Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!spool.mu.edu!uunet!ogicse!milton!hlab From: hlab@milton.ogi.edu Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds Subject: Re: Japanese stereo TV/computer terminals Message-ID: <1991Jun19.193056.19617@milton.u.washington.edu> Date: 19 Jun 91 08:58:15 GMT References: <1991Jun18.161206.19250@milton.u.washington.edu> <1991Jun18. Sender: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu (Human Int. Technology Lab) Organization: Canon Research Europe, Guildford, UK Lines: 54 Approved: cyberoid@milton.u.washington.edu brucec@phoebus.labs.tek.com (Bruce Cohen) writes: >In article <1991Jun18.161206.19250@milton.u.washington.edu> hlab@milton. >u.washington.edu (Human Int. Technology Lab) writes: >> NTT's display has >> two infrared sensors that track a viewer's head position >> and adjust for these movements. NTT hopes to produce >> its screens for computer terminals and video phones but >> says commercial systems are still two years away. >> >> (Edited by Robert Buderi) >Fascinating! Some questions come to mind: >1) How bad is the view of a screen for one person when the screen is > tracking another person? Is this inherently a solo device? >2) Could the position data also be sent to the computer building the > image so both horizontal and vertical motion parallax can be > computed? The image could be regenerated for the different > eye-positions, giving the illusion of looking at nearby objects > through a window as the viewer moves. >3) How intrusive is the target for the tracking device (correct me if my > assumption is wrong, but I would guess from your description that the > viewer has to wear some sort of optical target which the sensors detect)? I tried the system over a year ago when I visited NTT. What is reported above may differ, but... What I saw was a solo device. I seem to remember that the images came straight off a video tape. The system was set up to give stereo images from 3 positions: face on, from the left and from the right. The jumps between the positions were quite noticeable. As for the optical target for the track- ing device... hmmm... I don't recall wearing anything. (This is backed up by a vague memory of the image switching getting confused when two people moved around the sensed area.) The aspect ratio of the screen was unusual; something to do with the way the video frames were stored. I remember being surprised by the quality of the 3D effect. It felt slightly odd not to have to "dress up" to watch a stereo image. All in all, what I saw was very impressive. [I was also impressed with the helpfulness and openness of the NTT researchers.] ------------- David Lau-Kee, Canon Research Centre Europe, 17/20 Frederick Sanger Rd, Surrey Research Park, Guildford, Surrey, GU25YD, UK. laukee@canon.co.uk, laukee@canon.uucp, ..!mcsun!ukc!uos-ee!canon!laukee Tel: +44 (0) 483 574325 Fax: +44 (0) 483 574360