Ongoing Projects
In collaboration with UC Merced we are developing a collaborative application for archeology that will allow archeologists from remote locations to interact in real time through a shared virtual environment using teleimmersive technology. The application allows users to load 3D objects of archeological artifacts and attaching them to different segments of the scene. The scene is represented by hierarchically organized scene graph which supports optimized rendering and interaction capabilities. Each user navigates and interacts independently with the virtual environment in the first person perspective while geographically distributed users are represented by their 3D reconstructed avatars. As the remote user moves through the space, his/her 3D avatar travels accordingly.
In collaboration with UC Davis we are developing technology that allows geoscientists from spatially distributed locations to jointly explore shared 3D data sets. The system is based on three key principles: interactive visualization, individual exploration, and collaborative analysis. The users can explore the data independently and interact in real-time with their physically dislocated collaborators. Discussion between remote users is provided by the system communication channels such as group audio, webcam video, or 3D video. We have performed several experiments between UC Davis and UC Berkeley where two geoscientists were remotely interacting with a tomographic model of the Earth's interior under the western U.S.
Tele-immersion allows joined performance of two dancers from two remote sites. Our lab is collaborating with the Department for Dance and Theater at UC Berkeley and University of Illinois, Urbana Champagne (UIUC). The dancer's body motion is captured by several stereo cameras and streamed in real-time to the remote site. The two streams are joined in a 3D virtual space where the dancers see their rendered bodies. Based on this visual feedback, the dancers can synchronize their movements.
Past Projects
Co-sponsored by Cal Performances, the Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies (TDPS), the Center for Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS), and the Berkeley Center for New Media (BCNM). Artistic Director: Lisa Wymore
Using our tele-immersion system we have successfully performed several remote experiments with UIUC. On Dec 8, 2006, the tele-immersive dance was presented as the part of "The Resonance Project" for CITRIS Holiday Gala 2006. This was the first public performance of a remote collaborative dance using tele-immersive environment. View archived webcast of "The Resonance Project" live performance from CITRIS Holiday gala 2006:Remote Dance Experiments (2007)
Another live performance was featured for BERKELEY DANCE PROJECT in April 2007 by streaming two dancers from the Teleimmersion lab to the Zelerbach theater at UCB campus. In addition, a demonstration of live bi-located dance between UC Berkeley and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, was also presented.
View image gallery of remote dance experiments -> Click here
View video of teleimmersion dance data in Cave environment -> Click here

View image gallery of TaiChi study -> Click here
View 3D video of the experiment -> Click here
View video of the skeletonization -> Click here
Read technical report on "Model Driven Compression of 3-D Tele-Immersion Data" -> Click here