1,264 research outputs found
Physical sketching tools and techniques for customized sensate surfaces
Sensate surfaces are a promising avenue for enhancing human interaction with digital systems due to their inherent intuitiveness and natural user interface. Recent technological advancements have enabled sensate surfaces to surpass the constraints of conventional touchscreens by integrating them into everyday objects, creating interactive interfaces that can detect various inputs such as touch, pressure, and gestures. This allows for more natural and intuitive control of digital systems. However, prototyping interactive surfaces that are customized to users' requirements using conventional techniques remains technically challenging due to limitations in accommodating complex geometric shapes and varying sizes. Furthermore, it is crucial to consider the context in which customized surfaces are utilized, as relocating them to fabrication labs may lead to the loss of their original design context. Additionally, prototyping high-resolution sensate surfaces presents challenges due to the complex signal processing requirements involved. This thesis investigates the design and fabrication of customized sensate surfaces that meet the diverse requirements of different users and contexts. The research aims to develop novel tools and techniques that overcome the technical limitations of current methods and enable the creation of sensate surfaces that enhance human interaction with digital systems.Sensorische OberflĂ€chen sind aufgrund ihrer inhĂ€renten IntuitivitĂ€t und natĂŒrlichen BenutzeroberflĂ€che ein vielversprechender Ansatz, um die menschliche Interaktionmit digitalen Systemen zu verbessern. Die jĂŒngsten technologischen Fortschritte haben es ermöglicht, dass sensorische OberflĂ€chen die BeschrĂ€nkungen herkömmlicher Touchscreens ĂŒberwinden, indem sie in AlltagsgegenstĂ€nde integriert werden und interaktive Schnittstellen schaffen, die diverse Eingaben wie BerĂŒhrung, Druck, oder Gesten erkennen können. Dies ermöglicht eine natĂŒrlichere und intuitivere Steuerung von digitalen Systemen. Das Prototyping interaktiver OberflĂ€chen, die mit herkömmlichen Techniken an die BedĂŒrfnisse der Nutzer angepasst werden, bleibt jedoch eine technische Herausforderung, da komplexe geometrische Formen und variierende GröĂen nur begrenzt berĂŒcksichtigt werden können. DarĂŒber hinaus ist es von entscheidender Bedeutung, den Kontext, in dem diese individuell angepassten OberflĂ€chen verwendet werden, zu berĂŒcksichtigen, da eine Verlagerung in Fabrikations-Laboratorien zum Verlust ihres ursprĂŒnglichen Designkontextes fĂŒhren kann. Zudem stellt das Prototyping hochauflösender sensorischer OberflĂ€chen aufgrund der komplexen Anforderungen an die Signalverarbeitung eine Herausforderung dar. Diese Arbeit erforscht dasDesign und die Fabrikation individuell angepasster sensorischer OberflĂ€chen, die den diversen Anforderungen unterschiedlicher Nutzer und Kontexte gerecht werden. Die Forschung zielt darauf ab, neuartigeWerkzeuge und Techniken zu entwickeln, die die technischen BeschrĂ€nkungen derzeitigerMethoden ĂŒberwinden und die Erstellung von sensorischen OberflĂ€chen ermöglichen, die die menschliche Interaktion mit digitalen Systemen verbessern
Uncovering the specificities of CAD tools for industrial design with design theory â style models for generic singularity
International audienceAccording to some casual observers, computer-aided design (CAD) tools are very similar. These tools are used to design new artifacts in a digital environment; hence, they share typical software components, such as a computing engine and human-machine interface. However, CAD software is dedicated to specific professionalsâsuch as engineers, three-dimensional (3D) artists, and industrial designers (IDs)âwho claim that, despite their apparent similarities, CAD tools are so different that they are not substitutable. Moreover, CAD tools do not fully meet the needs of IDs. This paper aims at better characterizing CAD tools by taking into account their underlying design logic, which involves relying on recent advances in design theory. We show that engineering CAD tools are actually modeling tools that design a generic variety of products; 3D artist CAD tools not only design but immediately produce single digital artefacts; and ID CAD tools are neither a mix nor an hybridization of engineering CAD and 3D artist CAD tools but have their own logic, namely to create new conceptual models for a large variety of products, that is, the creation of a unique original style that leads to a generic singularity. Such tools are useful for many creative designers beyond IDs
A new 3D modelling paradigm for discrete model
Until few years ago, 3D modelling was a topic confined into a professional environment. Nowadays technological innovations, the 3D printer among all, have attracted novice users to this application field. This sudden breakthrough was not supported by adequate software solutions. The 3D editing tools currently available do not assist the non-expert user during the various stages of generation, interaction and manipulation of 3D virtual models. This is mainly due to the current paradigm that is largely supported by two-dimensional input/output devices and strongly affected by obvious geometrical constraints. We have identified three main phases that characterize the creation and management of 3D virtual models. We investigated these directions evaluating and simplifying the classic editing techniques in order to propose more natural and intuitive tools in a pure 3D modelling environment. In particular, we focused on freehand sketch-based modelling to create 3D virtual models, interaction and navigation in a 3D modelling environment and advanced editing tools for free-form deformation and objects composition. To pursuing these goals we wondered how new gesture-based interaction technologies can be successfully employed in a 3D modelling environments, how we could improve the depth perception and the interaction in 3D environments and which operations could be developed to simplify the classical virtual models editing paradigm. Our main aims were to propose a set of solutions with which a common user can realize an idea in a 3D virtual model, drawing in the air just as he would on paper. Moreover, we tried to use gestures and mid-air movements to explore and interact in 3D virtual environment, and we studied simple and effective 3D form transformations. The work was carried out adopting the discrete representation of the models, thanks to its intuitiveness, but especially because it is full of open challenges
Multi-form Visualisation: An approach to acousmatic composition
This practice-based doctoral research addresses a critical issue in
acousmatic composition: the journey from the immaterial world of sonic
imagination to the realisation of musical sound. This was an exploratory journey,
where my personal sensibility for visual arts practice met my curiosity and
profound interest in acousmatic music. Methodologically, the project approached
acousmatic composition as an organic process, intertwining visual sensibilities
and musical domains by offering a critical approach to the listening experience
and to my compositional practice. A key metaphor used is that of the blank page
as a space for multi-form visualisation, where gestures derived from sketching
and other visual stimuli are used as guides and catalysts for the realisation of
sound. In this approach, a process of deliberately blurring boundaries between
real and imaginary realms affords a space to daydream to be moved by sounds,
the flow of mental images, virtual sensations, and memory-images that one can
associate with traces, dots, shapes or textures. This parallel allows me to find my
way within the sonic realm, shaping sound materials and sequences that
progressively define a musical structure. This space, which has no proper
physical existence, invites sonic and visual perception and imagination to
confront, destroy and renew each another, directing the musicâs emergence
through a feedback loop between the visual and the aural. A key conceptual tool
in this practice is the notion of sensory qualia and a blend of phenomenological
and ecological views of sound and bodily centered, internally registered
responses. By focusing on qualitative sensations derived from drawing, painting
and sensations of motion in the natural world, parallels with the sonic imagination
are stimulated. The graphical expression of gestures deployed in space and time
becomes a space of boundless, imaginative reflection of the composerâs sonic
conceptions and expectations
Exploratory Visualization of Astronomical Data on Ultra-high-resolution Wall Displays
International audienceUltra-high-resolution wall displays feature a very high pixel density over a large physical surface, which makes them well-suited to the collaborative, exploratory visualization of large datasets. We introduce FITS-OW, an application designed for such wall displays, that enables astronomers to navigate in large collections of FITS images, query astronomical databases, and display detailed, complementary data and documents about multiple sources simultaneously. We describe how astronomers interact with their data using both the wall's touch-sensitive surface and handheld devices. We also report on the technical challenges we addressed in terms of distributed graphics rendering and data sharing over the computer clusters that drive wall displays
Practical, appropriate, empirically-validated guidelines for designing educational games
There has recently been a great deal of interest in the
potential of computer games to function as innovative
educational tools. However, there is very little evidence of
games fulfilling that potential. Indeed, the process of
merging the disparate goals of education and games design
appears problematic, and there are currently no practical
guidelines for how to do so in a coherent manner. In this
paper, we describe the successful, empirically validated
teaching methods developed by behavioural psychologists
and point out how they are uniquely suited to take
advantage of the benefits that games offer to education. We
conclude by proposing some practical steps for designing
educational games, based on the techniques of Applied
Behaviour Analysis. It is intended that this paper can both
focus educational games designers on the features of games
that are genuinely useful for education, and also introduce a
successful form of teaching that this audience may not yet
be familiar with
Application of Machine Learning within Visual Content Production
We are living in an era where digital content is being produced at a dazzling pace. The heterogeneity of contents and contexts is so varied that a numerous amount of applications have been created to respond to people and market demands. The visual content production pipeline is the generalisation of the process that allows a content editor to create and evaluate their product, such as a video, an image, a 3D model, etc. Such data is then displayed on one or more devices such as TVs, PC monitors, virtual reality head-mounted displays, tablets, mobiles, or even smartwatches. Content creation can be simple as clicking a button to film a video and then share it into a social network, or complex as managing a dense user interface full of parameters by using keyboard and mouse to generate a realistic 3D model for a VR game. In this second example, such sophistication results in a steep learning curve for beginner-level users. In contrast, expert users regularly need to refine their skills via expensive lessons, time-consuming tutorials, or experience. Thus, user interaction plays an essential role in the diffusion of content creation software, primarily when it is targeted to untrained people. In particular, with the fast spread of virtual reality devices into the consumer market, new opportunities for designing reliable and intuitive interfaces have been created. Such new interactions need to take a step beyond the point and click interaction typical of the 2D desktop environment. The interactions need to be smart, intuitive and reliable, to interpret 3D gestures and therefore, more accurate algorithms are needed to recognise patterns. In recent years, machine learning and in particular deep learning have achieved outstanding results in many branches of computer science, such as computer graphics and human-computer interface, outperforming algorithms that were considered state of the art, however, there are only fleeting efforts to translate this into virtual reality. In this thesis, we seek to apply and take advantage of deep learning models to two different content production pipeline areas embracing the following subjects of interest: advanced methods for user interaction and visual quality assessment. First, we focus on 3D sketching to retrieve models from an extensive database of complex geometries and textures, while the user is immersed in a virtual environment. We explore both 2D and 3D strokes as tools for model retrieval in VR. Therefore, we implement a novel system for improving accuracy in searching for a 3D model. We contribute an efficient method to describe models through 3D sketch via an iterative descriptor generation, focusing both on accuracy and user experience. To evaluate it, we design a user study to compare different interactions for sketch generation. Second, we explore the combination of sketch input and vocal description to correct and fine-tune the search for 3D models in a database containing fine-grained variation. We analyse sketch and speech queries, identifying a way to incorporate both of them into our system's interaction loop. Third, in the context of the visual content production pipeline, we present a detailed study of visual metrics. We propose a novel method for detecting rendering-based artefacts in images. It exploits analogous deep learning algorithms used when extracting features from sketches
Depicting shape, materials and lighting: observation, formulation and implementation of artistic principles
The appearance of a scene results from complex interactions between the geometry, materials and lights that compose that scene. While Computer Graphics algorithms are now capable of simulating these interactions, it comes at the cost of tedious 3D modeling of a virtual scene, which only well-trained artists can do. In contrast, photographs allow the instantaneous capture of a scene, but shape, materials and lighting are difficult to manipulate directly in the image. Drawings can also suggest real or imaginary scenes with a few lines but creating convincing illustrations requires significant artistic skills.The goal of my research is to facilitate the creation and manipulation of shape, materials and lighting in drawings and photographs, for laymen and professional artists alike. This document first presents my work on computer-assisted drawing where I proposed algorithms to automate the depiction of materials in line drawings as well as to estimate a 3D model from design sketches. I also worked on user interfaces to assist beginners in learning traditional drawing techniques. Through the development of these projects I have formalized a general methodology to observe how artists work, deduce artistic principles from these observations, and implement these principles as algorithms. In the second part of this document I present my work on relighting multiple photographs of a scene, for which we first need to estimate the materials and lighting that compose that scene. The main novelty of our approach is to combine image analysis and lighting simulation in order to reason about the scene despite the lack of an accurate 3D model
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