2.177 Fall 2025
Designing Virtual Worlds
co-listed as 6.977, 2.178, CMS.342/942
Fridays, 1:30pm to 4:30pm (lecture), plus
Tuesdays or Wednesdays, 7pm to 9pm (lab)
Instructor: Ken Zolot, with visiting guests
Students work in teams of interdisciplinary peers from Berklee College of Music, Harvard University, and MIT to develop Virtual Reality experiences. As a special focus for Fall 2025, we will explore applications of XR to aerospace engineering and planetary visualizations. The three major tracks of our semester are (1) building a working VR environment using Unity; (2) mapping the state of emerging tools and ethical considerations in a new industry; and (3) interacting with visiting distinguished guests, leaders in VR/XR community, who will serve as coaches for projects. Students will have significant leeway to customize their own learning environment. Students will get access to specialized equipment and mentors.
Classes met on Fridays, starting Sep 5, 2025, ending Dec 5. Recitation/review sessions met Tuesdays or Wednesdays at 7pm - 9pm.
To see the rough notes from prior semesters, click here or here or here.
Click here to download a booklet about a prior year's class.
To request a spot in the seminar, please share your information via this form:
bit.ly/vrlearning