Jeffrey W. Chastine

AMMP-Vis: a collaborative virtual environment for molecular modeling

Molecular modeling is an important research area, helping scientists develop new drugs against diseases such as AIDS and cancer. Prior studies have demonstrated that immersive virtual environments have unique advantages over desktop systems in visualizing molecular models. However, exploration and interaction in existing molecular modeling virtual environments is often limited to a single user, lacking strong support for collaboration. In addition, scientists are often reluctant to adopt these systems because of their lack of availability and high cost. We propose an affordable immersive system that allows biologists and chemists to manipulate molecular models via natural gestures, receive and visualize real-time feedback from a molecular dynamics simulator, allow the sharing of customized views, and provide support for both local and remote collaborative research.

Understanding the design space of referencing in collaborative augmented reality environments

For collaborative environments to be successful, it is critical that participants have the ability to generate effective references. Given the heterogeneity of the objects and the myriad of possible scenarios for collaborative augmented reality environments, generating meaningful references within them can be difficult. Participants in co-located physical spaces benefit from non-verbal communication, such as eye gaze, pointing and body movement; however, when geographically separated, this form of communication must be synthesized using computer-mediated techniques. We have conducted an exploratory study using a collaborative building task of constructing both physical and virtual models to better understand inter-referential awareness -- or the ability for one participant to refer to a set of objects, and for that reference to be understood. Our contributions are not necessarily in presenting novel techniques, but in narrowing the design space for referencing in collaborative augmented reality. This study suggests collaborative reference preferences are heavily dependent on the context of the workspace.

Studies on the Effectiveness of Virtual Pointers in Collaborative Augmented Reality

A critical component of successful collaboration is the ability for participants to generate and interpret effective reference cues. In collaborative augmented reality (AR), participants must be able to refer to the physical and virtual artifacts that surround them, as well as those that exist in remote workspaces. One of the most primitive referencing techniques that satisfy these requirements is a virtual pointer. In order to better understand its effectiveness in collaborative augmented reality, a two-part study was conducted that independently examines how individuals both give and interpret references using this technique, as well as factors that influence accuracy. A second study was conducted that explored the dynamics of group interaction and how virtual referencing techniques may support collaborative tasks. We present the results of these two studies in the context of designing support for demonstrative referencing in collaborative augmented reality spaces. Overall, we argue that when the probability of referential ambiguity is high, additional costs such as time, computational resources or alternative techniques will help reduce referential ambiguity.

A collaborative multi-view virtual environment for molecular visualization and modeling

Molecular modeling has been a long-standing research area for biologists. However, the existing molecular modeling software lacks strong support for collaborative research. In this paper, we describe our effort to develop a collaborative multiview virtual environment for molecular visualization and modeling. In our virtual environment, the users are able to visualize large molecular structures in real-time, create their own view, or share their view with others in the system. The system allows for individual or coordinated collaborative manipulation of the virtual molecular model. Our virtual environment is integrated with a molecular dynamics simulator, and therefore our system is not merely a visualization tool, but an environment where biologists can collaboratively construct their models and test their hypotheses.

A Framework for Inter-referential Awareness in Collaborative Environments

For collaborative environments to be successful, a fundamental requirement is that they provide support for inter-referential awareness - or the ability for one participant to refer to a set of objects, and for that reference to be understood by others. Participants in co-located collaboration benefit from the availability of non-verbal communication, including gestures, eye gaze and body movements. However, when geographically separated, they can experience difficulty in communicating - as computer-mediated cues are often compromised. Given the heterogeneity of media and myriad of interaction techniques that exist in groupware, supporting inter-referential awareness can be difficult. We present a unified and systematic way of encapsulating the numerous factors related to this form of awareness through the creation of process-driven ontology. Our framework provides a formal method for describing inter-referential awareness, and serves as approach that interface designers can use to better comprehend the relevant factors involved. This research stems from our previous investigations in inter-referential awareness in collaborative augmented reality environments

Misconceptions of designing: a descriptive study

Our experience in designing and teaching a cross-disciplinary freshman design class has led us to believe that students entering design fields (e.g., computer science or engineering) are saddled with naïve or (mis)conceptions about design and design activity. It is our belief that for students to become effective designers, they must be helped to recognize and overcome these misconceptions through appropriate educational interventions. To better understand the nature and substance of these misconceptions, we conducted a descriptive survey study of 290 freshman in a technological institute. Our findings begin to suggest a consistent profile of misconceptions across declared majors that start to explain observations we have made of naïve designers in our freshman design class. This paper reports on those findings.

Teaching 2D arrays using real-time video filters

Educators have long been trying to spice things up in their introductory programming courses. Traditionally, two-dimensional arrays have been taught non-graphically using contrived examples and the command-line - which is often not motivating to students. We believe (as does supporting literature) that the inherently visual nature of a more media-oriented approach to teaching arrays, such as teaching using Image Processing, is more effective and more engaging for students. This teaching style can be extended to include real-time video filters, opening up a unique set of time-sensitive algorithms and making the traditional image processing transformations highly interactive.

Teaching programmable shaders: lightweight versus heavyweight approach

The most exciting recent advance in computer graphics has been the development of programmable Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). We discuss different approaches to and some of the issues involved in teaching the use of GPUs.

Emphasizing the area of interest using real-time shaders

This poster presents a new technique for visualizing area of interest in a collaborative virtual environment for molecular modeling. The environment allows multiple participants to interact with molecular models while receiving real-time energy feedback from a molecular mechanics simulator. Interaction within the environment occurs primarily via a data glove and is visualized through an HMD (Head-Mounted Display). To interact with the molecule, users define an area of interest by pinching (index to thumb) and then dragging in 3D space. Scientists can then grab within the box to manipulate the molecule. When working with complex molecular models, however, where either the atom count is high, or atoms are clustered together, the area of interest may be occluded by atoms or bonds that fall within the line of site, making it difficult, if not impossible to view the area (Figure 1). While several physically-correct depth-of-focus algorithms have been created [Haeberli and Akeley 1990], we were interested in an efficient approximation specifically designed for this environment.