technical communication

The AEL is a research lab at Georgia Tech investigating the design and implementation of augmented- and mixed-reality experiences.

A recent project they have done in collaboration with different project partners is ARhrrrr!

ARhrrrr is an augmented reality shooter for mobile camera-phones. The phone provides a window into a 3d town overrun with zombies. When you point the camera at a special game map, you get a mix of virtual and real world content.

While shooters are not really my favourite reference projects for such applications I see a lot of possibilities to augment also games and open an new dimension of games, board games, serious games and edutainment.

It is important to know that it is based on the new NVidia’s Tegra platform.

At the moment, it is all just concept. But we will se the devices soon out there that are capable of running it. But once Tegra actually launches in more devices, we will start seeing some real breakthrough games on mobile devices.

See: Augmented Environments Lab

The fact that I need to be quite mobile for my research activities and also that the long daily train rides also should be used to go further with my research work, I invested in a nice MSI Wind U100. It represents one of the actually very popular “Netbooks” or “UMPC”s like the also very common Asus Eee PCs.

First impressions are very good and show that the intended use can be fully covered. Even more applications seem to be possible (Internet,MP3 Player, watching TV,videos…).

I also will test it with some AR software tools and see how it enhances the ubiquitous/pervasive computing augmented reality.

For more information see: MSI Homepage

Recent advances in GPS-technology and its combination with datalogging and geotagging offer new ways of keeping an overview of ones own sport activities.

So datalogger become more and more popular. They not just only used by geofreaks anymore. Also kids already use it in their spare time an make e.g. use of the various trackback functions. Furtheron displaying and logging the data allows to display and store data on speed, distance etc. of sport activities like cycling, nordic walking, running, skating, rollerblading, mountain biking, skiing, hiking etc.

In looking for such a device I found in the big variety of different products the Navilock NL-120GR datalogger:

In order to be useful to a big target audience it is equipped with a variety of different information modes on the display. Beside the logging functions he has integrated a barometric altitude measurement, an electromagnetic compass and a thermometer. Even it shows the lunar phase and position of the sun etc. Furtheron it provides a bluetooth function for using it as a GPS mouse for a PC (laptop,…) or a mobile device (smartphone, PDA,…).

For cycling and mountain biking also the relevant brackets are included. For running, nordic walking etc. the relevant straps are provided too. It allows to display beside the actual speed also the accumulated kilometers, altitude etc. All this is possible without further sensor mounted on the bike or pods attached to the shoes.

The display of tracks is possible then via Google™ Earth or Google™ Maps. The export or backup of data of the tracks can be performed with  TimeMachineX.

see also: http://www.navilock.de/ or http://www.wintec-gps.de/

An interesting announcement concerning displays in augmented reality is the information that Brother Develops a Spectacle-type Wearable Retinal Imaging Display:

Brother Industries, Ltd. (president: Toshikazu Koike) has announced that it has successfully developed a prototype spectacle-type wearable retinal imaging display(RID), which is significantly smaller than the previous prototype. Brother is actively developing technologies for retinal imaging displays, such as creating an attraction for EXPO 2005 Aichi, Japan whereby visitors could view images through a head-mounted RID.

RID is an image projection technology that focuses light, of an intensity harmless to the eyes, onto the retina and then moves the light at high speed to create afterimages. Images projected onto the retina appear as if they existed in front of the user.
Features of Brother’s RID
1.   The transparent display enables users to see RID images placed in the visual field.
2.   Users can view private images and confidential data away from being viewed by others.
3.   Even though the product is a small, spectacle-type wearable display, the images appear as if on a virtual large screen.
Schematic illustration of the RID

Technical details
1.   Significant reduction in size and weight: less than one thousandth of the previous prototype
Our RID consists of three modules: a light source module, an optical scanning module, and an eyepiece module. This prototype uses an optical micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) scanner based on our new optical scanning module technology and a smaller eyepiece module to reduce the size and weight to less than one thousandth of the previous prototype.

2.   Development of small optical scanning and eyepiece modules
Since starting to sell laser printers in 1987, Brother has developed various optical systems and laser printing technologies. To reduce the size of optical scanning and eyepiece modules for the new prototype, the company developed an optical scanning module technology to combine a high-speed and a low-speed optical MEMS scanner, and also a smaller eyepiece module with an aspheric lens.
These innovations have significantly reduced the size of the product.
Brother will continue to develop wearable RID devices with even smaller light source modules.
3.   Optical MEMS scanner with world-class operating frequency
Based on its inkjet printing technology, Brother has been developing piezoelectric MEMS technologies and proprietary thin-film actuators. By using these technologies, the company has successfully developed in-house an optical MEMS scanner (high-speed scanning mirror device), with world-class operating frequency, to create clear images.

• Outline of the RID specifications (Except Cable & Spectacle Frame)

Resolution: SVGA (800 × 600)
Frame rate: Approx.60Hz
Angle of view: Approx. 20°×15°
Size: Approx. 20 cc
Weight: Approx. 25g

• Outline of the optical MEMS scanner specifications

Drive system: Piezoelectric resonant drive
Mirror diameter: Approx. φ1 mm
Optical resonant angle: Approx. 20°
Operating frequency: Approx. 30 kHz
Dimensions: Approx. 12×8×2mm (L×W×T)

See also:

http://www.brother.com/en/news/2008/rid/index.htm

As know from various Virtual Reality applications datagloves are interesting interaction devices. Nowadays they are also coming into a light-weight, lower cost and not anymore cumbersome looking range as DG Tech presents.They describe their recent released product as follows:

November 2007: DGTech Engineering Solutions releases on the market the new VHand dataglove version. A complete redesign of the glove has permitted to embed the acquisition board inside the glove itself. On the same board has been mounted a complete 3 axes accelerometer, which permits to accurately measure the movements and the orientations of the hand, strongly increasing the application fields of this complete sensor. The finger movements are still revealed by the use of the well tested Flexpoint bend sensors.

The product philosophy is changed, starting from a OEM version, which perfectly suits the needs of Universities, Research Centres and company involved in the developing of innovative solutions in the fields of robotics, motion capture, virtual realities and gaming. As optional devices, in order to facilitate the developing cycle, a complete set of accessories is provided, like a TTL to USB adaptor and a TTL to Bluetooth adaptor. The last one will permit a complete and comfortable wireless use of the glove.

See also their WebSite:

http://www.dg-tech.it/vhand/eng/index.html

To buy e.g. at:

http://www.vrealities.com/dg5glove.html

As multimodal interfaces are one important factor for Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality, the developments in this field need to be traced carefully. One recent interface I came across is the Butterfly Haptics.

According to the Butterfly Haptics WebSite it can be described as follows:

Maglev haptics

Butterfly Haptics has taken a different approach to providing a 6-DOF user interface. We have eliminated all the mechanical complexity in favor of a single moving part levitated by magnetic fields. The user’s handle is rigidly attached to a lightweight "flotor" that floats between stators with permanent magnets providing strong magnetic fields. The position and orientation of the flotor is tracked by optical sensors. As the user moves the handle through its motion range in 6 DOFs, position information is sent to the user’s application. Conversely, forces and torques are sent to the handle from the user’s application.

Maglev haptics provides the highest resolution and highest position and force bandwidths of any known method. There is an essentially direct electrodynamic connection between the computer and the hand, conveying gross force and torque effects to the proprioceptive sensors as well as subtle vibratory effects to the skin sensors. The high performance comes at the expense of a small workspace. For many haptic applications, scaling, indexing, and rate control methods can be used to effectively overcome this limitation.

Further information see:

http://butterflyhaptics.com/

If you are looking for equipment for digital tabletop applications the I-Tech Virtual Laser Keyboard might be of interest. The I-Tech Virtual Keyboard uses a light projection of a full-sized QWERTY computer keyboard on almost any surface.

It is amazing how many products are out there as accessories for the iPod. With the Cinemizer of Carl Zeiss AG a nice eyewear is soon available on the market. It also gives further mobility and enhanced viewing of mobile content.
Carl Zeiss AG describes the product as follows:

Crisp. Razor-sharp. cinemizer. The new video eyewear from Carl Zeiss is your take-along personal video screen. In the future, you’ll be able to watch any movie stored on your iPod anywhere.

The special ZEISS technology guarantees unparalleled image quality in video eyewear on an imaginary screen with a 115cm (45 inches) diagonal at a distance of 2 meters (78 inches).

Bug Labs - BUG is a collection of easy-to-use, open source hardware modules, each capable of producing one or more Web services. These modules snap together physically and the services connect together logically to enable users to easily build, program and share innovative devices and applications. With BUG, the manufacuter doesn’t define the final products - you do.

One of the important technology issues in AR/MR is the display technology. So I also try to keep track of activities in this product field.
One very nice and not too extraordinary expensive solution I just found is the MYVU personal media viewer from Myvu Corporation. It is available for Apple iPod and will be available soon as universal version for other portable media players.
So we will see if we can find out more and test their announcement:

“Portable big-screen…The sweetest oxymoron you’ve ever heard. Simply connect the myvu personal media viewer to your Apple iPod® with video, and watch your favorite music videos, movies, podcasts, or TV shows come to life on myvu’s virtual large screen.”

For more information see:

http://www.myvu.com/

http://www.myvu.com/pdf/TIMEDec2006.pdf