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

提案编号：CNS 09- 23158 PI：Ilies，Horea T.; 安德森，艾米; Kazerounian，Kazem;马什，克里L。Nowak，Kristine机构：康涅狄格大学职称： MRI/器械：Dev.该项目旨在开发一个集成的虚拟环境系统，该系统不仅能够实现数据的3D可视化，而且还能够通过基于双界面的自然手和手指手势与数据进行交互，该系统利用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种感官（例如视觉、触觉和声音）的连贯和统一的感知体验。这些沉浸式、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，提供用户与这些系统的交互的相应的机器没有跟上可视化工具的发展速度。目前，一些先进的商业环境提供了通过有线可穿戴硬件（诸如有线手套和头戴式显示器）实现的一些用户交互能力。这反过来又促进了用户和虚拟现实环境之间不自然和繁琐的交互，抑制了对技术的接受。开发的手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。该环境应该导致一个强大的开放平台，以直观的方式与虚拟几何数据进行交互，而不需要可穿戴硬件在纳米和设计工程，心理学，计算机科学，结构生物学机构中激发最先进的技术，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。更广泛的影响：这个仪器将是开源的，并广泛提供有良好记录的设置程序。VR系统将与其他VR站点联网，包括爱荷华州的VRAC，以最大限度地发挥影响并促进技术转让。此外，该仪器有助于-刺激涉及工程，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，-加强教育，招生和推广活动的潜力，以及-对K-12学生，教师和学区进行有针对性的推广服务，这些学生，教师和学区服务于传统上在工程学科中代表性不足的群体。该项目还推进了工程设计教学和实践的最新水平，以及几何在其他领域中发挥重要作用。为开发新一代专业人员做出贡献，这些专业人员使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.