Natural exploration of massive models on large-scale light field displays

In the last few years, the classical concept of the museum space as a room containing showcases full of objects is starting to give way to that of an environment in which the visitor not only reads and contemplates, but also interacts and interprets. This is leading to more and more frequent presence of digital media displayed in interactive audiovisual installations, playing now an important role among the contents exhibited in museums. However, the public which uses these systems does not need to be familiar with the use of computers, and even if they are, the museum cannot afford wasting their precious time of attention in training them in the use of a certain interface. This is why exhibition centers are actively looking for innovative and creative installations, where the relationship between user and content is more natural, thus forgetting that there is a computer controlling their experience, or making them move away from preconceived ideas about it. Recent advances in 3D display design demonstrate that high resolution 3D display technology able to reproduce natural light fields is practically achievable, making it possible to closely reproduce the perceptual quality and the unique aura of a real 3D artefact. In this seminar, we will present an interactive system for natural immersive exploration of extremely detailed surface models, such as those acquired by modern 3D scanning technology. Our cluster-parallel out-of-core multiresolution rendering system driving a light field display, based on a specially arranged array of projectors and a holographic screen, gives multiple freely moving naked-eye viewers the illusion of seeing and manipulating 3D objects with continuous horizontal parallax. A novel natural 3D interface allows casual users to inspect 3D objects at various scales, while automatically maintaining them within the optimal display workspace. Much of user interaction is replaced by simple, natural 2D hand motions, reducing user interface complexity and user burden. Multi-user discussion is naturally supported by providing consistent shared views of synthesized objects.

@InProceedings{Agu12,
  author       = {Agus, M.},
  title        = {Natural exploration of massive models on large-scale light field displays},
  booktitle    = {Collana seminari interni 2012},
  number       = {20120404},
  month        = {april},
  year         = {2012},
  url          = {https://publications.crs4.it/pubdocs/2012/Agu12},
}