INTERFACE DESIGNS FOR TELEPRESENCE AND REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS USING NON-IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL REALITY

TELEPRESENCE AND REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS HAVE BEGUN TO INCORPORATE ASPECTS OF THE TECHNOLOGIES COMMONLY CALLED "VIRTUAL REALITY". THIS HAS OCCURRED EVEN THOUGH THERE HAVE BEEN ONLY A FEW ATTEMPTS TO DESIGN THESE SYSTEMS USING HUMAN FACTORS AND A SOLID FOUNDATION IN COGNITIVE AND PERCEPTUAL PSYCHOLOGY. THIS HAS RESULTED IN SYSTEMS WITH NON-INTUITIVE INTERFACES THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO USE. THIS PROJECT WILL ADVANCE THE DESIGN OF THESE SYSTEMS USING STEREOSCOPIC THREE DIMENSIONAL (3D) DISPLAYS, ALTERNATIVE INPUT DEVICES, AND INTERFACE DESIGNS FOR NON-IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL REALITY. TRADITIONALLY, VIRTUAL REALITY HAS REQUIRED THE USER TO WEAR A HELMET MOUNTED DISPLAY (HMD) AND GLOVE. THIS PROJECT WILL TREAT THE FACT THAT HMDS AND GLOVES CAUSE MORE PROBLEMS THAN THEY SOLVE. THROUGH THE USE OF CURRENT TECHNOLOGY, AFFORDABLE, PORTABLE, HIGH QUALITY STEREOSCOPIC 3D IMAGES THAT ARE COMPATIBLE WITH EXISTING VIDEO INFRASTRUCTURE ARE POSSIBLE. THE SYSTEM UNDER DEVELOPMENT CAN INTEGRATE STEREOSCOPIC IMAGES FROM COMPUTER GRAPHICS PACKAGES AS WELL AS LIVE VIDEO. THE THREE, LARGE STEREOSCOPIC 3D SCREENS PLANNED FOR PHASE I PROVIDE A WIDER FIELD OF VIEW AND HIGHER RESOLUTION AT LOWER COST. FURTHERMORE, THIS DESIGN WILL ALLOW MULTIPLE USERS AND THE ABILITY TO INTERACT UNENCUMBERED WITH BOTH THE PROJECTED IMAGE AND OTHER USERS.