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Five Futuristic Interfaces on Display at Siggraph


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Augmented Reality Toys

Frantz Lasorne's Augmented Reality combines virtual reality and tangible toys.

Credit: www.yankodesign.com

ACM's SIGGRAPH 2009 conference will showcase a quintet of innovative interface models. University of Tokyo researchers have created a touchable holographic interface featuring virtual airborne objects that deliver a tactile sensation thanks to an ultrasound device positioned under the liquid crystal display and a mirror for projecting the objects. View a video about touchable holography.

The conference also will feature Virtualization Gate, a virtual reality system from INRIA and Grenoble University that tracks users' movements with multiple cameras, facilitating interaction with virtual objects with a greater level of realism. View a video about the Virtualization Gate.

Meanwhile, L'Ecole de Design student Frantz Lasorne's Scope augmented reality display automatically recognizes toys that have been mounted onto platforms covered with hexagonal patterns, which become virtual buttons that can be used to virtually modify the toy. View a video about Frantz Lasorne's Augmented Reality Toys.v2.

A fourth interface to be highlighted at the event will be Carnegie Mellon University researcher Chris Harrison's scratch input technology, which transforms any surface into an instant input device by detecting the unique sound generated when a fingernail is dragged across it. View a video about the scratch input technique.

Finally, University of Southern California researchers will demonstrate Headspin, a three-dimensional (3D) teleconferencing system that maintains eye contact between a 3D head and several participants on the other end of a connection. Images are captured via a polarized beam-splitter that positions the camera virtually near the speaker's eyes, while the 3D display projects high-speed video onto a rapidly rotating aluminum disk to produce an accurate image for each viewer. View a video about the Headspin teleconferencing system.

From Technology Review
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Abstracts Copyright © 2009 Information Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA


 

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