IT-support for creativity sessions for local and net-based groups

Aim & Scope

The first aim was to establish core technologies in the area of Infrared based (IR-based) optical tracking. Tabletop systems often employ IR-based tracking of interactive devices sitting on the tabletop. To enable tracking of multiple devices we have additionally realized IR-triggering. Interactive drawing shown here was reached using a stylus. The stylus is both triggered and tracked using high-frequency IR-signals.

Method & Features

A synchronization unit for such IR-signals which reaches up to 500 frames per second, has recently been developed at the t2i Lab at CSE, Chalmers. This unit is now part of a complete tabletop system, which is mainly developed at ICVR, ETH Zurich. The camera used in the most recent system is a state-of-the-art model from Qualisys.

Funding & Further Developments

This work was partly funded by The Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (http://www.stint.se/) enabling a Chalmers-ETH collaboration on Virtual Reality. Based on the results reached so far, the three project partners are now planning to develop richer input devices

Keywords

Virtual Reality, Collaboration, Tangible User Interface (TUI), Tabletop Interaction, IR-Tracking

References & Links

www.qualisys.com
www.icvr.ethz.ch
www.t2i.se

Project partners

Qualisys is a leading, global provider of products and services based on optical motion capture. The measurement systems consist of high speed, precision motion capture cameras and advanced software for tracking and analysis of motion data.
www.qualisys.com

Innovation Center Virtual Reality (ICVR) at the Institute of Machine Tools and Manufacturing (IWF) at ETH Zurich. The ICVR group is doing research in using virtual reality to support product development processes. The group is also working on hardware interfaces and systems to realize an easier access from the human´s analogue world to the digital world of the computer.
www.icvr.ethz.ch

t2i Lab at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Chalmers, was established in 2004. The purpose behind Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) is to allow people to interact with computers through familiar tangible objects, thereby taking advantage of both the richness of the tactile world and the power of computer-based simulations.
www.t2i.se