BOEUF: A Unified Framework for Modeling and Designing Digital Orchestras

International audienceOrchestras of Digital Musical Instruments (DMIs) enable new musical collaboration possibilities, extending those of acoustic and electric orchestras. However the creation and development of these orchestras remain constrained. In fact, each new musical collaboration system or orchestra piece relies on a fixed number of musicians, a fixed set of instruments (often only one), and a fixed subset of possible modes of collaboration. In this paper, we describe a unified framework that enables the design of Digital Orchestras with potentially different DMIs and an expand-able set of collaboration modes. It relies on research done on analysis and classification of traditional and digital orchestras, on research in Collaborative Virtual Environments, and on interviews of musicians and composers. The BOEUF framework consists of a classification of modes of collaboration and a set of components for modelling digital orchestras. Integrating this framework into DMIs will enable advanced musical collaboration modes to be used in any digital orchestra, including spontaneous jam sessions

Beyond the Tunnels: Advanced 3D graphical modulation

International audienceTunnels are 3D graphical sliders which modify the appearance of, or "modulate", one or several 3D objects simultaneously using these objects as cursors themselves. They rely on a strong visual feedback to provide multiple scales and parameters combinations which makes them appropriate for the use in immersive virtual musical instruments. In this paper we present applications of the Tunnels for collaborative modulation tasks, for avatars and weapons modifications in 3D video games, and for the control of interactive scenarios. We also propose several improvements to the Tunnels such as a method for storing them and a two-dimensional version called Grids

Dynamir: optical manipulations using dynamic mirror brushes

Mirror surfaces are part of our everyday life. Among them, curved mirrors are used to enhance our perception of the physical space, e.g., convex mirrors are used to increase our field of view in the street, and concave mirrors are used to zoom in on parts our face in the bathroom. In this paper, we investigate the opportunities opened when these mirrors are made dynamic, so that their effects can be modulated to adapt to the environment or to a user's actions. We introduce the concept of dynamic mirror brushes that can be moved around a mirror surface. We describe how these brushes can be used for various optical manipulations of the physical space. We also present an implementation using a flexible mirror sheet and three scenarios that demonstrate some of the interaction opportunities

Spatial Interfaces and Interactive 3D Environments for Immersive Musical Performances

International audienceThe power of interactive 3D graphics, immersive displays, and spatial interfaces is still under-explored in domains where the main target is to enhance creativity and emotional experiences. This article presents a set of work the attempts to extent the frontiers of music creation as well as the experience of audiences attending to digital performances. The goal is to connect sounds to interactive 3D graphics that musicians can interact with and the audience can observe

Les Passages : Une métaphore pour la Collaboration Musicale en Réalité Virtuelle

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E-Pad: Large Display Pointing in a Continuous Interaction Space around a Mobile Device

International audienceRelative pointing through using tactile mobile device (such as tablets of phones) on a large display is a viable interaction technique (that we call Pad in this paper) which permits accurate pointing. However, limited device size has consequences on interaction. Such systems are known to often require clutching, which degrades performances. We present E-Pad, an indirect relative pointing interaction technique which takes benefit of the mobile tactile surface combined with its surrounding space. A user can perform continuous relative pointing starting on the pad then continuing in the free space around the pad, within arm's reach. As a first step toward E-Pad, we first introduce extended continuous relative pointing gestures and conduct a preliminary study to determine how people move their hand around the mobile device. We then conduct an experiment that compares the performance of E-Pad and Pad. Our findings indicate that E-Pad is faster than Pad and decreases the number of clutches without compromising accuracy. Our findings also suggest an overwhelming preference for E-Pad

Analyse de l'influence des systèmes de visualisation immersif sur l'assemblage virtuel de fragments en archéologie

4 pagesNational audienceDans ce papier, nous présentons une analyse de l'influence des systèmes de visualisation immersifs associés à une interface d'interaction multimodale pour la résolution d'une tâche complexe. L'utilisateur est chargé de résoudre des puzzles 3D à deux pièces en utilisant une interface à deux fois 6 degrés de liberté. Nous avons ainsi testé les performances des utilisateurs en utilisant trois modes d'affichage différents : un affichage monoscopique, un système de vision stéréoscopique et enfin un dispositif de suivi de position de la tête pour adapter le positionnement du point de vue à la posture physique associé à un affichage stéréoscopique. Notre comparaison des données est réalisée à partir du temps nécessaire aux utilisateurs pour réaliser la tâche d'assemblage. Malgré le faible nombre d'utilisateurs testés, cette étude montre que l'apprentissage avec le mode d'affichage stéréoscopique est plus important qu'avec les deux autres modes. On observe aussi qu'après cette phase d'apprentissage effectuée, les utilisateurs travaillant avec un affichage stéréoscopique sont globalement plus performants que ceux des autres groupes

Interacting with 3D Reactive Widgets for Musical Performance

International audienceWhile virtual reality and 3D interaction open new prospects for musical performance, existing immersive virtual instruments are often limited to single process instruments or musical navigation tools. We believe that immersive virtual environments may be used to design expressive and efficient multi-process instruments. In this paper we present the 3D reactive widgets. These graphical elements enable efficient and simultaneous control and visualization of musical processes. Then we describe Piivert, a novel input device that we have developed to manipulate these widgets, and several techniques for 3D musical interaction

Interaction with the 3D reactive widgets for musical performance.

International audienceWhile virtual reality and 3D interaction provide new possibilities for musical applications, the existing immersive virtual instruments are limited to single process instruments or musical navigation tools. In this paper we present the 3D reactive widgets. These graphical elements enable simultaneous control and visualization of musical processes in 3D immersive environments. They also rely on the live-looping technique, allowing to build complex musical sequences. We describe the interaction techniques that we have designed and implemented to manipulate these widgets, including a virtual ray and tunnels. After having expressed the lack of expressivity and efficiency of the existing input devices for sound production gestures, we finally set the requirements for an appropriate device for musical interaction in 3D immersive environments

Piivert: Percussion-based Interaction for Immersive Virtual EnviRonmenTs

International audience3D graphical interaction offers a large amount of possibilities for musical applications. However it also carries several limitations that prevent it from being used as an efficient musical instrument. For example, input devices for 3D interaction or new gaming devices are usually based on 3 or 6 degrees-of-freedom tracking combined with push-buttons or joysticks. While buttons and joysticks do not provide good resolution for musical gestures, graphical interaction using tracking may bring enough expressivity but is weakened by accuracy and haptic feedback problems. Moreover, interaction based solely on tracking limit the possibilities brought by graphical interfaces in terms of musical gestures. We propose a new approach that separates the input modalities according to traditional musical gestures. This allows to combine the possibilities of graphical interaction as selection and modulation gestures with the accuracy and the expressivity of musical interaction as excitation gestures. We implement this approach with a new input device, Piivert, which combines 6DOF tracking and pressure detection. We describe associated interaction techniques and show how this new device can be valuable for immersive musical applications