Welcome to GinzaTech Training

Professional Certificate in AR/VR Development and 3D Graphics

June 2, 2021 DEADLINE EXTENDED
6 months, online DURATION
£4,999 PROGRAM FEE
15-20 hours per week Hours Content


Why Take This Program?

The rapid growth in the development of commercial applications for extended reality (XR) has led companies from every industry to seek out experienced or trained developers and engineers with AR/VR experience and skills that they can bring into XR development.

Developed by a team of XR professionals associated with GinzaTech, the seven-month Professional Certificate in AR/VR Development and 3D Graphics with Unity provides the skills and knowledge that companies such as Apple, Wayfair, Google, and Verizon value as they make the shift to XR development.

Traditional software engineers and developers (or those with computer science-related degrees) can learn the XR essentials needed to build experiences in a game engine, use scripting to create, navigate, and customize 3D graphic assets to construct virtual environments, and create a presentable prototype.

1,400%

Growth in interview demand for AR/VR engineers in the past year

74%

Of software engineers predict we will see the full impact of AR/VR within the next 5 years.

$393 billion

The global XR market is expected to reach approximately $393 billion by 2025, a CAGR of 69.4% throughout the forecast period.

Who Should Attend

This comprehensive program is designed for professionals or students with a computer science degree or equivalent development experience who want to learn XR essentials and fundamentals for developing in Unity to build AR and VR experiences, as well as use scripting to create, navigate, and customize 3D graphic assets to construct interactive virtual environments. Participants will have scripting language experience and fundamental quantitative and analytical skills (i.e. Algebra I at a minimum).

It is ideal for:

  • Software Developers/Engineers looking to understand the working fundamentals of XR development using Unity and the C# interactions that apply to it, how to create AR/VR prototypes and develop the skills to build their career in XR.
  • UX/AR/VR/XR Developers seeking to gain a deeper understanding of XR technologies and how to use them, learn how to create a complete XR project pitch for their clients, and expand their technical knowledge of virtual reality development.
  • Game Developers who want to understand the game design principles that guide XR, gain mastery of the Unity editor and build end-to-end XR solutions for their clients or client organizations, and learn how to construct a VR environment and understand functioning of computer graphics.
  • Creative Developers/Technologists seeking to understand what enhances the front-end user experience (and the tools to implement it), how to edit and optimize 3D assets and develop an understanding of the mathematics applications needed to create and customize 3D experiences as well as the ability to produce functional prototypes.


Key Takeaways

  • Build foundational skills and knowledge to develop XR experiences with Unity
  • Apply C# programming to customize Unity components
  • Apply AR and VR concepts and 3D graphics programming to develop XR applications
  • Understand the roles, interactions, and workflows within the XR development ecosystem
  • Create a portfolio with a variety of digital samples, including a final project that features a prototype, pitch, and documentation


Program Topics

The seven-month program is divided into five sections that explore the foundations of XR, 3D math and Unity development, construction of virtual environments, and high definition XR. It culminates in a project development phase and capstone project.

Week 1:

Introduction to Extended Reality

Get an overview of the past, present, and future of extended reality.

Week 2:

XR Design Principles

Explore the design principles essential for effective XR development, and consider the roles, interactions, and workflows within an XR project.

Week 3:

Developing with a Game Engine

Recognize the role that game engines play within XR architecture, and set up Unity for successful development.

Week 4:

Unity Basics and Vector Fundamentals

Develop knowledge of the Unity GUI, and learn how to import assets and GameObjects to utilize in project development, and how to create a Rube Goldberg machine. Explore the use of vector mathematics in Unity.

Week 5:

Scripting in Unity

Apply C# programming to create custom Unity components. Apply the concepts of prefabs, transform API, materials, and vector multiplication and projection within Unity.

Week 6:

Scripting for Interaction

Explore the Input System Package to create a character controller. Apply C# scripting, physics, rigidbodies, colliders, matrix mathematics, and Unity coroutines to GameObjects to create interactivity and to create your own roll-a-ball scene.

Week 7:

UI and Animation

Use tools within Unity to create a functioning UI within a scene. Add animations to GameObjects and apply matrix mathematics to Unity development.

Week 8:

Raycasting and Quaternions

Apply raycasting to inform interactions, and explore how Unity utilizes quaternion and matrices to represent rotations in 3D space.

Week 9:

Introduction to AR Development: Image Tracking

Get an overview of AR development frameworks and learn to apply image tracking-based AR using Vuforia with Unity.

Week 10:

AR Development: Object Tracking

Create AR experiences leveraging object recognition techniques and interactions.

Week 11:

AR Development: Surface Tracking

Learn about SLAM and AR Foundation and use AR Foundation in Unity to detect surface types and create code to load on a mobile device.

Week 12:

Introduction to VR Prototyping in Unity

Explore the Unity XR Interaction Toolkit, grey boxing, and 6 DoF room-scale VR by creating an end-to-end XR experience.

Week 13:

Complex Interactions

Create complex interactions using hand avatars. Design physical user interfaces to add to XR environments.

Week 14:

From Zero to Shaders

Get a crash course in computer graphics and an introduction to writing shaders in Unity.

Week 15:

From Shaders to Shader Graph

Explore scriptable rendering pipelines in Unity to create shaders using the shader graph.

Week 16:

Lighting Virtual Worlds

Construct a virtual environment exploring lighting technologies in Unity’s Universal Rendering Pipeline.

Week 17:

Managing Virtual Worlds

Build a system to manage virtual worlds and deploy to Oculus Quest.

Week 18:

High Definition Visualization with the HDRP

Explore the advanced materials and lighting workflows in Architectural Visualization. Contrast HDRP and URP.

Week 19:

Creating a Realistic Visualization

Use HDRP tools and assets to construct an architectural visualization.

Week 20:

Creating Realistic Interactions

Work with the new runtime animation rigging system in Unity to create dynamic hand poses that increase the realism and immersion of XR experiences.

Week 21:

Procedural Animation

Use the VFX Graph technology in unity to create visual effects and procedural animation that will add rich visuals to XR experiences.

Week 22:

Styleframe and R&D

Determine your plan for your project style and techniques, then align your process with your plan.

Week 23:

Project Planning, Scoping, and Designing for Documentation

Align your career and project production goals, and think through your project in detail to build a production schedule. Learn how to analyze and effectively communicate. through documentation.

Week 24:

Designing UX and Getting User Feedback

Consider user onboarding and UX design for your prototype. Design your own user survey to elicit user feedback and determine how user feedback impacts your project development.

Week 25:

Strategic Project Development

Evaluate your project development schedule and dedicate time for development. Special project development topics are highlighted.

Week 26:

Feedback

Get, give, and incorporate peer feedback into your prototype and documentation development.

Week 27:

Distribution and Documentation

Learn to identify your audience and what they care about, communicate your project to them simply and clearly, and get it into their hands as easily as possible.

Week 28:

Project Presentation

Present and share your capstone project.

Week 1:

Introduction to Extended Reality

Get an overview of the past, present, and future of extended reality.

Week 15:

From Shaders to Shader Graph

Explore scriptable rendering pipelines in Unity to create shaders using the shader graph.

Week 2:

XR Design Principles

Explore the design principles essential for effective XR development, and consider the roles, interactions, and workflows within an XR project.

Week 16:

Lighting Virtual Worlds

Construct a virtual environment exploring lighting technologies in Unity’s Universal Rendering Pipeline.

Week 3:

Developing with a Game Engine

Recognize the role that game engines play within XR architecture, and set up Unity for successful development.

Week 17:

Managing Virtual Worlds

Build a system to manage virtual worlds and deploy to Oculus Quest.

Week 4:

Unity Basics and Vector Fundamentals

Develop knowledge of the Unity GUI, and learn how to import assets and GameObjects to utilize in project development, and how to create a Rube Goldberg machine. Explore the use of vector mathematics in Unity.

Week 18:

High Definition Visualization with the HDRP

Explore the advanced materials and lighting workflows in Architectural Visualization. Contrast HDRP and URP.

Week 5:

Scripting in Unity

Apply C# programming to create custom Unity components. Apply the concepts of prefabs, transform API, materials, and vector multiplication and projection within Unity.

Week 19:

Creating a Realistic Visualization

Use HDRP tools and assets to construct an architectural visualization.

Week 6:

Scripting for Interaction

Explore the Input System Package to create a character controller. Apply C# scripting, physics, rigidbodies, colliders, matrix mathematics, and Unity coroutines to GameObjects to create interactivity and to create your own roll-a-ball scene.

Week 20:

Creating Realistic Interactions

Work with the new runtime animation rigging system in Unity to create dynamic hand poses that increase the realism and immersion of XR experiences.

Week 7:

UI and Animation

Use tools within Unity to create a functioning UI within a scene. Add animations to GameObjects and apply matrix mathematics to Unity development.

Week 21:

Procedural Animation

Use the VFX Graph technology in unity to create visual effects and procedural animation that will add rich visuals to XR experiences.

Week 8:

Raycasting and Quaternions

Apply raycasting to inform interactions, and explore how Unity utilizes quaternion and matrices to represent rotations in 3D space.

Week 22:

Styleframe and R&D

Determine your plan for your project style and techniques, then align your process with your plan.

Week 9:

Introduction to AR Development: Image Tracking

Get an overview of AR development frameworks and learn to apply image tracking-based AR using Vuforia with Unity.

Week 23:

Project Planning, Scoping, and Designing for Documentation

Align your career and project production goals, and think through your project in detail to build a production schedule. Learn how to analyze and effectively communicate. through documentation.

Week 10:

AR Development: Object Tracking

Create AR experiences leveraging object recognition techniques and interactions.

Week 24:

Designing UX and Getting User Feedback

Consider user onboarding and UX design for your prototype. Design your own user survey to elicit user feedback and determine how user feedback impacts your project development.

Week 11:

AR Development: Surface Tracking

Learn about SLAM and AR Foundation and use AR Foundation in Unity to detect surface types and create code to load on a mobile device.

Week 25:

Strategic Project Development

Evaluate your project development schedule and dedicate time for development. Special project development topics are highlighted.

Week 12:

Introduction to VR Prototyping in Unity

Explore the Unity XR Interaction Toolkit, grey boxing, and 6 DoF room-scale VR by creating an end-to-end XR experience.

Week 26:

Feedback

Get, give, and incorporate peer feedback into your prototype and documentation development.

Week 13:

Complex Interactions

Create complex interactions using hand avatars. Design physical user interfaces to add to XR environments.

Week 27:

Distribution and Documentation

Learn to identify your audience and what they care about, communicate your project to them simply and clearly, and get it into their hands as easily as possible.

Week 14:

From Zero to Shaders

Get a crash course in computer graphics and an introduction to writing shaders in Unity.

Week 28:

Project Presentation

Present and share your capstone project.



Capstone Project

For your capstone project, you will take an idea from pitch to prototype to presentation. While your project will be unique to your interests and professional needs, it will incorporate essential elements, skills, and principles of XR design and development.


Program Experience

Video Lectures
Assignments
Discussions
Real-World Tools & Technology



Capstone Project
Career Support & Mentoring
Dedicated Program Support Team
Mobile Learning App


Career Preparation and Guidance

Stepping into a career in XR development requires both hard and soft skills. The Professional Certificate in Extended Reality Development with Unity program offers guidance for navigating a career path in XR development, including:

These services are provided by GinzaTech, our learning collaborator for this program. Our program support team includes course leaders to help you reach your learning goals. It is our primary goal to give you the skills needed to be prepared for a job in this field, however we do not guarantee job placement.