Abstract :
This paper explores enhancing mobile immersive augmented reality manipulations by providing a sense of computer-captured touch through the use of a passive deformable haptic glove that responds to objects in the physical environment. The glove extends our existing pinch glove design with a Digital Foam sensor that is placed under the palm of the hand. The novel glove input device supports a range of touch-activated, precise, direct manipulation modeling techniques with tactile feedback including hole cutting, trench cutting, and chamfer creation. A user evaluation study comparing an image plane approach to our passive deformable haptic glove showed that the glove improves a user’s task performance time, decreases error rate and erroneous hand movements, and reduces fatigue.

Abstract :
The current marker-based augmented reality (AR) rendering has demonstrated good results for online and special purpose applications such as computer-assisted tasks and virtual training. However, it fails to deliver a solution for off-line and generic applications such as augmented books, newspapers, and scientific articles. These applications feature too many markers that imposes a serious challenge on the recognition module. This paper proposes a novel design for augmented reality markers. The proposed marker design employs multi-view orthographic projection to derive dense depth maps and relies on splats rendering for visualisation. The main objective is to interpret the marker rather than recognising it. The proposed marker design stores six depth map projections of the 3D model along with their coloured textures in the marker.

Abstract :
Ray tracing is an elegant and intuitive image generation method. The introduction of GPU-accelerated ray tracing and corresponding software frameworks makes this rendering technique a viable option for Augmented Reality applications. Spatial Augmented Reality employs projectors to illuminate physical models and is used in fi elds that require photorealism, such as design and prototyping. Ray tracing can be used to great effect in this Augmented Reality environment to create scenes of high visual fidelity. However, the peculiarities of SAR systems require that core ray tracing algorithms be adapted to this new rendering environment. This paper highlights the problems involved in using ray tracing in a SAR environment and provides solutions to overcome these. In particular, the following issues are addressed: ray generation, hybrid rendering and view-dependent rendering.

Abstract :
Head-mounted displays (HMDs) have the potential to overcome some of the technological limitations of currently existing automotive head-up displays (HUDs), such as the limited field of view and the restrictive boundaries of the windshield. However, in a formative study, we identified other, partially known problems with HMDs regarding content stability and occlusion. As a counter-measure we propose a novel layout mechanism for HMD visualization, which, on the one hand, benefits from the unique characteristics of HMDs and, on the other, combines the advantages of head-stabilized and cockpit-stabilized content. By subdividing the HMD’s field of view into different slots to which the content is dynamically assigned depending on the user’s head rotation, we ensure that the driver’s vision is effectively augmented in every possible direction.

Abstract :
We present an Augmented Reality (AR) system where we immerse the user's whole body in the virtual scene using a motion capturing (MoCap) suit. The goal is to allow for seamless interaction with the virtual content within the AR environment. We describe an evaluation study of a prototype application featuring an interactive scenario with a virtual agent. The scenario contains two conditions: in one, the agent has access to the full tracking data of the MoCap suit and therefore is aware of the exact actions of the user, while in the second condition, the agent does not get this information. We then report and discuss the differences we were able to detect regarding the users' perception of the interaction with the agent and give future research directions.

Abstract :
We present our current state in developing and testing of Augmented Reality supported spaceflight procedures for intra-vehicular payload activities. Our vision is to support the ground team and the flight crew to author and operate easily AR guidelines without programming and AR knowledge. For visualization of the procedural instructions using an HMD, 3D registered visual aids are overlaid onto the payload model operated by additional voice control. Embedded informational resources (e.g., images and videos) are provided through a mobile tangible user interface. In a pilot study that was performed at the ESA European Astronaut Centre by application domain experts, we evaluated the performance, work-load and acceptance by comparing our AR system with the conventional method of displaying PDF documents of the procedure.

Abstract :
We present the preliminary results of our proposal: a region-based detection and tracking method of arbitrary shapes. The method is designed to be robust against orientation and scale changes and also occlusions. In this work, we study the effectiveness of sequence of shape descriptors for matching purpose. We detect and track surfaces by matching the sequences of descriptor so called relevance measures with their correspondences in the database. First, we extract stable shapes as the detection target using Maximally Stable Extreme Region (MSER) method. The keypoints on the stable shapes are then extracted by simplifying the outline of the stable regions. The relevance measures that are composed by three keypoints are then computed and the sequences of them are composed as descriptors. During runtime, the sequences of relevance measures are extracted from the captured image and are matched with those in the database. When a particular region is matched with one in the database, the orientation of the region is then estimated and virtual annotations can be superimposed. We apply this approach in an interactive task support system that helps users for creating paper craft objects.

Abstract :
In this work in progress we address the problem of interacting with augmented objects. A bare hand tracking technique is developed, which allied to gesture recognition heuristics, enables interaction with augmented objects in an intuitive way. The tracking algorithm uses a flock of features approach that tracks both hands in real time. The interaction occurs by the execution of grasp and release gestures. Physics simulation and photorealistic rendering are added to the pipeline. This way, the tool provides more coherent feedback in order to make the virtual objects look and respond more likely real ones. The pipeline was tested through speci c tasks, designed to analyze its performance regarding the easiness of use, precision and response time.

Abstract :
This paper describes an AR system for remote collaboration using a captured 3D model of the local user’s scene. In the system a remote user can manipulate the scene independently of the view of the local user and add AR annotations that appear projected into the real world. Results from a pilot study and the design of a further full study are presented.

Abstract :
Industrial uses of Augmented Reality (AR) are growing, however their uses are consistently fashioned with an emphasis on consumption, delivering additional information to the worker to assist them in the completion of their job. A promising alternative is to allow user data creation during the actual process by the worker performing their duties. This not only allows spatially located annotations to be produced, it also allows an AR scene to be developed in-situ and in real-time. Tangible markers offer a physical interface while also creating physical containers to allow for fluent interactions. This form factor allows both attached and detached annotations, whilst allowing the creation of an AR scene during the process. This annotated scene will allow asynchronous collaboration to be conducted between multiple stakeholders, both locally and remotely. In this paper we discuss our reasoning behind such an approach, and present the current work on our prototype created to test and validate our proposition.