AR / VR

AR app using Maya3D, Vuforia and Unity to show proposed orbital pathways for satellites. This simple app lets the user swap between different orbit types, such as a visualization of a satellite traveling to orbit the moon, and unsual orbits around non-spherical bodies like asteroids.

One challenge of this project was interpreting the 3D data, which was stored in an Avizo3D project, which I had never used before. I poked around the software long enough to find a way to download the 3D position unit iteration data into a .csv file. Then I wrote a MEL script in Maya that loaded the .csv file into 3D locators in the Maya scene. From there, I extrapolated a cube from the start point over, to the last point in the dataset, creating a curved surface when viewed holistically.

Then I modeled and animated a satellite along this projected pathway, exported the animation as a .fbx into Unity. From there I built a simple user interface to rotate the model and swap between different orbits. The final deployement used a custom tracking surface with Purdue's colors and the Envision Center logo, to display the orbits. This project was built and deployed for Android.

FlightSimScreenshot.png

Android app that plays 360 VR video of a flight training simulation at Purdue SIML.

For this project, I worked with Aviation students and filmed their take-off procedure using a 360 camera. The pilots went through flight check, then we filmed 2 scenarios: one where the plane takes off as normal, and one where the pilot aborts too late, and rides into the end of the runway. I combined these videos together into an Android app that plays the first part, then lets the user choose whether to abort or continue when at a critical decision time.

One challenge of this project was realizing 360 video was not necessary as we only needed to look forward, and it aided the user in keeping focused on the task. I adjusted the camera rig to shoot in 180 then used this recording the final build.

Networked VoiP VR solution emphasizing voice communication. The app connects players by taking local collaborators and puts them into a virtual scene together.

The challenge of this project was learning how network programming is easy with small data, but doing it for larger data packets such as audio makes things much more complicated. So I learned why specific audio codecs were important and how to use them to convert audio data into bytes to be sent over the network. The other challenge with this project was developing a multiplayer VR experience as a solo made debugging take a lot longer than expected. The environment was built by Wenyu Zhao.

3D / VFX

This animation was crafted as a concept and marketing solution for an augmented reality telementoring solution for field surgery. The team of computer scientists working on this technology are working on problems such as computer vision and networking connection to enable remote surgery operations that utilizes a guided professional.

My contributions to this project include compositing, VFX, editing, and audio. On a two-man team, my other teammate Ivan Spalla built the environment and animated the characters in Maya, where he exported matte frames so that I could add VFX and do layered compositing. One interesting tool we used for this project was setting a camera where the tablet camera would be located, so that we could more accurately render what the pass-through display might render in real life.

This project was a collaboration with astronaut Buzz Aldrin, using Maya, Houdini, and After Effects to build 3D animations and VFX to show the mars orbiter process for landing on Mars. The spacecraft is still being discussed at NASA, but the concept can be shown here by our team of students. Students from Purdue's 3D modeling course, along with students in the VFX course contributed to the animations. My contributions include leading the VFX team and compositing the final 3D assets together for the final cuts.

This solo project was building a 3D virtual environment of the lobby scene from the Matrix using Unreal's BSP brush and starter content. The purpose of this project was to improve my skills at building 3D environments, while working on the confines of the UE4 game engine. The Matrix personally had a major impact on my formative growth, and the lobby scene is unarguably the best from the entire trilogy.

This team project was creating a concept for an 'old final fantasy-esque game' that teaches marketing and business education to disadvantaged women in India. The idea is by educating these women, we can empower them with technology using the internet as a mercantile tool. The goal of the application was to certify these women to be able to run their own businesses selling the things they make on a day to day basis.

This concept video was built using After Effects, utilizing spritesheets previously built by another artist. This project was a challenge as we had to build the entire map using sprites, with no 'level design', so the world map was generated out of our own design. Due to the insane number of sprites, technically I had to create proxies for the landscape and static objects so that the memory in After Effects could render the compositions. For the animating, I swapped between positions on the spritesheet every update (10 fps), to playback the spritesheet like a flipbook to create the animation. Then while the main character navigates the environment, she is standing still and the entire world is being repositioned around her to give the illusion of her traveling.

This solo project is an Unreal scene of Crash Cove from Crash Team Racing - one of my favorite games of all time. The tools I learned with this project include terrain sculpting and landscape materials. While the landscape design was calming, the challenge of this project was recreating the scene with only a few old Youtube videos to work from a reference. Other contributions include the Airship by Ivan Spalla.

Video

A wedding video for my good friends Tanner and Alex Givens. My contributions include production and editing. Videography by Kayla Steckel.

A music video for my band, Different Pulse. My bandmates and I filmed ourselves in a green screen room for one of our songs, We'll Get By. On-site filming/direction by Julia Perez. My contributions include on-set technical direction, motion graphics, editing, and time syncing.

A student film for a class project. My team included 25 graphics students working in small teams including film, 3D, VFX, compositing, and audio. My contributions include leading the overall production as project manager.

A charity film to promote "Freezone" at Purdue's Freshman orientation program. This video shows off the unified idea of inclusion and compassion coming out of the Purdue orientation program. My friends running the program for ~6000 students asked me to help create this video to be shown during the opening ceremonies of orientation week. My contributions include filming and producing the video.

Alex Stamm

XR | Research | Streaming

github.com/alexstamm

AR / VR

3D / VFX

Video