational odysseys of pursuing them.
As her first experience in project management, Myla described the opportunity to lead this project as both “rewarding and challenging.” In addition to overseeing its progress, Myla focuses on creating pixel sprites and animations, which bring the game to life in an immersive way. “I don’t think a teacher telling students to go into a specific profession is as inspiring as experiencing the options themselves. This game gives them the opportunity to do so.”
Filming Wrapped for New DEI Experience
Producers, filmmakers, actors, and subject matter experts gathered on-site to film our new, 180-degree VR experience. The virtual reality-based (v-learning) module is aimed at helping employees learn vital interpersonal skills, such as responsible decision-making, to promote a culture of inclusion in the workplace. The research-backed project has been months in the making, and it’s thrilling to see the production stage come to a close.
We’re enthused about using emerging technologies for good, helping individuals to become more self-aware and inclusive. Considering what we’ve accomplished and what’s next, Chief Innovation Officer Steven King shared, “After seeing the scene come to life, I’m really looking forward to testing the pilot and seeing how audiences respond to this interactive story.” We’ll be testing the efficacy of this v-learning module in the coming weeks and iterating the design to improve its impact.
To stay up to date on these projects and be the first to know about new opportunities at Blue Sky Innovations, connect with us on social media @uncbluesky and consider subscribing to our mailing list!
