3D printing and immersive visualization for improved perception of ancient artifacts

This article investigates the use of 3D immersive virtual environments and 3D prints for interaction with past material culture over traditional observation without manipulation. Our work is motivated by studies in heritage, museum, and cognitive sciences indicating the importance of object manipulation for understanding present and ancient artifacts. While virtual immersive environments and 3D prints have started to be incorporated in heritage research and museum displays as a way to provide improved manipulation experiences, little is known about how these new technologies affect the perception of our past. This article provides first results obtained with three experiments designed to investigate the benefits and tradeoffs in using these technologies. Our results indicate that traditional museum displays limit the experience with past material culture, and reveal how our sample of participants favor tactile and immersive 3D virtual experiences with artifacts over visual non-manipulative experiences with authentic objects. This paper is part of a larger study on how people perceive ancient artifacts, which was partially funded by the University of California Humanities Network and the Center for the Humanities at the University of California, Merced.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from MIT Press via http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/PRES_a_0022

Interactive natural user interfaces

For many years, science fiction entertainment has showcased holographic technology and futuristic user interfaces that have stimulated the world\u27s imagination. Movies such as Star Wars and Minority Report portray characters interacting with free-floating 3D displays and manipulating virtual objects as though they were tangible. While these futuristic concepts are intriguing, it\u27s difficult to locate a commercial, interactive holographic video solution in an everyday electronics store. As used in this work, it should be noted that the term holography refers to artificially created, free-floating objects whereas the traditional term refers to the recording and reconstruction of 3D image data from 2D mediums. This research addresses the need for a feasible technological solution that allows users to work with projected, interactive and touch-sensitive 3D virtual environments. This research will aim to construct an interactive holographic user interface system by consolidating existing commodity hardware and interaction algorithms. In addition, this work studies the best design practices for human-centric factors related to 3D user interfaces. The problem of 3D user interfaces has been well-researched. When portrayed in science fiction, futuristic user interfaces usually consist of a holographic display, interaction controls and feedback mechanisms. In reality, holographic displays are usually represented by volumetric or multi-parallax technology. In this work, a novel holographic display is presented which leverages a mini-projector to produce a free-floating image onto a fog-like surface. The holographic user interface system will consist of a display component: to project a free-floating image; a tracking component: to allow the user to interact with the 3D display via gestures; and a software component: which drives the complete hardware system. After examining this research, readers will be well-informed on how to build an intuitive, eye-catching holographic user interface system for various application arenas

3D Object Rendering into Real Environments Using Mobile Devices

Tato bakalářská práce je zaměřená na problémy vyskytující se při tvorbě aplikace pro mobilní zařízení využívající rozšířenou realitu. Jako vyvíjená aplikace byla zvolena jednoduchá strategická hra. Tato práce provede čtenáře základními tématami a problémy rozšířené reality, jejího využití a možnostech na mobilních zařízeních a samotným návrhem a implementací vyvíjené aplikace. Výsledek této práce je možno využít pro vývoj mobilních her nebo obecních aplikací využívajících rozšířenou realitu.This bachelor thesis is aimed at the problems and issues which are encountered over development of application for mobile devices using augmented reality. As a developed application was chosen a simple tower-defense game. This thesis will guide the reader through general topics and issues of augmented reality, its usage and possibilities with mobile devices and actual design and implementation of developed application. Results of this work can be used for development of mobile games or general purpose augmented reality applications.