Bernie Roehl, Founder | Virtual Escapes

Bernie Roehl began work in the field of VR back in the early 1990s. Working with a student at the University of Waterloo, he created the world’s first open-source VR library, “REND386”, which allowed hobbyist developers to begin experimenting with the technology. He subsequently created the AVRIL library as a follow-up to REND386. His work led to him winning the 1995 Meckler award for software.

Roehl was active in the early development of VRML, and was the chair of the 1998 VRML Conference. He contributed to the development of the VRML standard and co-created the VRML Humanoid Animation specification, elements of which were later incorporated into MPEG-4. He also created Canada’s first college program in virtual reality for New Brunswick Community College. He co-developed 3DNA, the world’s first true virtual desktop software, for the company of the same name.

In addition, Roehl is the author of four books on Virtual Reality and VRML: Virtual Reality Creations (Waite Group Press), Playing God: Creating Virtual Worlds with REND386 (Waite Group Press), Using VRML (Que Publishing) and Late Night VRML (Que Publishing).He has also written numerous articles for various magazines and journals, with subject matter ranging from in-depth technical content to product reviews and introductory articles for a general readership. These pieces were featured in publications such as CyberEdge Journal, VR News, Real-Time Graphics, and Iris magazine.

With the recent resurgence of VR, Roehl has had the opportunity to work on numerous exciting projects. Notable examples include

• The LindorMelt VR Experience for Lindt Chocolates (through Deep Realities)
• ImmerView, a 360 degree stereoscopic image viewer for both photographic and pre-rendered content on Google Cardboard
• A stereoscopic 360 degree video player for BrainiUX, supporting multiple stereo formats and virtual display configurations
• A VR viewing app for UNICEF Canada (through Tiriam Immersive Media)
• A Unity plugin for a VR project by Imex Media (through Deep Realities)
• A stereoscopic 360 video player for Brampton Engineering (through Waxworks Creative)
• A small room-escape game for the Gear VR called Escape from Bunker 14 (published through his own company, Virtual Escapes Incorporated)
• A similar room-escape game for the HTC Vive called Escape the Bunker

He has been asked to contribute a chapter for the upcoming book “VR Gems”.