Daniel F. Keefe

CavePainting: a fully immersive 3D artistic medium and interactive experience

CavePainting is an artistic medium that uses a 3D analog of 2D brush strokes to create 3D works of art in a fully immersive Cave environment. Physical props and gestures are used to provide an intuitive interface for artists who may not be familiar with virtual reality. The system is designed to take advantage of the 8 ft. x 8 ft. x 8 ft. space in which the artist works. CavePainting enables the artist to create a new type of art and provides a novel approach to viewing this art after it has been created. In this paper, we describe CavePainting’s 3D brush strokes, color pickers, artwork viewing mode, and interface. We also present several works of art created using the system along with feedback from artists. Artists are excited about this form of art and the gestural, full-body experience of creating it. CR Categories and Subject Descriptors: I.3.6 [Computer Graphics]: Methodology and Techniques - Interaction Techniques; I.3.7 [Computer Graphics]: Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism Virtual Reality; J.5 [Arts and Humanities]: Fine Arts Additional Key Words: 3D painting, 3D modeling, gestures, tangible user interface, Cave

Hands-free multi-scale navigation in virtual environments

This paper presents a set of interaction techniques for hands-free multi-scale navigation through virtual environments. We believe that hands-free navigation, unlike the majority of navigation techniques based on hand motions, has the greatest potential for maximizing the interactivity of virtual environments since navigation modes are offloaded from modal hand gestures to more direct motions of the feet and torso. Not only are the users’ hands freed to perform tasks such as modeling, notetaking and object manipulation, but we also believe that foot and torso movements may inherently be more natural for some navigation tasks. The particular interactions that we developed include a leaning technique for moving small and medium distances, a foot-gesture controlled Step WIM that acts as a floor map for moving larger distances, and a viewing technique that enables a user to view a full 360 degrees in only a three-walled semi-immersive environment by subtly amplifying the mapping between their torso rotation and the virtual world. We formatively designed and evaluated our techniques in existing projects related to archaeological reconstructions, free-form modeling, and interior design. In each case, our informal observations have indicated that motions such as walking and leaning are both appropriate for navigation and are effective in cognitively simplifying complex virtual environment interactions since functionality is more evenly distributed across the body.

An immersive virtual environment for DT-MRI volume visualization applications: a case study

We describe a virtual reality environment for visualizing tensor-valued volumetric datasets acquired with diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-MRI). We have prototyped a virtual environment that displays geometric representations of the volumetric second-order diffusion tensor data and are developing interaction and visualization techniques for two application areas: studying changes in white-matter structures after gamma-knife capsulotomy and pre-operative planning for brain tumor surgery. Our feedback shows that compared to desktop displays, our system helps the user better interpret the large and complex geometric models, and facilitates communication among a group of users.

Interactive volume rendering of thin thread structures within multivalued scientific data sets

We present a threads and halos representation for interactive volume rendering of vector-field structure and describe a number of additional components that combine to create effective visualizations of multivalued 3D scientific data. After filtering linear structures, such as flow lines, into a volume representation, we use a multilayer volume rendering approach to simultaneously display this derived volume along with other data values. We demonstrate the utility of threads and halos in clarifying depth relationships within dense renderings and we present results from two scientific applications: visualization of second-order tensor valued magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data and simulated 3D fluid flow data. In both application areas, the interactivity of the visualizations proved to be important to the domain scientists. Finally, we describe a PC-based implementation of our framework along with domain specific transfer functions, including an exploratory data culling tool, that enable fast data exploration.

Virtual reality for persistent pain: A new direction for behavioral pain management

Recent research indicates that immersive virtual reality (VR) can be used tool in treating acute pain [10,25,23]. For example, VR-based behavioral interventions have been used to decrease acute pain among individuals undergoing painful medical procedures (e.g. wound cleaning of burn injuries [14,15,22,10], urological endoscopies (36)), physical therapy (e.g. for blunt force trauma [16], for burned skin [12,13]), and dental pain [11,5], and experimental pain in healthy volunteers (e.g. thermal pain) [17,18]. Although these data suggest that VR has promise as a tool to help reduce acute pain, there has been limited investigation on the use of VR in the treatment of patients with persistent pain. The purpose of this topical review is to identify and highlight ways in which VR can be used either alone or in combination with other treatments for persistent pain. The review is divided into three parts. First, we briefly describe VR methods currently used in the management of acute pain. Second, we discuss several potential applications of VR as a behavioral intervention for persistent pain. Third, we highlight important future directions for research in this area.

Interactive Slice WIM: Navigating and Interrogating Volume Data Sets Using a Multisurface, Multitouch VR Interface

We present Interactive Slice World-in-Miniature (WIM), a framework for navigating and interrogating volumetric data sets using an interface enabled by a virtual reality environment made of two display surfaces: an interactive multitouch table, and a stereoscopic display wall. The framework addresses two current challenges in immersive visualization: 1) providing an appropriate overview+detail style of visualization while navigating through volume data, and 2) supporting interactive querying and data exploration, i.e., interrogating volume data. The approach extends the WIM metaphor, simultaneously displaying a large-scale detailed data visualization and an interactive miniature. Leveraging the table+wall hardware, horizontal slices are projected (like a shadow) down onto the table surface, providing a useful 2D data overview to complement the 3D views as well as a data context for interpreting 2D multitouch gestures made on the table. In addition to enabling effective navigation through complex geometries, extensions to the core Slice WIM technique support interacting with a set of multiple slices that persist on the table even as the user navigates around a scene and annotating and measuring data via points, paths, and volumes specified using interactive slices. Applications of the interface to two volume data sets are presented, and design decisions, limitations, and user feedback are discussed.

3D spatial interaction: applications for art, design, and science

3D interfaces use motion sensing, physical input, and spatial interaction techniques to effectively control highly dynamic virtual content. Now, with the advent of the Nintendo Wii, Sony Move, and Microsoft Kinect, game developers and researchers must create compelling interface techniques and game-play mechanics that make use of these technologies. At the same time, it is becoming increasingly clear that emerging game technologies are not just going to change the way we play games, they are also going to change the way we make and view art, design new products, analyze scientific datasets, and more. This introduction to 3D spatial interfaces demystifies the workings of modern videogame motion controllers and provides an overview of how it is used to create 3D interfaces for tasks such as 2D and 3D navigation, object selection and manipulation, and gesture-based application control. Topics include the strengths and limitations of various motion-controller sensing technologies in todays peripherals, useful techniques for working with these devices, and current and future applications of these technologies to areas beyond games. The course presents valuable information on how to utilize existing 3D user-interface techniques with emerging technologies, how to develop interface techniques, and how to learn from the successes and failures of spatial interfaces created for a variety of application domains.

Interactive Coordinated Multiple-View Visualization of Biomechanical Motion Data

We present an interactive framework for exploring space-time and form-function relationships in experimentally collected high-resolution biomechanical data sets. These data describe complex 3D motions (e.g. chewing, walking, flying) performed by animals and humans and captured via high-speed imaging technologies, such as biplane fluoroscopy. In analyzing these 3D biomechanical motions, interactive 3D visualizations are important, in particular, for supporting spatial analysis. However, as researchers in information visualization have pointed out, 2D visualizations can also be effective tools for multi-dimensional data analysis, especially for identifying trends over time. Our approach, therefore, combines techniques from both 3D and 2D visualizations. Specifically, it utilizes a multi-view visualization strategy including a small multiples view of motion sequences, a parallel coordinates view, and detailed 3D inspection views. The resulting framework follows an overview first, zoom and filter, then details-on-demand style of analysis, and it explicitly targets a limitation of current tools, namely, supporting analysis and comparison at the level of a collection of motions rather than sequential analysis of a single or small number of motions. Scientific motion collections appropriate for this style of analysis exist in clinical work in orthopedics and physical rehabilitation, in the study of functional morphology within evolutionary biology, and in other contexts. An application is described based on a collaboration with evolutionary biologists studying the mechanics of chewing motions in pigs. Interactive exploration of data describing a collection of more than one hundred experimentally captured pig chewing cycles is described.

Artistic collaboration in designing VR visualizations

This article describes one of the recent major collaborative efforts, a class on designing VR scientific visualizations that was co-taught with professors and students from Brown Universitys computer science department and the Rhode Island School of Designs (RISDs) illustration department. We discuss here the experiences that led us to this conclusion; along with some of the tools we have developed to facilitate working with artists. Many of the experiences and conclusions relayed here are the results of this class. We then discuss three important themes that we derived from our experiences, which are all motivated by a desire to better facilitate artistic collaborations.

Reimagining the Scientific Visualization Interaction Paradigm

The technological building blocks are in place to address six major challenges for natural visualization interfaces to enable an exciting future where natural interfaces powerfully strengthen and expand the use of visualizations in science, engineering, art, and the humanities.