OP3FT - Apprenticeship
Lead Developer Tools & VR/MR
OP3FT (Organization for the Promotion, Protection and Progress of Frogans Technology) is a non-profit, dedicated and independent technology standardization organization (SDO), whose purpose is to own, promote, protect and develop Frogans technology as an open Internet standard for free use by all. In this respect, it is comparable to other SDOs, such as the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) or the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force). More generally, OP3FT's overall aim is to encourage the development of an Internet that is secure, stable and favorable to innovation
I joined OP3FT, first as an intern in April 2023 and then on a work-study apprenticeship contract in September 2023, to integrate and adapt Frogans technology into a VR and AR/MR universe, then to create application tools with the FPRT technologie. At first, I started my missions alone, then I had the opportunity to be proactive by recruiting 2 interns and becoming Lead developper to lead them in their work.
I was able to demonstrate the opportunities offered by the Unity engine by developing several software tools to improve the Frogans Technology test chain and help produce sites in FSDL (a language specific to the technology).
Finally, I was able to present my work on two occasions at the Vivatech exhibition in 2023 and 2024 to the various visitors who came to our stand, providing an opportunity to get feedback on our progress and learn how to explain my work to all types of audience.
FPUI VR - VR Project Frogans
My first assignment as an intern was to adapt Frogans technology to VR. The organization had never been in this field, so I appeared to be the expert on the Unity engine and VR. As time went by, I was able to make proposals, always putting the future user at the center of our thinking.
In the early days, Frogans technology wasn't yet usable in C#, so I had to make do at first with fake sites to be able to implement the first features, while thinking about the future and preparing my code for easy transfer to real sites.
FPUI VR - Overview
For the sites, I decided to do everything via Unity's UI module, placing the Canvas in “World” mode so that they could be positioned as desired in a 3D scene. I received the site textures as byte arrays, which I transformed into 2D textures.
Via the Unity XR package, I had access to precise events such as the hover on a site and the position to which I was pointing. I also modified some move scripts to be able to catch and move a site from a distance.
Here's an image of what it looks like when you're in it.
Fake Site Construction Tool
At the start of my internship, I didn't have access to the FPRT library, so I didn't have a Frogans site.
Not knowing when this would be possible, I decided to create a tool to produce a fake Frogans site, with full functionality such as navigation and hover effects. All I had to do was place the elements and create each page in the editor.
This allowed me to anticipate all the future functionalities I was going to have to implement, and to save an enormous amount of time when adding FPRT to the project. I was able to switch from my system to FPRT in less than a morning!
FPUI MR - MR Project Frogans
After this first project and the arrival of the Quest 3 on the market, we decided to give me the first task of my apprenticeship to make an adaptation of Frogans technology, but this time in MR (Mixed Reality).
Thanks to the new functionalities offered by the headset and the Meta XR plugin for Unity, we had access to Hand Tracking, giving us new and even more natural ways of interacting with Frogans sites.
It was also at this time that new projects were coming into my hands, so I asked to recruit two interns to assist me. I then officially became lead of the VR/MR division of the organization.
FPUI MR - Overview
With Hand Tracking, we've added a simpler, more “live” way of interacting with sites. Simply grab them and you can take them with you, move them or even reduce their size.
We've also taken the opportunity to redesign the menus and make the UI even more minimalist, so that it's easy to use.
We also tried to take into account the scenery around the user, so that the sites could be really anchored in the decor and, for example, disappear if they were behind a piece of furniture, but unfortunately the plugin and the technology were still in the development phase, so it was still too buggy when we tried it out.
FPRT QA - FPRT Debug Tool
A major problem faces at OP3FT with regard to the development process for FPRT, the main software library that governs the operation of the various versions of Frogans Player on the different platforms. Indeed, the development team had difficulty finding bugs in their work, as simple tests during the coding phase were not sufficient to faithfully reproduce the behavior of a human using interfaces.
Seeing how easy it was to create interfaces on Unity, we decided to create a project tool, which we called FPRT QA (Frogans Player RunTime Quality Assurance), with the aim of providing FPRT developers with simple interfaces for recreating user situations. This project also had a second future purpose, as I was using an older version of FPUI VR and AR in parallel, so the architecture linking the software library to Unity would already be in place and ready.
FPRT QA - Overview
In coordination with the other developers at the top end of FPRT, I therefore set up a complete architecture in C# that would allow me to be flexible enough to quickly add the new functionalities they were going to create, and to find bugs very quickly.
I then created a set of very basic menus, a custom console enabling them to see whether or not the library was working properly, and a simulation of certain features, such as the launch of a Frogans site opening via an HTML link.
Slide Preview - FSDL Site Construction Tool
OP3FT's intention was to release Frogans technology in beta at the start of 2024, along with the new version of the FSDL language, FSDL 4.0. Until then, the only way to view the Frogans sites we developed was through the test version of Frogans Player. However, in our situation, FPRT was not yet ready to display sites, so no current Frogans Player was suitable. What's more, the software library for displaying FSDL 4.0 wasn't quite ready, and still needed feedback to be improved.
Unable to wait for all this, my team created a tool for viewing and giving precise information on Frogans sites in FSDL 4.0. This tool was intended, firstly, to find bugs and give feedback to the software library; secondly, it was to enable our FSDL developers to convert their old Frogans demo sites into this new version of FSDL, while at the same time getting details of what might be causing problems (for example, the fact that they were too heavy).
Slide Preview - Overview
The application is fairly basic in its use: the FSDL developer who is creating his site gives his file to our tool, which will be able to display it to him, enable him to interact and get details on what might be causing him problems, such as the fact that they are too heavy.
The two major difficulties we faced were making the application executable on the various operating systems available, and enabling FSDL files present on the developer's computer to be read. Each operating system has its own rules in terms of application and file management, and the aim is to adapt to all this. So I've tackled these two issues in order to find solutions quickly.
The Demonstrations
Throughout my career, I've had to present my work to both stockholders and the general public, in both French and English. I've never had too much trouble speaking in public, but I've learned to adapt to each audience and to promote the image of technology in any situation. It was a great experience, allowing me to gain confidence and get feedback on my work.
Vivatech / La Poste / VR&AR Headset
On two occasions, I was able to take part in Vivatech, France's leading technology show in Paris, to present my work. As the person in charge of the virtual reality headset, I was also there on the technical side to help with hardware configuration or to help others get to grips with the technology through courses or tutorials that I produced for them.
I was also able to help give a demonstration to the La Poste group, which was very interested in Frogans technology.
Finally, I wasn't working directly on it, but I was also in charge of developing the version of FPUI running on Apple's Vision OS headset, which also gave me the chance to try it out and have a bit of fun with it!
Vivatech 2023
Test Apple Vision
Demonstration at La Poste Group
Vivatech 2024
