The Oculus-Dino project exhibition took place on February 24 and 25, 2015, in the lobby of Universidad ORT Uruguay Downtown Campus.
This project takes you on a virtual tour of the Cretaceous period, which is part of the Mesozoic era, also known as the Age of Dinosaurs.
Oculus-Dino uses Oculus Rift virtual reality technology to recreate the dinosaurs' habitat, showing how they lived and what their characteristics were.
The project was carried out as part of the Faculty of Engineering's senior thesis projects. The team consists of: Agustín Bobba, Guillermo Giovine, Carolina Martinote, Virginia Morrone, and Gonzalo Lema.
His advisor, Luis Calabria, emphasizes that the project’s significance also lies in its connection to education. “It is well known that one of the best ways to gain knowledge is through experiential learning, in which a person participates in an activity, reflects on what happened, draws conclusions, and finally incorporates the knowledge gained.”
The exhibition was a huge draw, with students, government employees, teachers, and children—many of whom were accompanied by their grandparents—lining up, eager to experience a journey through time.
Visitors could choose the type of tour they wanted to take: self-guided, guided, or assessment-based. In the latter, participants answered various questions located in the different habitats of each species.
Dinosaurs were scattered throughout the entire path—some resting, others eating, and still others sleeping, but they would wake up as visitors passed by. The ambient sounds of the birds and the dinosaurs themselves heightened the sense of realism.