Virtual Reality and Physically-Based Simulation WS 14/15


Virtual Reality (VR) is a research area at the intersection of computer graphics, physically-based simulation, and 3D human-computer interaction (HCI). VR is concerned with novel interaction devices and interaction metaphors in virtual environments (in particular intuitive and direct metaphors), immersion and presence, and real-time rendering. Another important topic is physically-based simulation in real-time, which tries to simulate real-world phenomena such as fire, cloth, the behavior of rigid objects when colliding with each other, fluids, or objects made of deformable material.

Over the past one or two decades, VR has established itself as an important tool in several industries, such as manufacturing (e.g., automotive, airspace, ship building), architecture, and pharmaceutical industries. In addition, a lot of the techniques and solutions developed in the area of VR can be applied directly to computer games.

In this course, we will first look at the fundamental methods, and then go on to more advanced algorithms that are needed to build complex and full-fledged VR systems or real-time computer games. Example topics are object behavior, acoustic rendering, haptics, and collision detection.

The assignments will be mostly practical ones, based on the cross-platform VR system InstantReality. Participants can choose the programming language from Java, Javascript, and C++.
You are encouraged to work on assignments in small teams.

Some of the topics to be covered (tentatively):

  1. Introduction, basic notions of VR, a few applications
  2. VR devices: displays, tracking, input devices, software design
  3. Stereo rendering
  4. Error correction: tracking correction, filtering
  5. Techniques for real-time rendering
  6. Fundamental immersive interaction techniques: gesture recognition, navigation, selection, grasping, menues in 3D
  7. Complex immersive interaction techniques: world-in-miniature, action-at-a-distance, magic lens, etc.
  8. Collision detection
  9. Force feedback: rendering forces
  10. Acoustic rendering
  11. Particle systems
  12. Spring-mass systems

Note: this list is just tentative and subject to change during the semester.

News


Slides

The following table contains all the topics that were covered in this class, the accompanying slides, exercise sheets, and frameworks for solving the programming exeercises. (This table will be filled week by week.)

Week Topics Slides Exercise
sheets 		Frameworks
1. Introduction (definitions, immersion, fidelity, presence, history, Milgram's continuum),
PDF0 PDF1
2. Scenegraphs: immediate / retained mode, semantics of nodes and edges, hierarchical transformations, shared geometry, multi-threaded scenegraphs, distributed rendering. PDF Assignment 1
3. The concept of fields-&-routes, introduction to VRML/X3D, indexed face set et al., grouping, re-using scene sub-graphs by DEF/USE, behavior graph, events and routes, behavior nodes, event cascades PDF
4. Stereo rendering 1: depth cues, human visual system and stereopsis, stereo projection, issues with stereo rendering (convergence-focus incongruity, stereo violation image multiplexing (e.g., shuttering, infitec, etc.), PDF Assignment2 Christmas Tree Framework, Porsche Framework Scenegraph solution
5. Stereo rendering 2: immersive projection technologies, autostereograms, projetion issues for co-located multiple users, rendering on HMDs, low and full persistence, space-time diagrams, smearing and judder and color fringes. PDF
6. Real-time rendering: sources of latency, view-independent rendering, level-of-detail techniques, predictive LOD selection, progressive meshes, PDF Assignment3
7. Real-time rendering 2: state sorting using the online sorting buffer algorithm, latencies with conventional rendering, image warping,
Input Devices: degrees of freedom, multimodality, virtual trackball, directness continuum, isotonic vs isometric, tracking, data gloves, locomotion devices
 PDF1 PDF2 Assignment4
8. Interaction metaphors 1: Universal Interaction Tasks, design of user interfaces, gesture recognition, the taxonomy, navigation metaphors (point-and-fly et al.), PDF Assignment5
9. Interaction metaphors 2: magic mirror, 3D navidget, user models (power law of practice, Hick's law, Fitts's law), selection techniques, go-go, ray-based techniques, control-display ratio, cone-based techniques, flexible pointer, bent ray, iSith, balloon selection, action-at-a-distance, image plane interaction, proprioceptive interaction, world-in-miniature, voodoo dolls, magic lenses, marking menus,
PDF
10. Particle systems: dynamics/kinematics, Euler integration, phase space, definition of particle systems, physical effects, non-physical effects, collision handling, rendering, rendering transparent objects, procedural modeling of plants, PDF
11. Mass-spring systems: Newton's Laws, single spring-damper, explicit Euler integration, instability and error accumulation with explicit Euler integration, Runge-Kutta, Verlet integration, constraints, implicit integration, tangent stiffness matrix, comparison to explicit integration, mesh creation for volumetric objects, consistent collision response for volumetric mass-spring systems. PDF

Here are some examples and demos of VRML, some of which I have presented in class. You can use them, for instance, to test your VRML client/browser setup.

Literature

Warning: these text books can only give you a general introduction to the field of VR! Most of the topics taught in class will not be covered by any of these text books directly -- in fact, AFAIK there are no text books that cover these topics. Therefore, I recommend to attend class.

If you are thinking of buying some of these books, then I suggest to consider buying a used copy of them -- very often, you can find them at a fraction of the price of a new copy. The following are two very good internet sites for finding inexpensive used copies of books: Abebooks and BookButler.

Assignments

In order to acquire the "Schein", you will have to do a number of assignments. These will be mostly small practical programming assignments (based on a freely available VR system).

Online Literature and Resources on the Internet

Gabriel Zachmann
Last modified: Thu Jan 29 00:10:49 CET 2015