Refine
Year of publication
Document Type
- Conference Proceeding (60)
- Article (21)
- Part of a Book (12)
- Article trade magazine (2)
- Workingpaper / Report (2)
- Diploma Thesis (1)
- Doctoral Thesis (1)
Language
- English (87)
- German (11)
- Multiple languages (1)
Keywords
- VSVR (48)
- Virtual (TV) Studio (24)
- FHD (21)
- Sound Spatialization (8)
- Lehre (7)
- Resource Management (6)
- Virtual Reality (6)
- virtual studio (6)
- Mixed Reality (5)
- audio rendering (5)
Department/institution
Multi-user virtual reality is transforming towards a social activity that is no longer only used by remote users, but also in large-scale location-based experiences. Usage of realtime-tracked avatars in co-located business-oriented applications with a ”guide-user-scenario” is examined for user-related factors of Spatial Presence, Social Presence, User Experience and Task Load. A user study was conducted in order to compare both techniques of a realtime-tracked avatar and a non-visualised guide. Results reveal that the avatar-guide enhanced and stimulated communicative processes while facilitating interaction possibilities and creating a higher sense of mental immersion for users and engagement.
Augmented reality for supporting manual non-destructive ultrasonic testing of metal pipes and plates
(2018)
We describe an application of augmented reality technology for non-destructive testing of products in the metal-industry. The prototype is created with hard- and software, that is usually employed in the gaming industry, and delivers positions for creating ultra- sonic material scans (C-scans). Using a stereo camera in combination with an hmd enables realtime visualisation of the probes path, as well as the setting of virtual markers on the specimen. As a part of the implementation the downhill simplex optimization algorithm is implemented to fit the specimen to a cloud of recorded surface points. The accuracy is statistically tested and evaluated with the result, that the tracking system is accurate up to ca. 1-2 millimeters in well set-up conditions. This paper is of interest not only for research institutes of the metal-industry, but also for any areas of work, in which the enhancement with augmented reality is possible and a precise tracking is necessary.
Through constant technical progress, multi-user virtual reality is transforming towards a social activity that is no longer only used by remote users, but also in large-scale location-based experiences. We evaluate the usage of realtime-tracked avatars in co-located business-oriented applications in a "guide-user-scenario" in comparison to audio only instructions. The present study examined the effect of an avatar-guide on the user-related factors of Spatial Presence, Social Presence, User Experience and Task Load in order to propose design guidelines for co-located collaborative immersive virtual environments. Therefore, an application was developed and a user study with 40 participants was conducted in order to compare both guiding techniques of a realtime-tracked avatar guide and a non-visualised guide with otherwise constant conditions. Results reveal that the avatar-guide enhanced and stimulated communicative processes while facilitating interaction possibilities and creating a higher sense of mental immersion for users. Furthermore, the avatar-guide appeared to make the storyline more engaging and exciting while helping users adapt to the medium of virtual reality. Even though no assertion could be made concerning the Task Load factor, the avatar-guide achieved a higher subjective value on User Experience. Due to the results, avatars can be considered valuable social elements in the design of future co-located collaborative virtual environments.
CAD/CAM techniques are used increasingly in dentistry for design and fabrication of teeth restorations. An important issue is preserving occlusal contacts of teeth after restoration. Traditional techniques based on the use of casts with mechanical articulators require manual adjustment of occlusal surface, which becomes impractical when hard restoration materials like porcelain are used; they are also time and labor consuming. Most existing computer systems ignore completely such an articulation check, or perform the check at the level of a tooth and its immediate neighbors. We present a new mathematical model and a related user interface for global articulation simulation, developed for the Intelligent Dental Care System project. The aim of the simulation is elimination of the use of mechanical articulators and manual adjustment in the process of designing dental restorations and articulation diagnostic. The mathematical model is based upon differential topological modeling of the jawbs considered as a mechanical system. The user interface exploits metaphors that are familiar to dentists from everyday practice. A new input device designed specifically for use with articulation simulation is proposed.
Mobile live video streaming is becoming an increasingly popular form of interaction both in social media and remote collaboration scenarios. However, in most cases the streamed video does not take mobile devices' spatial data into account (e.g., the viewers do not know the spatial orientation of a streamer), or use such data only in specific scenarios (e.g., to navigate around a spherical video stream).
The PSFC, or Pioneer Sound Field Controller, is a DSP-driven hemispherical loudspeaker array, installed at the University of Aizu Multimedia Center. The PSFC features realtime manipulation of the primary components of sound spatialization for each of two audio sources located in a virtual environment, including the content (apparent direction and distance) and context (room characteristics: reverberation level, room size and liveness). In an alternate mode, it can also direct the destination of the two separate input signals across 14 loudspeakers, manipulating the direction of the virtual sound sources with no control over apparent distance other than that afforded by source loudness (including no simulated environmental reflections or reverberation). The PSFC speaker dome is about 10 m in diameter, accommodating about fifty simultaneous users, including about twenty users comfortably standing or sitting near its ``sweet spot,'' the area in which the illusions of sound spatialization are most vivid. Collocated with a large screen rear-projection stereographic display, the PSFC is intended for advanced multimedia and virtual reality applications.
A Sound Spatialization Server for a Speaker Array as an Integrated Part of a Virtual Environment
(1998)
Spatial sound plays an important role in virtual reality environments, allowing orientation in space, giving a feeling of space, focusing the user on events in the scene, and substituting missing feedback cues (e.g., force feedback). The sound spatialization framework of the University of Aizu, which supports number of spatialization backends, has been extended to include a sound spatialization server for a multichannel loudspeaker array (Pioneer Sound Field Control System). Our goal is that the spatialization server allows easy integration into virtual environments. Modeling of distance cues, which are essential for full immersion, is discussed. Furthermore, the integration of this prototype into different applications allowed us to reveal the advantages and problems of spatial sound for virtual reality environments.
In a virtual reality environment, users are immersed in a scene with objects which might produce sound. The responsibility of a VR environment is to present these objects, but a practical system has only limited resources, including spatialization channels (mixels), MIDI/audio channels, and processing power. A sound spatialization resource manager, introduced in this thesis, controls sound resources and optimizes fidelity (presence) under given conditions, using a priority scheme based on psychoacoustics. Objects which are spatially close together can be coalesced by a novel clustering algorithm, which considers listener localization errors. Application programmers and VR scene designers are freed from the burden of assigning mixels and predicting sound source locations. The framework includes an abstract interface for sound spatialization backends, an API for the VR environments, and multimedia authoring tools.