ACM TechNews

Virtual Applications Reach Out to Real World

ICT Results (08/14/08)

European researchers working on the IMPROVE project have developed a series of tools to break through virtual reality development bottlenecks and foster the acceptance of virtual reality in new business areas. IMPROVE focused on augmented reality applications and tools. Augmented reality consists of mixing real objects and landscapes with computer-generated images and designs, which could, for example, allow an architect to see a virtual building on a real landscape or a car designer to see how a small change would affect the existing body of a car. IMPROVE project coordinator Pedro Santos says the researchers worked on head-mounted displays, tiled displays, rendering and streaming software, color calibration techniques, and novel interaction systems. The researchers selected two design-intensive domains to test their platform--architecture and automotive design--because the two areas were a good fit. Car manufacturers have the budgets to invest in expensive equipment that can quickly be used to improve systems, and architectural companies could use virtual reality and augmented reality for a wide variety of purposes. The IMPROVE team surveyed potential users to determine what functionality they required. Santos says the architects wanted to be able to review a virtual rendition of a proposed building collaboratively and to test the impact of shadows, while car makers wanted high-quality imaging for surface inspection.

http://cordis.europa.eu/ictresults/index.cfm/section/
news/tpl/article/BrowsingType/Features/ID/89966

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