Frederick P. Brooks

Incorporating dynamic real objects into immersive virtual environments

We present algorithms that enable virtual objects to interact with and respond to virtual representations, avatars, of real objects. These techniques allow dynamic real objects, such as the user, tools, and parts, to be visually and physically incorporated into the virtual environment (VE). The system uses image-based object reconstruction and a volume query mechanism to detect collisions and to determine plausible collision responses between virtual objects and the avatars. This allows our system to provide the user natural interactions with the VE.We have begun a collaboration with NASA Langley Research Center to apply the hybrid environment system to a satellite payload assembly verification task. In an informal case study, NASA LaRC payload designers and engineers conducted common assembly tasks on payload models. The results suggest that hybrid environments could provide significant advantages for assembly verification and layout evaluation tasks.

Decision making with computer graphics in an inventory control environment

Computer-driven displays have long been thought to help decision making. But the justification for using these devices in decision-making has been long on intuition and short on quantitative analysis. To see if this intuition was right, we conducted an experiment.

Scene-motion thresholds during head yaw for immersive virtual environments

In order to better understand how scene motion is perceived in immersive virtual environments, we measured scene-motion thresholds under different conditions across three experiments. Thresholds were measured during quasi-sinusoidal head yaw, single left-to-right or right-to-left head yaw, different phases of head yaw, slow to fast head yaw, scene motion relative to head yaw, and two scene-illumination levels. We found that across various conditions (1) thresholds are greater when the scene moves with head yaw (corresponding to gain <1.0) than when the scene moves against head yaw (corresponding to gain >1.0), and (2) thresholds increase as head motion increases.

Evaluation of an interactive display system for teaching numerical analysis

The purpose of this study was to develop, use, and evaluate an interactive display system for teaching selected topics in elementary numerical analysis. We were interested in giving students a thorough intuitive understanding of the pertinent mathematical functions and in measuring the learning effects of an on-line graphical capability.

NSF workshop on a software research program for the 21 st century

Workshop Participants: Professor Victor R. Basili, University of Maryland (Chairman) Mr. Laszlo Belady, Belady Enterprises Professor Barry Boehm, University of Southern California Professor Frederick Brooks, University of North Carolina Professor James Browne, University of Texas Dr. Richard DeMillo, Bellcore Dr. Stuart I. Feldman, IBM Dr. Cordell Green, Kestrel Institute Dr. Butler Lampson, Microsoft Corporation Professor Duncan Lawrie, University of Illinois Professor Nancy Leveson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Nancy Lynch, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Dr. Mark Weiser, Xerox Corporation Professor Jeannette Wing, Carnegie Mellon Institute

Computer-Man Communication: Using Computer Graphics in the Instructional Process

Publisher Summary The ultimate purpose of most information-processing systems is to convey information to the human mind. This is also the purpose of any method of instruction. This chapter is a progress report on a group of experiments and projects at a laboratory, each of which explores a different aspect of the application of computer graphics to instruction. The concept behind all of this is that the human mind can be considered to have many input channels of various bandwidths and impedances. The most effective processes of communicating with the mind will be those that use many channels and low-impedance ones. Recently, computer systems have incorporated graphical display devices and audio answerback devices as additional means of providing information to the user. In Prokops and Olivers experiments reported in this chapter, strong effects offering substantial improvement in instructional effectiveness and computer–man communication are found. These modes of the use of computer graphics appear to be more promising for the college-teaching application than conventional computer-assisted instructions (CAIs), which are found to have weaker effects.