Outline

• Lecture 13.2 wrap-up: Performer coding & LIMBO
• Course Summary
• Future Trends

Course Summary

• VR Hardware:
• CAVE/IDesk
• HMD, Tracking, Audio, Input Devices, Haptics, Graphics Hardware, History of Display Technologies
• CAVElib programming with OpenGL - low-level coding approach to VR
• Multi-process structure
• Interprocess communication: shared memory, barriers, and locks
• Animation, Navigation Interaction techniques
• PS1 - paddle ball
• User Interface Methods
• Selection, Manipulation, Navigation, Menus
• PS2 - simple modeler
• Application Case Studies
• Art, Science, Collaboration, Gaming, Industrial Simulation
• VR @ IU
• VRML - higher-level content creation approach to VR
• Modeling, Animation (Interpolators & Timers), Scripting
• PS3 - Rube Goldberg competition
• Collaboration
• Design & Technology Issues
• Desktop Collaboration: VRML-based & proprietary formats
• Immersive VR Collaboration with CAVERNsoft

Future Trends and Issues

Modeling

• file formats
• more formats, not fewer
• importance of converters and loaders
• VRML establishes some baseline minimum
• scanners
• image-based modeling
• NURBs support
• Contact & Cortona VRML browsers support NURBs extensions
• Algorithms
• compression and decimation

APIs

• low-level, immediate-mode standards
• OpenGL
• DirectX
• QuickDraw3D - ?
• high-level, retained-mode
• Performer - high-end simulation market; Irix & Linux; possible broader applications, but may be too complicated
• Inventor - doesn't multi-process well
• Farenheit (multi-level effort: low, high, higher) - DOA
• Java3D
• promising future, corporate support
• scalable - Web -> Immersive VR
• built-in hooks for VR: tracking, decoupling head view from display platform, etc.
• performance is still an issue
• Sense8 WTK (World Toolkit)
• works well in relatively closed R&D environments
• web-based
• VRML - transistioning to X3D (extensible 3D)
• Java3D
• Metastream - streaming 3D format
• Cult3D - alternate 3D format
• Quicktime VR, IPIX - Panoramas
• image-based rendering techniques

Graphics Hardware

• big push from the low end, commodity market
• scalability
• multiple pipe support
• performance across a wide range of applications
• advanced rendering features
• bump mapping
• Phong shading
• 3D texture mapping ?
• better quality - anti-aliasing
• more pixels - 2000x2000
• more & smaller polygons

Display Hardware

• projectors
• DLP vs. CRT projectors
• cost
• brightness
• refresh rates & field sequential stereo
• convergence of guns
• keystoning, shape adjustments
• flat panels
• LCD, plasma
• size, resolution
• refresh rates
• manufacturing techniques
• other display devices
• wearable computing -> augmented reality
• HMDs
• lighter, cheaper
• Sony cancels Glasstron
• GIS  - "information in place"

Input

• Tracking
• hybrid technologies
• wide area tracking
• Input devices - driven by game market
• Speech

Output

• Olfactory
• Haptics

Collaboration

• Higher bandwidth
• Faster home connectivity

"Content is King": Technology is quickly outpacing our ability to develop compelling content and applications