Dennis Ippel
Verified Expert in Engineering
Augmented Reality (AR) Developer
Bussum, Netherlands
Toptal member since May 26, 2014
A creative technology expert with 15+ years experience, Dennis has worked for over eight years for top ad agencies and production companies in London, UK. He makes high-end websites, digital installations and mobile apps, and he specializes in 3D, VR, and AR. He has worked for clients such as Nike, Ferrari, Fiat, Mini, EA, Disney, Unilever, and Intel, and he is the creator and lead developer of Rajawali, an open-source 3D framework for Android.
Portfolio
Experience
- C# - 7 years
- Augmented Reality (AR) - 6 years
- Unity3D - 6 years
- Three.js - 5 years
- Virtual Reality (VR) - 4 years
- OpenCV - 4 years
- ARKit - 1 year
Availability
Preferred Environment
Unreal Engine 4, Unity, Xcode, Visual Studio, MacOS, Windows
The most amazing...
...project I've worked on is my open-source 3D framework, which I got to see grow and receive contributions from developers all over the world.
Work Experience
Unity3D Virtual Reality Developer
Cortina Productions
- Created a virtual reality experience for the National Soccer Hall of Fame in the Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The physical installation consisted of four VR stations.
- Used SteamVR with a HTC Vive headset.
- Created custom physics for a shootout game.
- Optimized and adjusted 3D motion capture animations.
Unity Photon Networking Engineer
PlusOne
- Used Windows Mixed Reality with an Acer Mixed Reality headset.
- Used Photon Unity Networking (PUN) for multi-player networking.
Augmented Reality Developer
NearMeAR
- Built the foundation of an SDK and a proof of concept app using Unity3D.
- Built a native plugin for Android using Java, C++, JNI.
- Built a native plugin for iOS using Objective-C.
- Used Vuforia for the Augmented Reality part.
Freelance Android Developer
Kontouré (via Toptal)
- Built an Android prototype using OpenCV and Visage to explore the difference in performance.
- Built an iOS app that was published to the app store.
- Built a CMS using PHP, HTML and JavaScript.
- Implemented Visage for face tracking.
- Used SceneKit for 3D rendering.
Unreal Engine 4/Kinect Developer
MPC
- User detection and isolation using the Kinect SDK.
- Created UE4 C++ blueprints for custom video capture.
- Used Nvidia ShadowPlay for Video Capture.
Freelance Game Developer
Re:Creative Studios (via Toptal)
- Implemented online multiplayer gaming for their “Ultimate Cornhole 3D” game.
- Used Unity3D with C#.
- Used PlayFab and Photon for online multiplayer gaming.
- Helped them build a new game called “Ultimate Horseshoes”.
Co-founder, Developer, Designer, 3D modeler, Animator
Dara Technologies
- Developed an augmented reality children's book concept.
- Built an interactive AR demo in Unity3D.
- Created 3D models in Blender.
- Rigged and animated 3D models.
- Built and designed the company website and campaign page.
Senior Android Developer
MPC
- Created a video recording and processing app for the X-Factor TV show.
Virtual Reality Developer
Stinkdigital
- Built a virtual reality tour through one of the world's most famous music studios.
WebGL Developer
Rehabstudio
- Built a WebGL prototype for one of the world's biggest tech companies.
Augmented Reality Developer
Rehabstudio
- Built an augmented reality app using Vuforia AR SDK, Rajawali 3D Framework and 4D Views animations (real-time generated textured meshes acquired from multi-camera video).
Unity3D Developer
MPC
- Built an animation editor using Unity3D and Mixamo animations.
Freelance Augmented Reality Developer
Medikidz (via Toptal)
- Built a cross-platform app using Unity3D and C#.
- Used Vuforia for Augmented Reality.
- Built an app to teach children about various diseases and types of medicine.
Senior Android Developer
MPC
- Created a video recording and processing app for the X-Factor TV show.
Competency Lead
AKQA
- Curated “The Room,” a space that showcases new technologies applied in a meaningful way.
- Found new ways to help the creative research and development (CR&D) team learn and develop.
- Helped educate the agency around the things that CR&D do, and kept evolving the craft of creative development within the team and the agency.
- Developed rich, interactive experiences, mobile applications and interactive installations, for clients including Nike, Vodafone, Nissan, and Unilever.
- Performed rapid prototyping for proofs of concept and pitches.
Senior Creative Developer
AKQA
- Developed rich interactive experiences, mobile applications, games, and interactive installations for clients, including Nike, Ferrari, Orange, Heineken, and EA.
- Performed rapid prototyping for proofs of concept and pitches.
- Configured continuous integration and build tools.
Senior Creative Technologist
Agency Republic
- Architected and built rich internet applications using Flex & Flash for clients including O2 and Jose Cuervo.
- Worked as project lead and mentor.
Senior Creative Developer
AKQA
- Architected and built rich internet applications using Flex & Flash for clients including Nike, Yell, Johnnie Walker, Fiat, and Orange.
- Worked as project lead and mentor.
- Built mini games using Papervision3D.
- Created and optimized 3D assets for games and websites.
Web Developer
Evident Interactive
- Developed sites and banners.
- Architected and built rich internet applications.
- Built semantic, W3C compliant websites.
- Worked as mentor and trainer.
- Advised the management and sales teams about new technologies.
Java Developer
Atos Origin
- Developed J2EE business applications for financial companies like Delta Lloyd and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
- Created accessible user interfaces using XHTML, JavaScript, and CSS.
Web Developer
Euro RSCG 4D
- Developed and maintained Intel’s European e-Business sites.
- Built back-end solutions for web applications.
- Created web interfaces.
- Mentored junior developers.
Experience
Kontoure Virtual Makeup App
Kontoure is an Ohio, US-based startup specializing in beauty tech. I built an Android prototype for them to explore various face tracking APIs, an iOS app that was published to the App Store, and a web-based CMS. The app uses augmented reality as an instructive aid for makeup application.
PlusOne SmartTutor
https://www.plusone.space/I took care of the multi-player networking part that enabled virtual class and conference rooms. Technologies used were Unity and Photon.
National Soccer Hall of Fame Virtual Reality Experience
http://rozengain.com/projects/nshof-soccer-virtual-reality/I was responsible for a virtual reality experience that centered around two legendary goalkeepers that played for team USA: Tim Howard and Briana Scurry. The experience lets you make their historic saves and you can also compete with other visitors in a virtual shoot-out. Built with Unity, HTC Vive, and SteamVR.
ARKit Work
When Apple announced the USDZ file format, I came up with a server-side solution to convert many other 3D file formats to USDZ.
More recently, I focused on content creation and workflow optimization. Getting animated 3D content from Blender into XCode/SceneKit is not as straightforward as it should be. This exercise helped me to come up with solutions to streamline this workflow.
John Lewis - Buster's Garden
This year, however, John Lewis has added an extra element to the fun with a virtual reality zone where you can experience being right in the middle of Buster's garden.
Using a headset, you step on a real trampoline and have the chance to pet foxes and honey badgers as they come along for a bounce."
I took care of inserting the user into a take away video using a Kinect. The user is detected and isolated from the background and merged into the virtual surroundings. The video is then uploaded and a share link is generated and printed out.
X Factor FX Star
The app launched in the App Store and Google Play with three tracks: Zara Larsson’s "Lush Life," Sigala’s "Give Me Your Love," and Birdy’s "Wild Horses."
The best videos to be submitted by the general public each week will then be selected to air on TV during The X Factor ad breaks.
I wrote native Android and iOS plugins for Unity3D for video capturing and processing.
Dara - The Time Tub Twins
http://rozengain.com/projects/projects-dara/At several points in the book, decisions can be made that influence the story, unlocking different adventures in the app. For example, you can choose what era you visit, what inventions you make, or what objects you take with you on your journey. All these decisions are made by interacting with the animated 3D characters and objects that magically pop out of the pages of the book when you hover your mobile device over its pages.
We modeled the 3D characters, rigged them, animated them, and built the augmented reality app for iOS and Android.
Nissan IDx Virtual Reality
Rajawali
https://github.com/MasDennis/RajawaliNike: British 10K Run
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5lzP_UKAT4EA: FIFA 12 Scarf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg8cC11U9vMSpeaking at International Conferences & User Groups
• AnDevCon, San Francisco, USA, Rajawali: Easy 3D for Android, 11/2013
• AnDevCon, San Francisco, USA, Workshop: Augmented Reality + 3D: The Easy Way, 11/2013
• DroidCon, London, United Kingdom, 3D on Android: Open Source Workflow, 10/2013
• Android Developer Days, Ankara, Turkey, Running Amok with Rajawali for Android, 06/2013
• LFPUG, London, United Kingdom, Running Amok with Rajawali for Android, 03/2012
• FITC, Toronto, Canada, Exploring the Kinect, 05/2011
• FFK11, Cologne, Germany, Exploring the Kinect, 04/2011
• LFPUG, London, United Kingdom, Exploring the Kinect, 03/2011
• gotoAndSki(), Stechelberg, Switzerland, Exploring the Kinect, 01/2011
• Siggraph, Los Angeles, USA, WebGL in an Ad Agency, 08/2010
• LFPUG, London, United Kingdom, Flash 3D Workflow, 01/2010
• Fronteers, Utrecht, The Netherlands, The HTML5 Element, 10/2007
Min3D
http://code.google.com/p/min3dBlender WebGL Exporter
http://code.google.com/p/blender-webgl-exporterBlender ActionScript Exporter
Sandy
Education
Bachelor's Degree in Software Engineering
Leidse Onderwijs Instellingen - Leiderdop, The Netherlands
Skills
Libraries/APIs
OpenGL ES, Three.js, WebGL, jQuery, Intel Perceptual Computing SDK, OpenCV, Node.js
Tools
Blender, Affinity Photo, Adobe Illustrator, Sublime Text, Microsoft Visual Studio, Adobe Photoshop, Flash, Mixamo, Visual Studio, Xcode, MeshLab, Inkscape
Languages
HTML5, Java, JavaScript, C#, Flash ActionScript, Python, XHTML, CSS, HTML, XML, GLSL, PHP, Swift, Objective-C, C++
Frameworks
Unity, Rajawali, Unity3D, Microsoft Kinect, iTween, Unreal Engine 4, iOS SceneKit, ARKit, OGRE, OpenNI, Flex, RobotLegs, PureMVC, Photon, JNI, Photon Unity Networking (PUN)
Paradigms
Model View Controller (MVC), Object-oriented Programming (OOP), Prototype-based OOP, Agile Software Development, Cross-platform, Test-driven Development (TDD)
Platforms
Vuforia, Windows, Android, MacOS, Oculus Rift, iOS, Azure PlayFab, SteamVR
Storage
MySQL, MongoDB, Microsoft SQL Server
Other
Augmented Reality (AR), Ajax, Extended Reality (XR), Mixed Reality (MR), Virtual Reality (VR), Unity Shaders, Leap Motion, Mesh Optimization, Remoting, 4D, Google Cardboard, Visage, HoloToolkit, 3D Modeling, 3D Animation, 3D
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