Mark Bolas
Encyclopedia
Mark Bolas is a researcher exploring perception, agency, and intelligence. He is an Associate Professor of Interactive Media in the USC Interactive Media Division
, USC School of Cinematic Arts
at the University of Southern California
, Director of their Interactive Narrative and Immersive Technologies Lab, Director of Mixed Reality Laboratory at USC's Institute of Creative Technology, and chairman of Fakespace Labs in Mountain View, California
.
Bolas majored in Physics
and minored in Music
at University of California, San Diego
. He holds an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering
from Stanford University
. Bolas’s 1988-89 thesis work “Design and Virtual Environments” was done under the direction of Rolf Faste
in Stanford's design program and Scott Fisher
at NASA Ames Research Center
. It was among the first efforts to map the breadth of virtual reality
as a new medium. This effort led Bolas toward a basic model for immersive experience design, concluding that the medium’s power to deeply transport a user is closely tied to finding an appropriate balance between realism and abstraction.
In 1988, Bolas co-founded Fakespace Inc. with Ian McDowall
and Eric Lorimer to build instrumentation for research labs to explore virtual reality. This work resulted in the invention of display and interaction tools used by many VR research and development centers around the world, including the BOOM (Binocular Omni-Orientation Monitor), the Pinch glove
, the RAVE, and VLIB software.
Bolas continues to explore the nature of virtual reality through the design of immersive experiences. His work focuses on creating virtual environments and transducers that fully engage one’s perception and cognition, and create a visceral memory of the experience. His work has been exhibited in many venues including six Emerging Technology exhibits at Siggraph
starting in 1991 with Flatlands, which used the illusion of perspective to transform a sculpture into Mondrian
's Composition with Line, 1918; the music-driven worlds of Vacuii and StillLife created with Christian Greuel and Niko Bolas
; and the invisibly structured Snared Illumination created with Perry Hoberman
and Ian McDowall.
He has been a professor at Stanford University and Keio University
exploring tangible interfaces, augmented reality
, and computational illumination. These projects have explored context sensitive audio interfaces, socially interactive toys, augmented reality, confocal illumination, and mobile phone web logging.
USC Interactive Media Division
The University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts's Interactive Media Division first accepted students in 2002. In addition to coursework in film production, screenwriting, and animation, students in the division study across three disciplines within interactive media: immersive...
, USC School of Cinematic Arts
USC School of Cinematic Arts
The USC School of Cinematic Arts, until 2006 named the School of Cinema-Television , is a film school within the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. It is the oldest and largest such school in the United States, established in 1929 as a joint venture with the Academy of...
at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, Director of their Interactive Narrative and Immersive Technologies Lab, Director of Mixed Reality Laboratory at USC's Institute of Creative Technology, and chairman of Fakespace Labs in Mountain View, California
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
.
Bolas majored in Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and minored in Music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
at University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
. He holds an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. Bolas’s 1988-89 thesis work “Design and Virtual Environments” was done under the direction of Rolf Faste
Rolf Faste
Rolf A. Faste was an American designer who made major contributions to the field of human-centered design and design education. He was director of the Stanford Joint Program in Design from 1984-2003.-Early life and education:...
in Stanford's design program and Scott Fisher
Scott Fisher
Scott Fisher may refer to:*Scott Fisher *Scott Fisher See also*Scott Fischer, American climber*Scott Fischer, Author...
at NASA Ames Research Center
NASA Ames Research Center
The Ames Research Center , is one of the United States of America's National Aeronautics and Space Administration 10 major field centers.The centre is located in Moffett Field in California's Silicon Valley, near the high-tech companies, entrepreneurial ventures, universities, and other...
. It was among the first efforts to map the breadth of virtual reality
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
as a new medium. This effort led Bolas toward a basic model for immersive experience design, concluding that the medium’s power to deeply transport a user is closely tied to finding an appropriate balance between realism and abstraction.
In 1988, Bolas co-founded Fakespace Inc. with Ian McDowall
Ian McDowall
Ian McDowall is the CEO of Fakespace Labs, a research and products company in Mountain View California. He is one of the founders of Fakespace, started in 1991, and developed hardware and software for high end scientific and government virtual reality applications...
and Eric Lorimer to build instrumentation for research labs to explore virtual reality. This work resulted in the invention of display and interaction tools used by many VR research and development centers around the world, including the BOOM (Binocular Omni-Orientation Monitor), the Pinch glove
Wired glove
A wired glove is an input device for human–computer interaction worn like a glove.Various sensor technologies are used to capture physical data such as bending of fingers. Often a motion tracker, such as a magnetic tracking device or inertial tracking device, is attached to capture the global...
, the RAVE, and VLIB software.
Bolas continues to explore the nature of virtual reality through the design of immersive experiences. His work focuses on creating virtual environments and transducers that fully engage one’s perception and cognition, and create a visceral memory of the experience. His work has been exhibited in many venues including six Emerging Technology exhibits at Siggraph
SIGGRAPH
SIGGRAPH is the name of the annual conference on computer graphics convened by the ACM SIGGRAPH organization. The first SIGGRAPH conference was in 1974. The conference is attended by tens of thousands of computer professionals...
starting in 1991 with Flatlands, which used the illusion of perspective to transform a sculpture into Mondrian
Piet Mondrian
Pieter Cornelis "Piet" Mondriaan, after 1906 Mondrian , was a Dutch painter.He was an important contributor to the De Stijl art movement and group, which was founded by Theo van Doesburg. He evolved a non-representational form which he termed Neo-Plasticism...
's Composition with Line, 1918; the music-driven worlds of Vacuii and StillLife created with Christian Greuel and Niko Bolas
Niko Bolas
Niko Bolas is an American music producer, sound engineer, and consultant and business developer in the fields of virtual reality and Internet radio...
; and the invisibly structured Snared Illumination created with Perry Hoberman
Perry Hoberman
Perry Hoberman , is an installation artist who has worked extensively with machines and media. His career has included stints with Laurie Anderson and the USC Interactive Media Division....
and Ian McDowall.
He has been a professor at Stanford University and Keio University
Keio University
,abbreviated as Keio or Keidai , is a Japanese university located in Minato, Tokyo. It is known as the oldest institute of higher education in Japan. Founder Fukuzawa Yukichi originally established it as a school for Western studies in 1858 in Edo . It has eleven campuses in Tokyo and Kanagawa...
exploring tangible interfaces, augmented reality
Augmented reality
Augmented reality is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is...
, and computational illumination. These projects have explored context sensitive audio interfaces, socially interactive toys, augmented reality, confocal illumination, and mobile phone web logging.