CRCD/EI: Effective Distance Learning Through Sustained Interactivity and Visual Realism

[0417458]普渡大学“CRCD/EI：通过持续的互动和视觉现实主义进行有效的远程学习”$539,999该项目结合了视觉、图像处理、机器人和计算机图形学的研究，创造了一种新型的远程学习系统，使教师和远程学习者能够在课堂上感受到“存在感”。该项目包括研究、开发、部署和评估一个远程学习系统，该系统扩展了真实的课堂，以一种独特的方式容纳远程学生。该系统的有效性来自于向远程和本地参与者传达一种强烈的感觉，即远程参与者实际上就在教室里。互动性——系统支持参与者之间的高带宽、低延迟、不间断和安全的通信；高质量的图形-该系统通过将分段高分辨率实时视频与预下载的逼真3D模型和演示材料相结合，提供教室，教师，学生和讲座材料的逼真，可视化描述。容纳远程学生的虚拟教室与真实教室无缝集成。真实的教室被扩展以容纳远程的学生。每个远程位置的学生都是实时获取的，并集成在一个共同的虚拟3D教室中，该教室被渲染和投影在真实教室的墙上。在本地站点，教师看到的远程位置的学生，好像他们是本地学生坐在教室后面的额外排。虚拟教室的模型是逼真的，具有几何形状，使教师可以很容易地看到远程参与者。在远程站点，学生使用个人电脑和带有快速宽带接口连接到互联网的数字摄像机参加讲座。pi预计他们的系统将克服当前远程教育的许多缺点，包括：远程学生的图形表示不足；虚拟课堂整合不足；缺乏对偏远地区学生的支持；缺乏其他教育活动的支持；数字内容创作工具缺失或不足。

0417458Voicu PopescuPurdue University"CRCD/EI: Effective Distance Learning Through Sustained Interactivity and Visual Realism"$539,999This project combines research in vision, image processing, robotics, and computer graphics to create a novel distance learning system that enables instructors and remote learners to feel a "sense of presence" in the classroom. The project involves researching, developing, deploying and assessing a distance learning system that extends the real classroom to accommodate remotely located students in a unique way. The system's effectiveness comes from conveying a strong sense to both remote and local participants that the remote participants are actually present in the classroom. The sense of presence is enabled by: Interactivity -- the system supports high-bandwidth, low-latency, uninterrupted, and secure communications between the participants; High-quality graphics -- the system provides realistic, visual descriptions of the classroom, instructor, students, and of the lecture materials by combining segmented high-resolution real-time video with pre-downloaded photorealistic 3D models and presentation materials. The virtual classroom that hosts the remotely located students is seamlessly integrated with the real classroom. The real classroom is extended to accommodate remotely located students. Each remotely located student is acquired in real-time and integrated in a common virtual 3D classroom that is rendered and projected continually on a wall of the real classroom. At the local site, the instructor sees the remotely located students as if they were local students seated in additional rows at the back of the classroom. The model of the virtual classroom is photorealistic, with a geometry that allows the instructor to easily see the remote participants well. At the remote site students participate in the lecture using a personal computer and a digital video camera with a rapid interface broadband connection to the Internet. The PIs anticipate that their system will overcome many of the shortcomings of current distance education including: inadequate graphical representation of the remote students; inadequate integration of the virtual classroom; lack of support for individual remotely located students; lack of support of other educational activities; and missing or inadequate tools for digital content creation.