The project
Mono-user age is finished. Information and interaction age is here. The idea is to very simply use existing tools to create an immersive environment, redesigned through interactions between people being both in a physical and in a virtual space.
I am not a designer, not an engineer, not a developper. But i know that with actual online knowledge ressources and contacts, a proof of concept can be done.
User case
We are taking the case of persons trying to design the best space experience (for In Real Life or virtual space) : they make drafts, plans, and then sometimes test it with end users, redesign it, and finally build in a a larger scale for customers or users.
You can now modelize a space experience in multi-user virtual environment like second life, but it means that you know how to use it. You could also share a vision in real time of multiple designs of a space without having technical skills using augmented reality and a camera (for example with Augmented Reality tags on a city map, with 3d models corresponding to the tags, of with items tags in a house plan). But you share just an image…not a space experience.
The idea is to design an immersive space on the fly by just moving tagged physical objects, and to share and exchange in this generated space in order to experience and improve it. No mouse, no technical skills for the user of the design tool.
As you put objects on the table,you can immediatly see the result of the physical place where the objects where put through the vision of a 3d space on the screen, at a human scale. More, people being connected in the virtual space can use voice to speak with you and other people and tell if is it cool : they can sit on the chairs, look at the windows, walk in the space. You can also move you camera in the generated space, talk and use the physical table to adjust the space again.
Howto
- RFID tags, screen, sound :
The idea to prove this user case is to use a plastic or thin wood plane, 12 to 20 touchatags rfid tags, 1, 12 or 20 readers, at least 1 connected PC, a LCD or plasma screen, a wiimote, an ambiance microphone and speakers.
- The table :
The table is in fact divided in 12x12 cm squares. In each square you have a reader, or better, as touchatag can send 2 tag id’s, a touchatag. We need a minimal distance between the squares in order to catch only one object tag when it is near the center of a square.
- The objects :
Physical miniatures (like Barbie toys, or miniatures of buildings) have a touchatag, or are on a carboard , wich has a touchatag.
- The 3D models and environment :
We use second life or open sim as a virtual world platform (voice works in opensim now). The screen is connected to a computer running the virtual world. An basic avatar is connected in the virtual space and the screen show and play images and sounds in the virtual place from the point of vue of this avatar (we call that commonly camera avatar). The default point of view if at the vertical and the center of the virtual place.
- The web :
We use mysql to record the position of the objects, simply by calling urls updating the database with 2 informations at this step : position (eg tag 1 to 20) and item id.
In the virtual world we have created an invisible cube containing the 3d objects corresponding to the physical miniatures (we call that a “rezzer”). For the test we could begin with 20 objects.
- The physical space :
We can invite people both physically (in real space), and virtually (through twitter, blogs, teleport links) to share the experience. We shall also use video if we can (as ‘Trans realites mixtes’ project).
- Process :
When you put an object on the real table, if a reader (or tag) is under each square, we use touchatag technology to send an updating url via the computer (eg http://url?pos=12&tag_id=7).
This url corresponds to a webpage with a php script that update the mysql table with the current position of the physical objects,and the object ID.
The “rezzer” located in the virtual place connects himself to the mysql database every 2 seconds. When an object id and its coordonnates are detected, he “materializes” (rezzes) the 3D object in the virtual grid in the virtual space.
- Effect :
Avatars and real persons see immediatly the objects appearing on the screen and in the virtual space. But it is not just an image : connected persons, and avatar camera can sit on a chair, bump in a wall, have an immersive and shared experience on the fly. You design an environment and user experience more that just a plan or a vision.
The reactions of the avatars can be hear through the speakers and the avatars can hear the ppl in real life through the microphone, using the voice channel of second life or opensim. You can move the objects physically in order to update the space and experience, with touchatag tagged real items.
If you are experienced in moving an avatar, you can change as you want the point of view seen in the virtual space (or use my wiimote solution).
Low cost solution : instead of having one reader per square, we could put tags in squares. When the objects are physically on the table, we can use another object with the reader inside to “scan” the table by a mouvement (like a tennis racquet horizontally moved on the objects), to record the physical position, send it, and so, create on the fly the 3D shared space.
And after :
You can imagine to mix this with cityplans and building miniatures (urbanism), use augmented reality tags instead of miniatures, invent methods to send objects orientation, demonstrate 3D vizualisation of data from localized captors by moving them physically on a map, and so on.
Hugobiwan Zolnir
hugobiwan.zolnir(at)gmail(dot)com
