TY - CHAP A1 - Ayten, Hüseyin A1 - Herder, Jens A1 - Vonolfen, Wolfgang T1 - Visual Acceptance Evaluation of Soft Shadow Algorithms for Virtual TV Studios T2 - HC '10 Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Humans and Computers N2 - Shadows in computer graphics are an important rendering aspect for spatial objects. For realtime computer applications such as games, it is essential to represent shadows as accurate as possible. Also, various tv stations work with virtual studio systems instead of real studio sets. Especially for those systems, a realistic impression of the rendered and mixed scene is important. One challenge, hence, is the creation of a natural shadow impression. This paper presents the results of an empirical study to compare the performance and quality of different shadow mapping methods. For this test, a prototype studio renderer was developed. A percentage closer filter (pcf) with a number of specific resolutions is used to minimize the aliasing issue. More advanced algorithms which generate smooth shadows like the percentage closer soft shadow (pcss) method as well as the variance shadow maps (vsm) method are analysed. Different open source apis are used to develop the virtual studio renderer, giving the benefit of permanent enhancement. The Ogre 3D graphic engine is used to implement the rendering system, benefiting from various functions and plugins. The transmission of the tracking data is accomplished with the vrpn server/client and the Intersense api. The different shadow algorithms are compared in a virtual studio environment which also casts real shadows and thus gives a chance for a direct comparison throughout the empirical user study. The performance is measured in frames per secon KW - Virtual (TV) Studio KW - soft shadow KW - realtime rendering KW - augmented reality KW - algorithmus KW - FHD KW - experimentation KW - verification KW - VSVR Y1 - 2010 UR - https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1994505 SP - 66 EP - 71 PB - University of Aizu Press CY - Aizu-Wakamatsu ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Flasko, Matthias A1 - Pogscheba, Patrick A1 - Herder, Jens A1 - Vonolfen, Wolfgang T1 - Heterogeneous binocular camera-tracking in a Virtual Studio T2 - 8. Workshop Virtuelle und Erweiterte Realität der GI-Fachgruppe VR/AR N2 - This paper presents a tracking of parts of a human body in a virtual TV studio environment. The tracking is based on a depth camera and a HD studio camera and aims at a realistic interaction between the actor and the computer generated environment. Stereo calibration methods are used to match corresponding pixels of both cameras (HD color and depth image). Hence the images were rectified and column aligned. The disparity is used to correct the depth image pixel by pixel. This image registration results in row and column aligned images where ghost regions are in the depth image resulting from occlusion. Both images are used to generate foreground masks with chroma and depth keying. The color image is taken for skin color segmentation to determine and distinguish the actor’s hands and face. In the depth image the flesh colored regions were used to determine their spatial position. The extracted positions were augmented by virtual objects. The scene is rendered correctly with virtual camera parameters which were calculated from the camera calibration parameters. Generated computer graphics with alpha value are combined with the HD color images. This compositing shows interaction with augmented objects for verification. The additional depth information results in changing the size of objects next to the hands when the actor moves around. KW - virtual studio KW - camera-tracking KW - VSVR Y1 - 2011 CY - Wedel ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Herder, Jens A1 - Vonolfen, Wolfgang A1 - Griesert, Arnfried A1 - Heuer, Stefan A1 - Hoffmann, Ansgar A1 - Höppner, Bernd T1 - Interactive Virtual Set Applications for Post Production T2 - University of Aizu 2004 – Seventh International Conference on Human N2 - Virtual set environments for broadcasting become more sophisticated as well as the visual quality improves. Realtime interaction and production-specific visualization implemented through plugin mechanism enhance the existing systems like the 3DK. This work presents the integration of the Intersense IS-900 SCT camera tracking and 3D interaction into the 3DK virtual studio environment. The main goal of this work is the design of a virtual studio environment for post productions, which includes video output as well as media streaming formats such as MPEG-4. The systems allows high quality offline rendering during post production and 3D interaction by the moderator during the recording. KW - interaction KW - tracking KW - virtual set environments KW - Virtual (TV) Studio KW - post production KW - MPEG-4 KW - FHD KW - VSVR Y1 - 2004 CY - Aizu-Wakamatsu ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Klapdohr, Monika A1 - Wöldecke, Björn A1 - Marinos, Dionysios A1 - Herder, Jens A1 - Geiger, Christian A1 - Vonolfen, Wolfgang T1 - Vibrotactile Pitfalls: Arm Guidance for Moderators in Virtual TV Studios T2 - HC '10 Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Humans and Computers N2 - For this study, an experimental vibrotactile feedback system was developed to help actors with the task of moving their arm to a certain place in a virtual tv studio under live conditions. Our intention is to improve interaction with virtual objects in a virtual set, which are usually not directly visible to the actor, but only on distant displays. Vibrotactile feedback might improve the appearance on tv because an actor is able to look in any desired direction (camera or virtual object) or to read text on a teleprompter while interacting with a virtual object. Visual feedback in a virtual studio lacks spatial relation to the actor, which impedes the adjustment of the desired interaction. The five tactors of the implemented system which are mounted on the tracked arm give additional information like collision, navigation and activation. The user study for the developed system shows that the duration for reaching a certain target is much longer in case no visual feedback is given, but the accuracy is similar. In this study, subjects reported that an activation signal indicating the arrival at the target of a drag & drop task was helpful. In this paper, we discuss the problems we encountered while developing such a vibrotactile display. Keeping these pitfalls in mind could lead to better feedback systems for actors in virtual studio environments. KW - vibrotactile feedback KW - Virtual (TV) Studio KW - augmented reality KW - FHD KW - VSVR Y1 - 2010 UR - https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1994506 SP - 72 EP - 80 PB - University of Aizu Press CY - Aizu-Wakamatsu ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Ludwig, Philipp A1 - Büchel, Joachim A1 - Herder, Jens A1 - Vonolfen, Wolfgang T1 - InEarGuide - A Navigation and Interaction Feedback System using In Ear Headphones for Virtual TV Studio Productions T2 - 9. Workshop Virtuelle und Erweiterte Realität der GI-Fachgruppe VR/AR N2 - This paper presents an approach to integrate non-visual user feedback in today's virtual tv studio productions. Since recent studies showed that systems providing vibro-tactile feedback are not sufficient for replacing the common visual feedback, we developed an audio-based solution using an in ear headphone system, enabling a talent to move, avoid and point to virtual objects in a blue or green box. The system consists of an optical head tracking system, a wireless in ear monitor system and a workstation, which performs all application and audio processing. Using head related transfer functions, the talent gets directional and distance cues. Past research showed, that generating reflections of the sounds and simulating the acoustics of the virtual room helps the listener to conceive the acoustical feedback, we included this technique as well. In a user study with 15 participants the performance of the system was evaluated. KW - Navigation KW - virtual TV KW - erweiterte Realität KW - VSVR KW - Virtual (TV) Studio Y1 - 2012 CY - Düsseldorf ER -