392168 Projekt "Virtuelle Realität: Web-based Augmented Reality" (PjS) (SoSe 2015)

In the project Virtual Reality theoretical and practical knowledge obtained in the lecture and the tutorial on Virtual Reality are trained and deepened in a practical application.

The specific project title is:
Web-based Augmented Reality

Language: The project may be held in German or English, depending on the participants.

General Goal of the Project
Recent developments in smartphone technology and wearable head mounted displays have boosted interests in mobile augmented reality. At CITEC we are working on a framework called GorillAR that combines existing technologies based on HTML5, JavaScript and WebGL, such as libraries for 3D graphics (X3DOM), to create a software framework for mobile augmented reality that works cross-platform.

After an introduction to the current state of GorillAR, we will select features we want to focus on and contribute to during the project. We will then review the current state of the art and either implement existing algorithms for GorillAR or develop new algorithms on our own.

Features of great relevance and potential are:

• Detection and support of different client devices
  • correct display on iPhone, Android, EPSON Moverio, etc.
  • correct camera undistortion
  • correct perspective matching from 3D view and camera
• Improving position and orientation tracking
  • image tracking
  • optical flow
• implementation of interaction techniques
  • walking in place using device accelerometers
• collaboration using distributed scene graph (WebRTC)

The developed features will be demonstrated in a small augmented reality application or game.

Procedure
The procedure of the project is oriented on the process of scientific research.

Phase 1 (April-May): State of the Art and Planning
In the beginning, all participants will discuss the current state of the art regarding the selected features of the GorillAR toolkit. Relevant scientific questions or implementation tasks will then be formulated and the application design will be developed.

Phase 2 (May-June): Implementation
Depending on the number of participants, groups will be formed which work on a dedicated aspect of the implementation of the design.

Phase 3 (July): Evaluation
The implemented system will be evaluated in an adequate study, e.g. a performance test or a user study.

Remarks:
The project makes it easy for students of different disciplines and of different backgrounds to complement each other. While participants of the lecture on Virtual Reality may focus on the design and implementation of the interaction methods, participants of the lecture "Mensch-Maschine-Interaktion" (Human Machine Interaction) may develop the interaction concept and evaluate the implementation.

As a conclusion of the project, a report will be written. This report will be in the shape of a scientific paper, which might be even submitted to a real scientific workshop, such as the German Workshop for Virtual and Augmented Reality. Participants of the project, in particular those following a master's program, will learn how to structure and write a scientific article. If the article is accepted, participants will also have the chance to present their work on a real scientific workshop (on their own expense).

This project may lay the foundation for many interesting questions or application problems which could be addressed in a bachelor or master thesis.

Requirements for participation, required level

• Lecture on Virtual Reality OR Human-Machine-Interaction
• Participation in the tutorials on Virtual Reality is recommended
• Good knowledge of HTML5 and JavaScript recommended
• A large part of the project will be dedicated to implementing AR techniques

Bibliography

• X3D : extensible 3D graphics for web authors by Don Brutzman and Leonard Daly
• X3D : Programmierung interaktiver 3D-Anwendungen für das Internet by Jörg H. Kloss