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From: brucec%phoebus.labs.tek.com@RELAY.CS.NET (Bruce Cohen;;50-662;LP=A;)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: Report from David Sarnoff Research Center.
Message-ID: <18102@milton.u.washington.edu>
Date: 8 Mar 91 20:49:28 GMT
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The Princeton Engine sounds fascinating.  Where can I get more information
on the design, and its applications?  Have you published any papers?

>  By positioning camaras (including IR camaras) spatially around the
> virtual participant it will be possible to achieve a "whole body" to
> virtual world interaction which is not possible with a physical data
> glove. To our knowledge, this concept has never been tried in VR
> because of the inordinate amount of video processing required - but it
> can be done utilizing the Princeton Engines unique video processing
> power.

There was some discussion of feasibility of tracking body motions with
multiple cameras in this newsgroup back in October.  The biggest objections
were the computional requirements, which will be solved by new and faster
hardware as you point out, and the amount of space required for the cameras
and the volume they watch, which is a problem for small rooms.  The room
problem would be most acute in homes, schools, and offices where the VR
system is ancillary to the major business of the place, and has to share
the volume with other, possibly higher priority uses.

> Is the data glove still required? If so, how will it
> differ from present designs. By having the "interface" in a sampled
> video format, image processi

Using a glove with distinctive markings could increase the effective
signal-to-noise ratio of the tracking system by making the hand and finger
position and orientation easier to distinguish from other features in the
room.  I think the hands and fingers are the parts of the body which you
want most to track well (except perhaps for the eyes, so you can extract
gaze information), so giving the system some help with the tracking is
probably desirable.  Also, you might be able to cut down on the number of
cameras and the volume of space taken up by the system.
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Speaker-to-managers, aka
Bruce Cohen, Computer Research Lab        email: brucec@tekcrl.labs.tek.com
Tektronix Laboratories, Tektronix, Inc.                phone: (503)627-5241
M/S 50-662, P.O. Box 500, Beaverton, OR  97077