Introduction to Augmented Reality
The way forward for computer interaction is rapidly changing, and in line with Barry Silverstein ’84, augmented reality will likely be the important way people interact with computers each day within the not-too-distant future. As the previous senior director of optics and display research at Meta Reality Labs Research, Silverstein believes that academia plays a critical role in guiding this future, and his alma mater, the University of Rochester, is uniquely equipped to cleared the path.
The University of Rochester’s Role in Extended Reality
Silverstein says that the University of Rochester has the technological and humanistic pieces to make prolonged reality – AR and VR combined with artificial intelligence – useful, productive, and useful for humanity. He has dreamed of bringing these pieces together for over a decade and can now have the chance to pursue this vision because the director of the University’s Center for Extended Reality (CXR). The CXR is a transdisciplinary center that may function a hub to attach the University’s experts in optics, computing, data science, neuroscience, education, the humanities, and other related fields to deal with advancing augmented and virtual reality.
A Distinguished Career in Optics
Silverstein’s optics education on the University of Rochester was rigorous, and he found it difficult but well well worth the effort. He says that his time on the University taught him tips on how to learn and gave him the boldness and methodology to learn anything he needed. After graduating in 1984, he began a 28-year profession at Eastman Kodak Company, where he worked on every part from space-based optical systems to 3D digital cinema projectors. He then moved to IMAX as senior director of research and development hardware, where he led a team to design, develop, and commercialize IMAX’s premier laser projection system.
Advancing Extended Reality
Silverstein’s path led to Meta in 2017, where he oversaw multiple teams researching and developing optical, display, and photonic technology for head-mounted AR and VR headsets. He worked to make this technology viable for commercialization and helped fund quite a few research projects on the University of Rochester in optics and beyond. Silverstein is happy to shift his focus to academia and help put other people within the position to develop and commercialize products that may reach hundreds of thousands of individuals.
The Center for Extended Reality
The CXR is a uniting force that brings together forerunners in a wide selection of disciplines to deal with a single problem. The co-leads who developed the proposal for CXR include experts from the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, the Goergen Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, and the Center for Visual Science. Silverstein is already ways to expand the scope and expertise of the CXR and is happy by the potential of combining the University’s strengths in science, technology, medicine, music, and the humanities.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the longer term of computer interaction is rapidly changing, and augmented reality is poised to play a serious role. The University of Rochester, with its unique combination of technological and humanistic expertise, is well-positioned to cleared the path in advancing prolonged reality. With the establishment of the Center for Extended Reality, the University is taking a big step forward in bringing together experts from a wide selection of disciplines to deal with a single problem. As Silverstein says, "Just as AR and VR technology enables people from far-off to return together, I view the middle as a connecting force." The way forward for prolonged reality is exciting, and the University of Rochester is on the forefront of this rapidly changing field.
