VRPN and Qwerk: fast MR device prototyping and testing

ABSTRACT

We present a platform that offers designers flexibility on device design, fast prototyping, and integration of new devices to a mixed reality infrastructure. Our solution is based on the integration of a commercial embedded system, the Qwerk, and the Virtual Reality Peripheral Network (VRPN), a network-transparent interface between applications and typical virtual reality (VR) devices. This solution creates a hardware and software layer between new devices and VR applications that facilitate development. We show here a design process for new MR devices. With our hardware and software layer we allow designers concentrate more in the interaction rather than the way sensors are connected. To test our design process and our platform we implement three simple examples.

References

1. Paley, W. B. 1998. Designing special-purpose input devices. SIGGRAPH Comput. Graph. 32, 4, 55--59.
2. Sharper, H., and Preece, J. 2002. Interaction Design. Jhon Wiley Sons Inc.
3. Taylor, R. M., Hudson, T., Seeger, A., Weber, H., Juliano, J., and Helser, A. T. 2001. Vrpn:a device-independent, network-transparent vr peripherial system. In Proceedings of the ACM symposium on Virtual reality software and technology, ACM Press, Proceedings of the ACM symposium on Virtual reality, Annual Conference Series, ACM, 55--61.

Index Terms

• Computing methodologies

  • Computer graphics

    • Graphics systems and interfaces

      • Virtual reality

• Human-centered computing

  • Human computer interaction (HCI)

    • Interaction devices

      • Touch screens

  • Interaction design

    • Interaction design process and methods

      • Interface design prototyping