Projects
Ongoing Projects
- CyberArcheology (2009-now)
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.
->Video (Oct 2009)
- Teleimmersive Geoscience (2007-now)
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.
->Video (Nov 2009)
- Remote Dance Experiments (ongoing)
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
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Panorama: Multi Media Happening
Live dance, robotic cameras, and audio technologies juxtaposed with large and small scale projections draw audience members into a performance in 360° that they can enter at any time. Inspired by Nine Evenings: Theater and Engineering in New York's 69th Regiment Armory by artist Robert Rauschenberg and Bell Laboratories engineer Billy Klüver, Panorama brings together a multi-disciplinary cast of dance makers, artists, scientists, engineers, roboticists, and digital game makers to create an evening of interactive and technologically alive theater, honoring the cutting-edge collaborations and technological explorations that are the hallmark of the Merce Cunningham and John Cage legacy.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
- Remote Dance Experiments (2006)
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:
->CITRIS Holiday gala, part I
->CIRTIS Holiday gala, part IIRemote 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
- Real-Time Rendering in Cave Environment
In collaboration with the W.M. Keck Center for Active Visualization and the Earth Sciences at UC Davis we are exploring new rendering capabilities, including rendering in the KeckCAVE environment. KeckCAVE framework allows exploration, manipulation, and creation of 3-D datasets and models.View video of teleimmersion dance data in Cave environment -> Click here
- 3D Tai-Chi learning in Teleimmersive environment
Immersive virtual settings allows integration of real-time full body 3D capturing with pre-recorded data. Such environments present a new approach to learning physical activities, such as tai-chi. In this work, participants are taught several tai-chi moves in either a 2D video system or a 3D immersive system. As compared to traditional 2D video, the 3D immersive environment allows view of the scene from any angle. The aim of the research is to demonstrate that people can learn the movements faster when using immersive virtual reality. The Teleimmersion lab collaborates with Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford University.View image gallery of TaiChi study -> Click here
View 3D video of the experiment -> Click here
- Skeletonization of 3D human data
Motion capturing with multiple stereo cameras produces large amount of 3D point data which have to be sent through the network in real-time. This work investigates compression algorithms using human body skeletonization.View video of the skeletonization -> Click here
Read technical report on "Model Driven Compression of 3-D Tele-Immersion Data" -> Click here