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Monday, April 4, 2011

FlatWorld | USC Institute for Creative Technologies

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Download a one sheet PDF overview of this project.

The FlatWorld project is an immersive virtual reality environment in which users can walk and run freely among simulated rooms, buildings, and streets. FlatWorld uses a system of “digital flats,” large rear-projection screens that employ digital graphics to depict a room’s interior, a view to the outside, or a building’s exterior. By adding physical props to the flats, FlatWorld becomes a “mixed reality” environment where users interact with both the physical and virtual worlds seamlessly.

Digital flats can be readily assembled in any open space to simulate multiple situations in a variety of geographic locations. The scenes on the digital flats can represent a real world setting, such as a city in the Middle East, depicting actual city buildings in their correct locations.

The FlatWorld display system also integrates immersive audio and 4D sensory features with the visual displays. The FlatWorld Simulation Control Architecture software enables environment designers to synchronize sounds and effects with real-time graphics, as well as respond to user interactions with physical props (such as opening a door or window). Sensory immersion in a scene can further be augmented by strobe lighting and tactile floor speakers which simulate the flashes and vibrations of explosions or a lightning storm. FlatWorld provides a genesis point for a training system that participants could easily walk through unencumbered by head mount displays, and incorporates life-size projected displays with physical props and real-time, 3D graphics.

Watch the LabTV video about FlatWorld.

Video link...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfOfmSMohXg&feature=player_embedded

Read More...
http://ict.usc.edu/projects/flatworld/

Flexible Action and Articulated Skeleton Toolkit (FAAST)

Evan A. Suma, Belinda Lange, Skip Rizzo, David Krum, and Mark Bolas

Project Email Address: faast@ict.usc.edu

Download FAAST 0.07

now with smoother mouse control!

View our online video gallery.

This gallery contains videos that demonstrate FAAST’s capabilities, as well as interesting applications that use the Toolkit.

Note: If you are having trouble getting the Kinect to work, please check the “Frequently Asked Questions.”

If you still need assistance, please visit our online forum.

Recent News

March 2, 2011

FAAST 0.07 has been released. This is a major update, and you will need to update your action bindings to work in this version. The following features have been added. Mouse control has been removed from the action list, and is now configured using a GUI. Mouse control is more sophisticated, and now can be controlled using the hands without calibration (using a focus gesture). Multiple monitor support for absolute mouse control. Smoothing on skeleton joints and hand positions, allowing for much more precise mouse control. Multiple skeleton tracking modes: full body, upper body only, and lower body only. bility to save calibration to memory and load to different users. New actions: body_turn, crouch. The following output events are now supported: key_press, key_hold, mouse_click, mouse_double_click, mouse_hold. Actions can also be bound to the following FAAST control events: pause, resume, stop. Tooltips that explain various GUI functions and parameters. The full application configuration is now saved to file, not just the action bindings.

Read More...
http://projects.ict.usc.edu/mxr/faast/