Immersive Real Acting Space with Gesture Tracking Sensors

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1 , pp Immersive Real Acting Space with Gesture Tracking Sensors Yoon-Seok Choi 1, Soonchul Jung 2, Jin-Sung Choi 3, Bon-Ki Koo 4 and Won-Hyung Lee 1* 1,2,3,4 Creative Content Research Laboratory, ETRI 1* Graduate School of Advanced Imaging Science, Multimedia & Film, Chung-Ang University ys-choi@etri.re.kr, s.jung@etri.re.kr, jin1025@etri.re.kr, bkkoo@etri.re.kr, whlee@cau.ac.kr Abstract. In this study, we realized a real space based virtual aquarium equipped with a multi view function that provides images for users and observers at the same time. A virtual reality system needs more natural and intuitive interfaces so as to enhance users immersion. We attach markers on users and camera devices in a real space designed in the same 1:1 size as the virtual space to collect motion information, which is reflected in real time to generate virtual world images, which in turn are transmitted to the users immersing image devices. Also, the system allows observers to share experiences by providing them virtual synthetic images from a third person perspective including a user after filming the user in the real space with a camcorder on which motion tracking markers are attached. For this, the system provides the functions of marker based motion tracking, recognition of users motions, real time actual image synthesis, and multi view to realize a method to simulate more intuitive and natural virtual space interactions, which can be used for the construction of motion based realistic/experiencing systems, which increasingly attract interest. Keywords: Virtual reality, Real-action, Motion sensor, gesture recognition, Real-time animation 1 Introduction The computer graphics industry has provided images with amazing quality owing to quantum development of GPU based graphics cards, since it was fully used in the entertainment field. Users are satisfied with their achievements in virtual spaces as their characters freely walk around in virtual spaces to carry out their given missions owing to the combination of virtual reality, a computer graphic technology, with games. However, user interfaces have been evolved for the sake of interaction with virtual reality as it is difficult to expect natural immersion with joystick based interfaces. Then, virtual reality based contents have evolved into interfaces using various sensor technologies for bodily interactions. Nintendo s Wii remote control arranges ISSN: ASTL Copyright 2013 SERSC

2 virtual environments according to motions of actual users who grab it beyond a joystick in the existing simple form, and Microsoft s Kinect, different from existing interfaces, is equipped with a camera module to sense users motions with a motion capture device, on the basis of which games run. However, as they have sensors on a fixed position, there are spatial limitations, and they are insufficient in realizing near actual free motions. Motion capture equipment began to be adopted to express precise and natural motions of characters in virtual reality, and system construction employing motion capture equipment was made easy in tandem with lowering of the price of the equipment. We get the information of user and camera motions on the basis of a marker based optical motion tracking sensor, and based on this, we provides images reflecting interactions with virtual spaces in accordance with users sight movements and gestures to allow them experience optimal virtual reality. Also, in order to allow observers to feel the interactions between users and the virtual reality, we realized a real space based virtual reality system equipped with a multi view function that can provide images for users and observers at the same time. The paper is organized as follows. Section 2 introduces virtual reality technologies and experience system based on them. Section 3 accounts for the composition of the whole proposed system and the basic method to realize it. Section 4 concludes the paper. 2 Previous studies 2.1 Virtual reality and interactions Virtual reality (VR), meaning the technology that uses computers to provide a specific environment similar to the real, stimulates users five senses to provide them with spatial and temporal experiences similar to real worlds[3] Users not only are immersed in virtual reality, but also can interact with virtual reality through various interfaces. VR can be classified into three types, i.e., monitor based VR, projection based VR, and head based VR [3]. In the head based VR, users are supposed to wear equipment like head mounted displays. Contrastively, in the monitor and projection based VR, the screen is not fixed but moves in accordance with the movement of users sights. VR is used diversely in various fields of the entertainment industry, and in particular, its utility is prominent in the edutainment industry, which combines education and entertainment. Customers who would visit real aquariums will have greater feelings when they are located for themselves underwater to see a great number of fish and water plants of tens of kinds that surround them, and when they see scenes moving in accordance with their own actions. For this reason, spaces like aquariums and undersea vehicles are often realized in virtual spaces [1] [2] [6] [7]. What is important in VR is to allow users interact with virtual spaces and objects therein by controlling their avatars naturally and effectively. Interactions with virtual spaces are classified into three types, manipulation, navigation, and communication [3]. Some systems began to provide users gestures. Takala et al. [4] proposed a virtual aquarium system adopting a gesture sensing system. Users take a swimming 2 Copyright 2013 SERSC

3 motion to move forward in the virtual space. Virtual space experiences with such real actions are simpler, more intuitive, and more natural [5]. 3 The proposed system 3.1 Composition of the system In order to reflect users actual motions without changes, we set up a 7m x 7m space where motions can be tracked by motion tracking equipment in an actual 10m square space, and painted the floor and walls green for the sake of real time image synthesis for observers view. Two servers for motion tracking and images respectively are used for the virtual aquarium system. The OptiTrack system made by Natural Point was adopted for the motion tracking. An OptiTrack S250e camera and tracking tools were used to track users and camcorders motions. The motion tracking server transmits such motions to the image server through the network, and the image server recognizes gestures based on the transmitted information and generates images of user and audience views in 720p resolution while it recognizes the user s gestures from the information from markers attached to the users both hands [Fig 1]. He/she can walk about freely in the virtual aquarium space because the generated images of the user views are transmitted to his/her HMD through a wireless HDMI transmission device. A Sony PMW F3K camcorder is used to take 720p actual images, and the taken images are transmitted to the capture board of the image server through BNC cables. Then, the foreground images extracted in real time are combined with the virtual reality images for the observers view. Fig. 1. Real acting studio and user configuration for gesture tracking 3.2 Generation of virtual aquarium scenes The system generates two kinds of images in order to allow not only users participating in the virtual reality but also observers to share experiences in the virtual aquarium. Ogre3D, an open source game engine, is used for scene generation. As for images for the user, location and rotation information taken from the tracking of Copyright 2013 SERSC 3

4 markers attached to the HMD device worn on the user s head is transmitted to the virtual aquarium system in real time. The images are in turn generated on the basis on the information and then return to the user [Fig 2]. Observers who don t engage in the virtual aquarium system can see images in the virtual reality through the Observers view. They do not simply see the same images as the user sees, but are provided with the real time synthesis of the images in the virtual space and the actual images taken from the filming of the user in order to show how the user interacts with the virtual space. [Fig. 3] shows steps for generating the observers view. [Fig. 3] (a) shows filming of actual images and [Fig 4] (b) shows an image taken from the camcorder. [Fig. 3] (c) shows how to generate images in the virtual reality reflecting the location information of the camcorder taken by tracking markers attached to it. [Fig. 3] (d) is an image taken by reflecting the location information of the camcorder. [Fig. 3] (e), an observers view, is finally generated by synthesizing [Fig. 3] (b) and [Fig. 3] (d) in real time. Fig. 2. User s view through wireless HMD Fig. 3. Observers view through real time image composition 4 Copyright 2013 SERSC

5 Fig. 4. Gestures for interaction with fishes A total of 30 species of fish and 10 species of seaweeds were produced, and normal and light maps were basically allotted to individual fish so as to enhance the quality. Also, in order to give undersea feelings in an aquarium, an optical effect shader, is applied to add GodRay and wave effects, and so as to show rich inner scenes of the aquarium, more than 300 objects are made to swim in the water. Also, 10 gestures were defined for the interaction with fish in the virtual aquarium. When the user makes gestures with his right or left hands as in [Fig. 4], fish move in accordance with relevant gestures [Fig.5]. Gestures are recognized based on Procrustes analysis [8]. Fig. 5. Fish movement according to the each gesture 4 Conclusion We constructed a virtual aquarium projecting motions in reality, which supports the following functions. - Natural Real Acting Navigation with motion sensors. A user can make moves as if he or she moves in a real space. Then the system uses the motion sensor to track the user s movements, and projects the motion information to the virtual space without modification. Copyright 2013 SERSC 5

6 - Observers View Support. The system allows not only the user who participates in the virtual space but also surrounding observers to experience the virtual space. This delivers the user s interaction with the objects in the virtual space to observers without modification. - Interaction by 3D Gestures. Rather than using some special equipment for users interaction with the virtual space, the system supports user gesture sensing to help them experience virtual spaces naturally. By using the method of Procrustes analysis the system is designed not to be influenced by the spatial locations, sizes, and directions of the motions users make. The system, equipped with such merits, provides an experiencing service in which users and observers are more immersed and sympathized. Acknowledgment. This work was supported by the IT R&D program of MCST/MKE/IITA. [2008-F , Development of Full 3D Reconstruction Technology for Broadcasting Communication Fusion] References 1. Torsten Frohlich. The virtual oceanarium. Communications of the ACM, 43(7):94-101, (2000). 2. Hyun-Cheol Lee, Eun-Seok Kim, Nak-Keun Joo, and Gi-Taek Hur. Development of real time virtual aquarium system. International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, 6(7),:58-63, (2006). 3. William R Sherman and Alan B Craig. Understanding virtual reality: Interface, application, and design. Morgan Kaufmann,12. (2002). 4. Tapio Takala, Lauri Savioja, and Tapio Lokki. Swimming in a virtual aquarium, Swimming_in_a_Virtual_Aquarium. (2005) 5. Martin Usoh, Kevin Arthur, Mary C Whitton, Rui Bastos, Anthony Steed, Mel Slater, and Frederick P Brooks Jr. Walking > walking-in-place> flying, in virtual environments. In International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, vol, 1999, , (1999). 6. G. Wetzstein and P. Stephenson. Towards a workflow and interaction framework for virtual aquaria. In Virtual Reality for Public Consumption, IEEE Virtual Reality 2004 Workshop, (2004). 7. Greg T Young, Marcus Foth, and Natascha Y Matthes. Virtual fish: visual evidence of connectivity in a master-planned urban community. In Proceedings of the 19th Australasian conference on Computer-Human Interaction: Entertaining User Interfaces, , (2007). 8. John C. Gower and Garmt B. Dijksterhuis. Procrustes Problems. Oxford Statistical Science. Oxford University Press, (2004). 6 Copyright 2013 SERSC