Abstract
Conventional input devices such as the mouse and keyboard are unnatural and
limited for various forms of human-computer interaction. We have created
a tangible user interface that mixes the physical world with a virtual reality
billiards game. Our system uses computer vision techniques to analyze images
acquired from a single inexpensive digital video camera in real-time in order
to passively sense the full 3D pose of a markerless cue stick.
A physically-modeled billiards game updates the virtual cue stick to mimic
detected poses and shots of the physical cue stick. Our system affords users
with a convenient, noninvasive, inexpensive, and natural interface for
entertainment or training without requiring a billiards table installation.
Moreover, our system is robust to changes in illumination and occlusion and is
noteworthy for its use of computer vision as the sole means of sensing user
input.
Main points
- Use objects as you normally would (e.g. cue stick, tennis racket, golf club).
- Play virtual games using unadorned and expected physical objects.
- Sensing occurs with a single inexpensive webcam; very cheap to deploy.
- Object poses recovered continuously as user moves objects about.
- User interactions with these objects manipulate virtual versions thereof.
- Natural gameplay.
- No simulated force feedback since users strike real objects!
- Very low learning curve.
- Ideas first tested in mixed reality billiards game simulation.
Publications
A paper on this work entitled
"A Computer Vision Tangible User
Interface for Mixed Reality Billiards" has been accepted
for inclusion in the
ICME 2008
conference. The work was presented in Hannover, Germany in June, 2008.
Contact
Please contact Brian Hammond <
mrb at brianhammond dot com> for more information.
