CAST: A System for color animation and scene transformation

CAST is an acronym for Color Animation and Scene Transformation. The objective of this system is to give non-computing personnel the ability to create still and animated pictures with the aid of a digital computer. Data generation and animation language are two key components that comprise an animation system. The CAST system incorporates an interactive dialogue to assist the user in generating and/or editing three dimensional scenes, and an animation language which uses a simple script like syntax to describe parallel motion. The third key component of an animation system is the display. The CAST system incorporates hidden surface elimination and surface shading necessary to produce realistic images. The output is in device independent form so that it may be adapted to virtually any type of display . This thesis covers the design and implementation of the CAST system. Basic concepts as well as requirements, design problems/tradeoffs, and implications of this system are also discussed

Real-time, interactive, visually updated simulator system for telepresence

Time delays and limited sensory feedback of remote telerobotic systems tend to disorient teleoperators and dramatically decrease the operator's performance. To remove the effects of time delays, key components were designed and developed of a prototype forward simulation subsystem, the Global-Local Environment Telerobotic Simulator (GLETS) that buffers the operator from the remote task. GLETS totally immerses an operator in a real-time, interactive, simulated, visually updated artificial environment of the remote telerobotic site. Using GLETS, the operator will, in effect, enter into a telerobotic virtual reality and can easily form a gestalt of the virtual 'local site' that matches the operator's normal interactions with the remote site. In addition to use in space based telerobotics, GLETS, due to its extendable architecture, can also be used in other teleoperational environments such as toxic material handling, construction, and undersea exploration