VR, AR, & Industry Eco-Innovation
Key concepts:
• using 3D and virtual reality to raise awareness via entertainment
• 3D printing of non-inert products
Art, lifestyle, entertainment, the media and related technology are not only innovating but also applying the latest technology to raise awareness. In January, HTC Vive announced the VR for Impact program, which invested $10,000,000 to support experiences that can help change the world.
The Blu
The Blu raises awareness about the world’s oceans using a free downloadable program that turns the Internet into a globally connected 3D digital ocean, backed by a group of Hollywood design veterans including Avatar animator Andy Jones, and MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito, with support from Neil Young, Richard Branson and Jean-Michel Cousteau.
The Blu won a Goody award in June 2017. The Blu directs 25% percent of the purchase price of virtual species purchased by users for their virtual ocean environments directly to non-profit collaborators to fund projects working in real ocean environments.
More…
Simulation, VR & their hybrids
A Leap Motion demo done by a user shows the potential of simulation to accomplish what would be hard to film live.
Suppose that this virtual reality fish (credit: OVA Ltd. Swimarium VR) had associated links.
While Chief Scientist at LEGO A/S Julian Gomez pioneered the use of relational databases for managing 3D information. He organized and chaired the NASA Virtual Iron Bird Workshop to push the frontiers of cross-disciplinary R&D for knowledge management. Julian has an AB with honors from UC Berkeley, and a PhD from Ohio State University. In his dissertation he generalized the science for how computer animation was done at the time. He is a member of SIGGRAPH, Web3D Consortium, the Computer Graphics Pioneers and former program chair for the Euphrat Museum of Art.
A virtual reality simulation of a honeybee was used to attract empathy for the plight of honey bees. These two examples suggest the potential for powerful hybrids of simulation and virtual reality to tell stories with power and impact beyond what we’ve seen before.
Eurostar has launched a VR ocean experience for its passengers crossing the English Channel.
3D Printing – reusing old plastic
3D printers have been used to create many things, many of them helpful to human health and the environment. But the materials used in the printing process have previously been inert, like metal, clay and ABS plastic extruded by the machines to build an object one layer at a time. Although a diverse array of useful items have been created in this way, innovation lay in the means of production and the object’s function, not in its chemistry. For example, a new sponge using 3D printed, recycled material has been developed. And 3D printing has enabled the creation of characters for entertainment and games. 
An April 2016 publication in the Science and Technology of Advanced Materials suggests potential to use 3D printing not merely to produce chemically inert objects but also to produce chemically active objects. This discovery could radically augment the future potential of 3D printing.
3D Printing: from inert to active products
American University chemistry professor Matthew Hartings leads a team that has created an ABS plastic filament with an active chemistry capable of neutralizing pollutants. To make the filament, the team added chemically active titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles to the usual plastic filament and fed it into a 3D thermoplastic printer. The material was used to print a matrix design the size and appearance of a household sponge. The resulting structure was still active even after the printing process. When natural light interacts with TiO2, a reaction occurs that breaks down pollutants.
One limitation of the research is that for the structure to print, the concentration of nanoparticles must be less than 10 percent of total mass of the structure. To achieve the desired behaviors, a higher concentration may be needed
Researchers at American University decided to shift from inert to active printing materials. They created an ABS plastic filament with an active chemistry capable of neutralizing pollutants. To make the filament, they added chemically active titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles to the usual plastic filament and fed it into a 3D thermoplastic printer. The material was used to print a matrix design the size and appearance of a household sponge. The resulting structure was still active even after the printing process.
When natural light interacts with TiO2, a reaction occurs that breaks down pollutants. To test if the printed sponge could clean polluted water, they placed it in water with an organic pollutant and it destroyed the pollutant. The researchers see this success as opening the door to other active 3D-printed objects that could serve a variety of purposes. Right now, the material can only be successfully printed at a concentration of 10 percent nanoparticles. A higher concentration would probably be needed for serious pollution control, but with improvements, this material could have many applications for reducing water, air and agricultural pollution. The team is working on printing the material into many different types of shapes to see if certain shapes affect the chemical reactivity and to see which shapes best perform against environmental pollutants. Their work was published in the journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials.
Whether the impact of 3D printing on the environment is negative or positive is a subject for debate and further study. Although 3D printing is already performing a service in providing a new use for recycled old plastic, other possibilities are envisioned. There’s a push toward cutting edge research into possible new materials for 3D printing in the future. Industry argues that 3D printing should be seen as a positive contributor (as in the chart above from harbec.com)
Julian Gomez & Zann Gill for earthDECKS