We introduce a method based on the deflectometry principle for the reconstruction of specular objects exhibiting significant size and geometric complexity. A key feature of our approach is the deployment of an Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) as pattern generator. To unfold the full power of this experimental setup, an optical encoding scheme is developed which accounts for the distinctive topology of the CAVE. Furthermore, we devise an algorithm for detecting the object of interest in raw deflect metric images. The segmented foreground is used for single-view reconstruction, the background for estimation of the camera pose, necessary for calibrating the sensor system. Experiments suggest a significant gain of coverage in single measurements compared to previous methods.

We describe an experiment in which art and illustration experts evaluated six 2D vector visualization methods. We found that these expert critiques mirrored previously recorded experimental results; these findings support that using artists, visual designers and illustrators to critique scientific visualizations can be faster and more productive than quantitative user studies. Our participants successfully evaluated how well the given methods would let users complete a given set of tasks. Our results show a statistically significant correlation with a previous objective study: designers' subjective predictions of user performance by these methods match users measured performance. The experts improved the evaluation by providing insights into the reasons for the effectiveness of each visualization method and suggesting specific improvements.

We present four studies investigating tools and methodologies for artist-scientist-technologist collaboration in designing multivariate, virtual reality (VR) visualizations. Design study 1 identifies the promise of 3D drawing-style interfaces for VR design and also establishes limitations of these tools with respect to precision and support for animation. Design study 2 explores animating artist-created visualization designs with scientific 3D fluid flow data. While results captured an accurate sense of flow that was advantageous as compared to the results of study 1, the potential for visual exploration using the design tools tested was limited. Design study 3 reveals the importance of a new 3D interface that overcomes the precision limitation found in study 1 while remaining accessible to artist collaborators. Drawing upon previous results, design study 4 engages collaborative teams in a design process that begins with traditional paper sketching and moves to animated, interactive, VR prototypes "sketched" by designers in VR using interactive 3D tools. Conclusions from these four studies identify important characteristics of effective artist-accessible VR visualization design tools and lead to a proposed formalized methodology for successful collaborative design that we expect to be useful in guiding future collaborations. We call this proposed methodology Scientific Sketching.

We present an evaluation of a parameterized set of 2D icon-based visualization methods where we quantified how perceptual interactions among visual elements affect effective data exploration. During the experiment, subjects quantified three different design factors for each method: the spatial resolution it could represent, the number of data values it could display at each point, and the degree to which it is visually linear. The class of visualization methods includes Poisson-disk distributed icons where icon size, icon spacing, and icon brightness can be set to a constant or coupled to data values from a 2D scalar field. By only coupling one of those visual components to data, we measured filtering interference for all three design factors. Filtering interference characterizes how different levels of the constant visual elements affect the evaluation of the data-coupled element. Our novel experimental methodology allowed us to generalize this perceptual information, gathered using ad-hoc artificial datasets, onto quantitative rules for visualizing real scientific datasets. This work also provides a framework for evaluating visualizations of multi-valued data that incorporate additional visual cues, such as icon orientation or color.

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No abstract available.

Presents a novel class of virtual reality input devices that combine pop-through buttons with 6-DOF trackers. Compared to similar devices that use conventional buttons, pop-through devices double the number of potential discrete interaction modes, since each button has two activation states corresponding to light and firm pressure. This additional state per button provides a foundation to address a range of shortcomings with conventional virtual environment (VE) input devices that includes reducing the physical dexterity required to perform interactions, reducing the cognitive complexity of some compound tasks and enabling the design of less obtrusive devices without sacrificing expressive power. Specifically, we present two novel input devices: the FingerSleeve was designed to be minimally obtrusive physically, whereas the TriggerGun was designed to be physically similar to, yet more functional than a conventional hand-held trigger device. Further, we present a set of novel navigation and interaction techniques that leverage the capabilities of our pop-through button devices to improve interaction quality and provide insight into harnessing the potential of pop-through buttons for other tasks. Finally, we discuss how we incorporated one of our devices into a real application.

Article Share on CavePainting: a fully immersive 3D artistic medium and interactive experience Authors: Daniel F. Keefe Brown Univ., Providence, RI Brown Univ., Providence, RIView Profile , Daniel Acevedo Feliz Brown Univ., Providence, RI Brown Univ., Providence, RIView Profile , Tomer Moscovich Brown Univ., Providence, RI Brown Univ., Providence, RIView Profile , David H. Laidlaw Brown Univ., Providence, RI Brown Univ., Providence, RIView Profile , Joseph J. LaViola Brown Univ., Providence, RI Brown Univ., Providence, RIView Profile Authors Info & Claims I3D '01: Proceedings of the 2001 symposium on Interactive 3D graphicsMarch 2001Pages 85–93https://doi.org/10.1145/364338.364370Published:01 March 2001Publication History 144citation2,008DownloadsMetricsTotal Citations144Total Downloads2,008Last 12 Months140Last 6 weeks22 Get Citation AlertsNew Citation Alert added!This alert has been successfully added and will be sent to:You will be notified whenever a record that you have chosen has been cited.To manage your alert preferences, click on the button below.Manage my AlertsNew Citation Alert!Please log in to your account Save to BinderSave to BinderCreate a New BinderNameCancelCreateExport CitationPublisher SiteGet Access

This paper presents a set of interaction techniques for hands-free multi-scale navigation through virtual environments. We believe that hands-free navigation, unlike the majority of navigation techniques based on hand motions, has the greatest potential for maximizing the interactivity of virtual environments since navigation modes are offloaded from modal hand gestures to more direct motions of the feet and torso. Not only are the users' hands freed to perform tasks such as modeling, notetaking and object manipulation, but we also believe that foot and torso movements may inherently be more natural for some navigation tasks. The particular interactions that we developed include a leaning technique for moving small and medium distances, a foot-gesture controlled Step WIM that acts as a floor map for moving larger distances, and a viewing technique that enables a user to view a full 360 degrees in only a three-walled semi-immersive environment by subtly amplifying the mapping between th...

Presents the results of an evaluation of the ARCHAVE (ARCHAeological Virtual Environment) system, an immersive virtual reality (VR) environment for archaeological research. ARCHAVE is implemented in a Cave. The evaluation studied researchers analyzing lamp and coin finds throughout the excavation trenches at the Petra Great Temple site in Jordan. Experienced archaeologists used our system to study excavation data, confirming existing hypotheses and postulating new theories they had not been able to discover without the system. ARCHAVE provided access to the excavation database, and researchers were able to examine the data in the context of a life-size representation of the present-day architectural ruins of the temple. They also had access to a miniature model for site-wide analysis. Because users quickly became comfortable with the interface, they concentrated their efforts on examining the data being retrieved and displayed. The immersive VR visualization of the recovered information gave them the opportunity to explore it in a new and dynamic way and, in several cases, enabled them to make discoveries that opened new lines of investigation about the excavation.