Jannick P. Rolland

Jannick P. Rolland, Frank Biocca, Felix G. Hamza-Lup et al.

Distributed systems technologies supporting 3D visualization and social collaboration will be increasing in frequency and type over time. An emerging type of head-mounted display referred to as the head-mounted projection display (HMPD) was recently developed that only requires ultralight optics (i.e., less than 8 g per eye) that enables immersive multiuser, mobile augmented reality 3D visualization, as well as remote 3D collaborations. In this paper a review of the development of lightweight HMPD technology is provided, together with insight into what makes this technology timely and so unique. Two novel emerging HMPD-based technologies are then described: a teleportal HMPD(T-HMPD) enabling face-to-face communication and visualization of shared 3D virtual objects, and a mobile HMPD (M-HMPD) designed for outdoor wearable visualization and communication. Finally, the use of HMPD in medical visualization and training, as well as in infospaces, two applications developed in the ODA and MIND labs respectively, are discussed.

Felix G. Hamza-Lup, Jannick P. Rolland

Advances in computer networks and rendering systems facilitate the creation of distributed collaborative environments in which the distribution of information at remote locations allows efficient communication. One of the challenges in networked virtual environments is maintaining a consistent view of the shared state in the presence of inevitable network latency and jitter. A consistent view in a shared scene may significantly increase the sense of presence among participants and facilitate their interactivity. The dynamic shared state is directly affected by the frequency of actions applied on the objects in the scene. Mixed Reality (MR) and Virtual Reality (VR) environments contain several types of action producers including human users, a wide range of electronic motion sensors, and haptic devices. In this paper, the authors propose a novel criterion for categorization of distributed MR/VR systems and present an adaptive synchronization algorithm for distributed MR/VR collaborative environments. In spite of significant network latency, results show that for low levels of update frequencies the dynamic shared state can be maintained consistent at multiple remotely located sites.

Felix G. Hamza-Lup, Jannick P. Rolland, Charles Hughes

Augmented Reality (AR) systems describe the class of systems that use computers to overlay virtual information on the real world. AR environments allow the development of promising tools in several application domains. In medical training and simulation the learning potential of AR is significantly amplified by the capability of the system to present 3D medical models in real-time at remote locations. Furthermore the simulation applicability is broadened by the use of real-time deformable medical models. This work presents a distributed medical training prototype designed to train medical practitioners' hand-eye coordination when performing endotracheal intubations. The system we present accomplishes this task with the help of AR paradigms. An extension of this prototype to medical simulations by employing deformable medical models is possible. The shared state maintenance of the collaborative AR environment is assured through a novel adaptive synchronization algorithm (ASA) that increases the sense of presence among participants and facilitates their interactivity in spite of infrastructure delays. The system will allow paramedics, pre-hospital personnel, and students to practice their skills without touching a real patient and will provide them with the visual feedback they could not otherwise obtain. Such a distributed AR training tool has the potential to: allow an instructor to simultaneously train local and remotely located students and, allow students to actually "see" the internal anatomy and therefore better understand their actions on a human patient simulator (HPS).

Felix G. Hamza-Lup, Anand P. Santhanam, Celina Imielinska et al.

Augmented Reality (AR) systems add visual information to the world by using advanced display techniques. The advances in miniaturization and reduced costs make some of these systems feasible for applications in a wide set of fields. We present a potential component of the cyber infrastructure for the operating room of the future; a distributed AR based software-hardware system that allows real-time visualization of 3D lung dynamics superimposed directly on the patient's body. Several emergency events (e.g. closed and tension pneumothorax) and surgical procedures related to the lung (e.g. lung transplantation, lung volume reduction surgery, surgical treatment of lung infections, lung cancer surgery) could benefit from the proposed prototype.