Augmented reality

About: Augmented reality is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 36039 publications have been published within this topic receiving 479617 citations. The topic is also known as: AR.

Integrating the physical environment into mobile remote collaboration

Abstract: We describe a framework and prototype implementation for unobtrusive mobile remote collaboration on tasks that involve the physical environment. Our system uses the Augmented Reality paradigm and model-free, markerless visual tracking to facilitate decoupled, live updated views of the environment and world-stabilized annotations while supporting a moving camera and unknown, unprepared environments. In order to evaluate our concept and prototype, we conducted a user study with 48 participants in which a remote expert instructed a local user to operate a mock-up airplane cockpit. Users performed significantly better with our prototype (40.8 tasks completed on average) as well as with static annotations (37.3) than without annotations (28.9). 79% of the users preferred our prototype despite noticeably imperfect tracking.

Virtual people: capturing human models to populate virtual worlds

Abstract: A new technique is introduced for automatically building recognisable moving 3D models of individual people. Realistic modelling of people is essential for advanced multimedia, augmented reality and immersive virtual reality. Current systems for whole-body model capture are based on active 3D sensing to measure the shape of the body surface. Such systems are prohibitively expensive and do not enable capture of high-quality photo-realistic colour. This results in geometrically accurate but unrealistic human models. The goal of this research is to achieve automatic low cost modelling of people suitable for personalised avatars to populate virtual worlds. A model based approach is presented for automatic reconstruction of recognisable avatars from a set of low cost colour images of a person taken from four orthogonal views. A generic 3D human model represents both the human shape and kinematic joint structure. The shape of a specific person is captured by mapping 2D silhouette information from the orthogonal view colour images onto the generic 3D model. Colour texture mapping is achieved by projecting the set of images onto the deformed 3D model. This results in the capture of a recognisable 3D facsimile of an individual person suitable for articulated movement in a virtual world. The system is low cost, requires single shot capture, is reliable for large variations in shape and size and can cope with clothing of moderate complexity.

Using augmented reality to treat phobias

Abstract: Virtual reality (VR) is useful for treating several psychological problems, including phobias such as fear of flying, agoraphobia, claustrophobia, and phobia to insects and small animals. We believe that augmented reality (AR) could also be used to treat some psychological disorders. AR and VR share some advantages over traditional treatments. However, AR gives a greater feeling of presence (the sensation of being there) and reality judgment (judging an experience as real) than VR because the environment and the elements the patient uses to interact with the application are real. Moreover, in AR users see their own hands, feet, and so on, whereas VR only simulates this experience. With these differences in mind, the question arises as to the kinds of psychological treatments AR and VR are most suited for. In our system, patients see their own hands, feet, and so on. They can touch the table that animals are crossing or seeing their feet while the animals are running on the floor. They can also hold a marker with a dead spider or cockroach or pick up a flyswatter, a can of insecticide, or a dustpan.

Augmented reality method and system for designing environments and buying/selling goods

Abstract: Described is a method and a corresponding system for designing interior and exterior environments and for selling real world goods that appear as virtual objects within an augmented reality-generated design. The method includes the steps of generating a digitized still or moving image of a real world environment; providing in a programmable computer a database of virtual objects; parsing the image with a programmable computer to determine if the image contains any real world markers corresponding to the virtual objects in the database; retrieving corresponding virtual objects from the database and superimposing the images contained in the virtual objects in registration upon their corresponding real world markers in the image; and enabling users to retrieve the attributes of the real world objects depicted in the augmented reality image.