High school students have built a working prototype of VR glasses. They were supported by FAV

Four third-year students from Mikulášské Gymnasium in Pilsen took part in the 2nd year of the Grab the Lab project run by the Faculty of Applied Sciences at UWB. Over six months, they designed and partially constructed a functional prototype of smart glasses that combined augmented and VR elements.

The Grab the Lab project offers high school students who have an idea for a project but lack the equipment and expert guidance access to a well-equipped laboratory and consultations with experts from the Faculty of Applied Sciences at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen (FAV UWB). Students from the Pilsen grammar school Mikuláš Vaněček, Tomáš Krůta, Petr Váverka, and Samuel Ohera seized this opportunity. Over six months, they designed and partially constructed a prototype of smart glasses combining augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) elements. The students focused on augmented reality, in which simple user interfaces can be controlled using gestures, and applications such as Discord, a calculator, or a physical unit converter can be launched. These features are still testing, but the initial results look promising. "Martin Úbl helped us a lot. In addition to expert advice, he kept us in check with our ideas so that we didn't take on more than we could handle," said Petr Váverka about working with the FAV Talent Ambassador.

The device is built exclusively from readily available components. At the heart of the design is a Raspberry Pi microcomputer, complemented by a camera for capturing the front view, a display projecting the image into the user's field of vision, an accelerometer for motion detection, and a standard power bank as a power source. All components are built into a frame printed on a 3D printer.

The project also includes a connection to the SteamVR platform. Virtual reality is, therefore, basically functional, but to fully utilize it, hand motion sensors are still needed, which the team plans to develop in the next phase. There are also plans to add AR navigation, which would project the route in the real world directly into the glasses using a mini-map and directional arrows.

"I must say that the guys have done a tremendous job, especially considering they are 14-15 years old. Although the output was not a finished prototype that could be tested, I believe there is little left to make it possible," Martin Úbl praised the students. Although the project was unfinished, the boys shared their outputs publicly. Source codes, 3D models, and instructions are open and available online.

The students still have many other ideas, and the faculty will provide maximum support in their implementation. The same goes for the team that signed up for the third year of Grab the Lab and will work on the development of a lightweight mechanical exoskeleton with haptic feedback in the coming academic year.