Video-Augmented Environment Technology and Applications

Our main research interest in Video-Augmented Environments concerns image input and analysis technologies that are resilient to lighting changes and shadowing while also being sufficiently fast to support richly interactive applications. In particular, we have been working on automatic calibration and recalibration, robust fiducial design [1], and gesture analysis.

We have designed, implemented and delivered a number of practical Video-Augmented Environments. One of the most recent is Robot Ships, developed for the National Museum of Scotland's Connect gallery. Here is Robot Ships being tested in our lab.

Robot Ships with four students interacting in the Visual Systems Lab

For pictures in situ please see the museum's own Robot Ships page.

Robot Ships and our other recent Video-Augmented Environments run on top of the OpenIllusionist framework. OpenIllusion was independently developed by Visual Systems Lab members Justen Hyde and Dan Parnham, and subsequently adopted for use in our research and application development.

Earlier VAE's illustrated on this photo page include PenPets [2], dtouch [3] and the Audiophoto Desk [4].

[1] D J Parnham, J A Robinson, Y Zhao, A compact fiducial for affine augmented realitySecond International Conference on Visual Information Engineering (VIE), Glasgow, 4-6 April 2005, pp 347-352.

[2] S O'Mahony, J A Robinson. PenPets: A Physical Environment for Virtual Animals. ACM Computer-Human Interface Conference (CHI 2003), Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Vol. 2, April, 2003. PDF

[3] E Costanza, S B Shelley, J A Robinson. Introducing Audio d-touch: A tangible user interface for music composition and performance. Digital Audio Effects (DAFx) 2003, London, UK, September, 2003. PDF

[4] Mark Blyth, John Robinson, David Frolich, Interaction Design and the Critics: what to make of the "weegie", NordiCHI 2008, 53-62, Lund, Sweden, October 2008.

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