MRI: Development of a Gesture Based Virtual Reality System for Research in Virtual Worlds

提案#：CNS09-23158PI(S)：Ilie，Horea T.；Anderson，Amy；Kazerounian，Kazem；Marsh，Kerry L.；Nowak，Kristine Institution：康涅狄格大学标题：MRI/开发：Dev.基于手势的虚拟现实系统研究项目提出：本项目开发了一个集成的虚拟环境系统，该系统不仅可以实现数据的三维可视化，还可以通过基于双界面的自然手势和手指与数据进行交互，开发了多点触摸交互界面和基于视觉的手势界面。虚拟现实环境依赖于一系列技术，这些技术允许用户在与三维数据交互的同时，经历涉及多个感官(如视觉、触觉和声音)的连贯和统一的感知体验。这些身临其境、高度可视化的3D环境目前为空间可视化数据提供了相当高的性能水平。然而，提供与这些系统的用户交互的相应机制没有跟上与可视化工具相同的发展步伐。目前，一些先进的商业环境提供了一些通过有线可穿戴硬件(如有线手套和头盔显示器)实现的用户交互功能。这反过来又促进了用户和虚拟现实环境之间的非自然和繁琐的交互，抑制了对这些技术的接受。开发的手势和手指手势的语法和语义与几何数据交互，而实现依赖于多点触摸表面计算平台以及新开发的手势跟踪和识别系统。该环境应该带来一个强大的开放平台，用于以直观的方式与虚拟几何数据交互，而不需要可穿戴硬件来激发纳米与设计工程、心理学、计算机科学、结构生物学研究所的最先进水平，以及支持健康、干预和预防中心(CHIP)的研究。这个项目解决了这个问题。广泛的影响：这个仪器将是开源的，并且广泛使用，有很好的文档记录的设置程序。VR系统将与其他VR网站联网，包括爱荷华州的vrac，以最大限度地发挥影响并刺激技术转让。此外，该工具有助于激发涉及工程、生物学、计算机科学、心理学和人机交互(HCI)的跨学科研究的关键途径，增强教育、招生和推广活动的潜力，并有针对性地向K-12学生、教师和服务于传统上在工程学科中代表性不足的群体的学区进行拓展。该项目还促进了工程设计教学和实践的最新水平，以及几何在其中发挥和重要作用的其他领域。这项工作有助于培养新一代专业人员，他们利用虚拟现实工具的能力来增强传统学科，以改进工程设计，这项工作应该对科学家和工程师的能力产生长期影响。

Proposal #: CNS 09-23158PI(s): Ilies, Horea T.; Anderson, Amy; Kazerounian, Kazem; Marsh, Kerry L.; Nowak, KristineInstitution: University of ConnecticutTitle: MRI/Dev.: Dev. of a Gesture Based Virtual Reality System for Research in Virtual WorldsProject Proposed:This project, developing an integrated virtual environment system capable of allowing not only 3D visualization of data, but also interaction with data through natural hand and finger gestured based on a dual interface, exploits a multi-touch interaction interface and a vision based hand-gesture interface. Virtual reality environments rely on a collection of technologies that allow the user to go through a coherent and unified perceptual experience involving multiple senses, such as vision, touch, and sound, while interacting with 3-dimensional data. These immersive, highly visual, 3D environments currently offer a fairly high level of performance for spatially visualizing data. However, the corresponding machinery providing user interaction with these systems has not kept up the same pace of development with the visualization tools. At present some advanced commercial environments offer some user interaction capabilities achieved through wired wearable hardware (such as wired gloves and head mounted displays). This promotes, in turn, an unnatural and cumbersome interaction between the user and the virtual reality environments, curbing the acceptance of the technologies. The syntax and semantics of the hand and finger gestures developed interacts with geometric data, while the implementation relies on the Multi-Touch Surface computing platform as well as on a newly developed gesture tracking and recognition system. The environment should lead to a potent open platform for interacting with virtual geometric data in an intuitive way, without the need for wearable hardware galvanizing the state of the art at the institution in Nano and Design Engineering, Psychology, Computer Science, Structural biology, as well as support research in the Center for Health, Intervention, and Prevention (CHIP). This project addresses the problem.Broader Impacts: This instrumentation will be open source and widely available with well documented set up procedures. The VR system will be networked with other VR-sites, including VRAC at Iowa State, to maximize the impact and stimulate technology transfer. Moreover, the instrument contributes to- Stimulate critical avenues of interdisciplinary research involving engineering, biology, computer science, psychology, and Human Computer Interaction (HCI),- Strengthen the potential for educational, student recruiting, and outreach activities, and- Perform targeted outreach to K-12 students, teachers, and school districts serving groups that have traditionally been underrepresented in the engineering disciplines. The project also advances the state of the art in the teaching and practice of engineering design, as well as other fields in which geometry plays and important role. Contributing to the development of a new generation of professionals that use capabilities of virtual reality tools to augment traditional disciplines for improved engineering design, this work should have a long-lasting impact on the ability of scientists and engineers.