Roberto Lopez-Gulliver

gCubik: a cubic autostereoscopic display for multiuser interaction: grasp and group-share virtual images

Collaborative tasks requiring the sharing of an object can benefit from a compact, group-shared autostereoscopic display. We have analyzed the requirements for a cubic autostereoscopic display employing integral photography (IP). The display should be compact as well as graspable and viewable from any direction; thus suitable for group discussions. This paper describes the implementation of the gCubik display that realizes our conceptual prototype. We envision the application areas to include games and edutainment.

Synthesis of omnidirectional movie using a set of key frame panoramic images

We aim to provide an interactive and entertaining environment for users to better enjoy and stay motivated during indoor training. We are now developing a virtual treadmill-based training system that will allow users to experience walking or running around various real scenes. The images are displayed according to the users speed. We use a set of key frame 360-degree panoramic images on a grid to synthesize, in real-time, an omnidirectional movie for any possible path the user takes. The playback smoothness of the synthesized movie depends on the separation (grid pitch) between key frames. Preliminary experimental results help us determine the largest playback grid pitch without compromising the playback smoothness.

Glasses-free large-screen three-dimensional display and super multiview camera for highly realistic communication

Abstract. We studied highly realistic communication systems using a super multiview three-dimensional (3-D) video system. We propose the developed glasses-free 200-in. 3-D display using ∼200 high-definition (HD) projector units to reconstruct natural life-size 3-D moving objects, such as cars and humans. We also analyzed the optimal arrangement of the multiview camera system for the 3-D display. In the experiments, we developed a prototype super multiview 3-D camera system using compact HD video cameras with real-time convergence compensation circuits that correct the captured images via image processing optimized for the display. We also performed demonstration experiments using the developed 3-D display and camera system in a public area. As a result, we highlight several possibilities for actual applications of the glasses-free super multiview 3-D video system.

Vetrina Attori: Scene Seek Support System Focusing on Characters in a Video

In most video services, users watch only the scenes they are interested in, and look back on the scenes they have watched in the past. In these situations, users typically use a seek bar for seeking scenes of the video. They often have to operate the seek bar many times to get to the desired playback position. In this paper, we aim to support the seeking of specific scenes from video contents. In our preliminary study, we found that users seek scenes depending on when each character appears in the video. Therefore, we designed a system to support seeking scenes using the information of characters. We evaluated the usefulness of our proposed system by comparing it with an existing system. According to our qualitative evaluation, we confirm that our proposed system could ease scene seeking.

Training Simulator for Resuscitation of Neonate with High Effectiveness and Low Introduction Cost

The Japanese Society of Perinatal and Neonatal Medicine established the Neonatal Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (NCPR) workshop in 2007. The goal of the NCPR workshop is to train all medical staff to learn the algorithm to resuscitate neonates at all times after delivery. We designed a new training simulator for neonatal resuscitation that is both highly effective and has a low introduction cost.

Effects of Depth Cues on the Recognition of the Spatial Position of a 3D Object in Transparent Stereoscopic Visualization

Medical applications, as well as many other scientific fields, frequently utilize transparent viewing to investigate the inner 3D structures of complex objects. On the other hand, it is known that stereoscopic vision is effective in allowing us to intuitively understand 3D shapes and to realize natural depth feel of visualized scenes. It is expected that the combination of these two visualization techniques, that is, transparent viewing and the stereoscopic vision, namely transparent stereoscopic visualization, should be effective for our easier and intuitive understanding of inner structures of 3D objects. However, the cognitive effects that arise when combining these two techniques have not been fully understood for us until now. In this paper, we investigate the cognitive effects that arise when combining these two techniques of computer visualization. We specially focus on medical volume visualization to investigate influences of the luminance gradient, which is inherent in the stochastic point-based rendering (SPBR) that we proposed recently. We conducted psychophysical experiments in which observers analysed the perceived 3D structure based on transparent stereoscopic visualization. The experiments are executed under the conditions of monocular, binocular viewing and motion parallax. We found that the luminance gradient is effective in the perceived depth magnitude in the transparent stereoscopic viewing of medical volume data.

gCubik+i Virtual 3D Aquarium: Interfacing a Graspable 3d Display with a Tabletop Display

We propose gCubik+i as a new interactive platform that naturally interfaces a 3D display with a tabletop display. The proposed platform is suitable for group collaboration and it introduces two novel interaction paradigms to existing tabletop display applications: 1) natural switching between the shared working spaces of the table and the users’ hands; and 2) transforming static 2D images into interactive 3D images that can be viewed and manipulated as if holding a real object. This paper describes the conceptual design and prototype implementation of the gCubik+i platform along with a description of its 3D virtual aquarium application.