85 research outputs found
Painterly rendering techniques: A state-of-the-art review of current approaches
In this publication we will look at the different methods presented over the past few decades which attempt to recreate digital paintings. While previous surveys concentrate on the broader subject of non-photorealistic rendering, the focus of this paper is firmly placed on painterly rendering techniques. We compare different methods used to produce different output painting styles such as abstract, colour pencil, watercolour, oriental, oil and pastel. Whereas some methods demand a high level of interaction using a skilled artist, others require simple parameters provided by a user with little or no artistic experience. Many methods attempt to provide more automation with the use of varying forms of reference data. This reference data can range from still photographs, video, 3D polygonal meshes or even 3D point clouds. The techniques presented here endeavour to provide tools and styles that are not traditionally available to an artist. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Enhanced Virtuality: Increasing the Usability and Productivity of Virtual Environments
Mit stetig steigender Bildschirmauflösung, genauerem Tracking und fallenden Preisen stehen Virtual Reality (VR) Systeme kurz davor sich erfolgreich am Markt zu etablieren. Verschiedene Werkzeuge helfen Entwicklern bei der Erstellung komplexer Interaktionen mit mehreren Benutzern innerhalb adaptiver virtueller Umgebungen. Allerdings entstehen mit der Verbreitung der VR-Systeme auch zusätzliche Herausforderungen: Diverse Eingabegeräte mit ungewohnten Formen und Tastenlayouts verhindern eine intuitive Interaktion. Darüber hinaus zwingt der eingeschränkte Funktionsumfang bestehender Software die Nutzer dazu, auf herkömmliche PC- oder Touch-basierte Systeme zurückzugreifen. Außerdem birgt die Zusammenarbeit mit anderen Anwendern am gleichen Standort Herausforderungen hinsichtlich der Kalibrierung unterschiedlicher Trackingsysteme und der Kollisionsvermeidung. Beim entfernten Zusammenarbeiten wird die Interaktion durch Latenzzeiten und Verbindungsverluste zusätzlich beeinflusst. Schließlich haben die Benutzer unterschiedliche Anforderungen an die Visualisierung von Inhalten, z.B. Größe, Ausrichtung, Farbe oder Kontrast, innerhalb der virtuellen Welten. Eine strikte Nachbildung von realen Umgebungen in VR verschenkt Potential und wird es nicht ermöglichen, die individuellen Bedürfnisse der Benutzer zu berücksichtigen.
Um diese Probleme anzugehen, werden in der vorliegenden Arbeit Lösungen in den Bereichen Eingabe, Zusammenarbeit und Erweiterung von virtuellen Welten und Benutzern vorgestellt, die darauf abzielen, die Benutzerfreundlichkeit und Produktivität von VR zu erhöhen. Zunächst werden PC-basierte Hardware und Software in die virtuelle Welt übertragen, um die Vertrautheit und den Funktionsumfang bestehender Anwendungen in VR zu erhalten. Virtuelle Stellvertreter von physischen Geräten, z.B. Tastatur und Tablet, und ein VR-Modus für Anwendungen ermöglichen es dem Benutzer reale Fähigkeiten in die virtuelle Welt zu übertragen. Des Weiteren wird ein Algorithmus vorgestellt, der die Kalibrierung mehrerer ko-lokaler VR-Geräte mit hoher Genauigkeit und geringen Hardwareanforderungen und geringem Aufwand ermöglicht. Da VR-Headsets die reale Umgebung der Benutzer ausblenden, wird die Relevanz einer Ganzkörper-Avatar-Visualisierung für die Kollisionsvermeidung und das entfernte Zusammenarbeiten nachgewiesen. Darüber hinaus werden personalisierte räumliche oder zeitliche Modifikationen vorgestellt, die es erlauben, die Benutzerfreundlichkeit, Arbeitsleistung und soziale Präsenz von Benutzern zu erhöhen. Diskrepanzen zwischen den virtuellen Welten, die durch persönliche Anpassungen entstehen, werden durch Methoden der Avatar-Umlenkung (engl. redirection) kompensiert. Abschließend werden einige der Methoden und Erkenntnisse in eine beispielhafte Anwendung integriert, um deren praktische Anwendbarkeit zu verdeutlichen.
Die vorliegende Arbeit zeigt, dass virtuelle Umgebungen auf realen Fähigkeiten und Erfahrungen aufbauen können, um eine vertraute und einfache Interaktion und Zusammenarbeit von Benutzern zu gewährleisten. Darüber hinaus ermöglichen individuelle Erweiterungen des virtuellen Inhalts und der Avatare Einschränkungen der realen Welt zu überwinden und das Erlebnis von VR-Umgebungen zu steigern
Educational Technology and Related Education Conferences for June to December 2015
The 33rd edition of the conference list covers selected events that primarily focus on the use of technology in educational settings and on teaching, learning, and educational administration. Only listings until December 2015 are complete as dates, locations, or Internet addresses (URLs) were not available for a number of events held from January 2016 onward. In order to protect the privacy of individuals, only URLs are used in the listing as this enables readers of the list to obtain event information without submitting their e-mail addresses to anyone. A significant challenge during the assembly of this list is incomplete or conflicting information on websites and the lack of a link between conference websites from one year to the next
The influence of olfaction on the perception of high-fidelity computer graphics
The computer graphics industry is constantly demanding more realistic images and
animations. However, producing such high quality scenes can take a long time, even
days, if rendering on a single PC. One of the approaches that can be used to speed
up rendering times is Visual Perception, which exploits the limitations of the Human
Visual System, since the viewers of the results will be humans. Although there
is an increasing body of research into how haptics and sound may affect a viewer's
perception in a virtual environment, the in
uence of smell has been largely ignored.
The aim of this thesis is to address this gap and make smell an integral part of
multi-modal virtual environments.
In this work, we have performed four major experiments, with a total of 840 participants.
In the experiments we used still images and animations, related and
unrelated smells and finally, a multi-modal environment was considered with smell,
sound and temperature. Beside this, we also investigated how long it takes for an
average person to adapt to smell and what affect there may be when performing a
task in the presence of a smell.
The results of this thesis clearly show that a smell present in the environment
firstly affects the perception of object quality within a rendered image, and secondly,
enables parts of the scene or the whole animation to be selectively rendered in high
quality while the rest can be rendered in a lower quality without the viewer noticing
the drop in quality. Such selective rendering in the presence of smell results in
significant computational performance gains without any loss in the quality of the
image or animations perceived by a viewer
THE VARIETIES OF USER EXPERIENCE BRIDGING EMBODIED METHODOLOGIES FROM SOMATICS AND PERFORMANCE TO HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION
Embodied Interaction continues to gain significance within the field of Human
Computer Interaction (HCI). Its growing recognition and value is evidenced in part by
a remarkable increase in systems design and publication focusing on various aspects of
Embodiment. The enduring need to interact through experience has spawned a variety
of interdisciplinary bridging strategies in the hope of gaining deeper understanding of
human experience. Along with phenomenology, cognitive science, psychology and the
arts, recent interdisciplinary contributions to HCI include the knowledge-rich domains
of Somatics and Performance that carry long-standing traditions of embodied practice.
The common ground between HCI and the fields of Somatics and Performance is based
on the need to understand and model human experience. Yet, Somatics and
Performance differ from normative HCI in their epistemological frameworks of
embodiment. This is particularly evident in their histories of knowledge construction
and representation. The contributions of Somatics and Performance to the history of
embodiment are not yet fully understood within HCI. Differing epistemologies and their
resulting approaches to experience identify an under-theorized area of research and an
opportunity to develop a richer knowledge and practice base. This is examined by
comparing theories and practices of embodied experience between HCI and Somatics
(Performance) and analyzing influences, values and assumptions underlying
epistemological frameworks. The analysis results in a set of design strategies based in
embodied practices within Somatics and Performance. The subsequent application of
these strategies is examined through a series of interactive art installations that
employ embodied interaction as a central expression of technology. Case Studies
provide evidence in the form of rigorously documented design processes that illustrate
these strategies. This research exemplifies 'Research through Art' applied in the
context of experience design for tangible, wearable and social interaction
Computer-supported movement guidance: investigating visual/visuotactile guidance and informing the design of vibrotactile body-worn interfaces
This dissertation explores the use of interactive systems to support
movement guidance, with applications in various fields such as sports,
dance, physiotherapy, and immersive sketching. The research focuses
on visual, haptic, and visuohaptic approaches and aims to overcome
the limitations of traditional guidance methods, such as dependence
on an expert and high costs for the novice. The main contributions of
the thesis are (1) an evaluation of the suitability of various types of
displays and visualizations of the human body for posture guidance,
(2) an investigation into the influence of different viewpoints/perspectives,
the addition of haptic feedback, and various movement
properties on movement guidance in virtual environments, (3) an
investigation into the effectiveness of visuotactile guidance for hand
movements in a virtual environment, (4) two in-depth studies of haptic
perception on the body to inform the design of wearable and handheld
interfaces that leverage tactile output technologies, and (5) an
investigation into new interaction techniques for tactile guidance of
arm movements. The results of this research advance the state of the
art in the field, provide design and implementation insights, and pave
the way for new investigations in computer-supported movement
guidance
- …