Yasunobu Yamauchi

A real-time vision-based interface using Motion Processor and applications to robotics

The authors developed a new vision-based interface that detects gestures in real time to enable interaction between the user and computer. This vision-based interface consists of two elements: the “Motion Processor™” and the “extraction of the region of interest (ROI).” The Motion Processor is a new image acquisition device. By illuminating the target object with near-infrared light and using image sensors to collect the reflected light, the Motion Processor can eliminate the background and collect shape, motion, and depth information of only the target object. In addition, the authors proposed a method of using the collected image depth information to quickly and stably extract the ROI and showed, according to evaluation experiments on a PC, that the region can be detected with high precision within 0.06 second. Real-time sensing of the shape and motion of a specific object from an image can be implemented by using the Motion Processor and this ROI extraction method, enabling this interface to function as a computer eye that can easily recognize a target object. The authors applied this real-time vision-based interface to the field of robotics and used it together with speech recognition on a single PC to create a prototype of a pet robot system that can respond to the users gestures.

Rendering of vector objects on curved surface using pivot triangle primitives

Resolution-independent rendering is important for many applications such as text rendering and rendering vector objects. This theme has attracted interest in recent years owing to the growing popularity of Flash and SVG-based applications [Loop and Blinn 2005]. We had previously presented a fast rendering method using a stencil buffer for deformable vector objects [Kokojima et al.]. One of the advantages of this method is that retriangulation is unnecessary when vector objects deform interactively. However, [Kokojima et al.] only deal with rendering vector objects on a flat surface.

A motional interface approach based on user's tempo

People naturally use gesture to aid inter-personal communication. However, during computer interaction, users are obliged to use conventional devices such as keyboards, mice, and game-pads. In this paper a motional interface is described that allows processing of gestural inputs through the medium of a 3D image-input device, or Motion Processor, which provides a more natural framework for human-computer interaction. Several PC applications for this real-time motional interface will be presented in the live demonstration session. These applications are edutainment prototypes that make use of natural hand movement.

Birds-eye view ray scan system for flatbed autostereoscopic displays

We have proposed a flatbed autostereoscopic display using the one-dimensional (1-D) integral imaging (II) method [Hirayama 2006]. 1-D cylindrical lens array (lenticular sheet) is used in the 1D-II display, making it possible to observe a three-dimensional (3-D) image with the horizontal parallax ray. The flatbed autostereoscopic display system brought about a more effective stereoscopic experience than the conventional upright display. In the flatbed display configuration, observers perceive displayed objects as if they exist on a table, because it has real depth matching with a horizontal plane and uses birds-eye view configuration.

Real-time rendering for autostereoscopic 3D display systems

Introduction The long-standing goal of the computer graphics community is to be able to view 3D objects as we see them in real world without the need for special glasses. This sketch shows our integral imaging based 3D display and real-time rendering system using commodity graphics hardware. Traditional stereoscopic 3D display uses binocular or a multiview method with two or more converging points of light rays that correspond to the positions of the viewers eyes. However these methods suffer from problems such as restricted viewing angle, and image flipping when the viewer moves. We developed a light-ray based 3D display and real-time rendering system to solve these problems. As a result we created an autostereoscopic 3D interactive system with a wide viewing angle and less visual fatigue.