Interaction-based shape understanding using virtual objects

A virtual reality environment is now available using one of the special display systems. For example, a user can get a high immersive feeling with staying in a screen booth of CAVE, changing the user’s viewpoints and controlling visualised objects. However, because of its installation environment and its cost, it is not suitable for casual applications. This paper proposes a marker-based viewpoint recognition method, which calculates the position and direction of the viewpoint of a user who is looking at a virtual object. The virtual object can then be located in such a way that the user’s view could follow its position and orientation. The viewpoint can be dynamically calculated using a marker which is attached to the user’s head. This method was implemented and a prototype system was installed using a rear projection system. A user standing in front of the system can interactively review the shape of the object from different angles simply by moving the head, and even can check the internal view of the object. This paper presents the method and its demonstration, and discusses the feasibility of the proposed approach for casual applications.