About Us
PublicVR is dedicated to the advancement of virtual reality in education, the arts, and human factors research. We produce free software, supporting materials, and conduct research studies reported in scholarly publications. We also support installations in museums, art galleries, and research facilities. PublicVR is a non-profit (501c3) corporation funded by grants, donations, and volunteer efforts. For more information please visit our website at http://publicvr.org
We Provide
Free, open-source software which harnesses the "Unreal Engine", the software platform for many high-end video games. Our freeware (CaveUT) supports multi-screen immersive theaters (e.g ., a CAVE) and multiprojector all-digital domes (e.g. planetariums). We are also working on modifications to Unity for small domes and web-based applications. Most recently, we are also working with the Unity software platform.
A selection of ongoing open-source educational projects which authors and educators may build upon or simply use. They are always centered on a three-dimensional model of some cultural artifact (e.g. the Virtual Egyptian Temple) or scientific display (e.g. a virtual dinosaur exhibit) and include some mix of source references, additional readings, materials for educators, and links to external resources.
Publications on our website and in scholarly venues which report the results of our research and cultural heritage projects.
A Knowledge Base containing information for the construction of immersive displays. This includes average hardware prices, efficient designs and clear descriptions for assembly and set-up, and real examples of working VR sites.
A web forum for authors and users to contact us and each other (http://publicvr.org/blog). We use it to coordinate our projects, exchange technical support, and discuss best practices.
Actively support research projects for public installations of low-cost virtual reality software and its educational uses.
Sources of Support
We rely primarily on volunteer labor, grants, and contributions from the public. Our grants come primarily from government and non-profit research and cultural institutions.
Team
While we do have a board of directors and officers to keep the organization running, we have no official membership. Instead, we have a variety of projects going on at any one time and members of the public who are involved in them. They are credited in the individual projects' pages.
Please direct all inquiries to:
Dr. Jeffrey Jacobson, Ph.D., Director PublicVR
jeff@publicvr.org, 617-435-0517. Curriculum Vitae