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| Wiggly & Wobbly - Intuitively linking action and perception for desktop VR and PDA |
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| by Tom Djajadiningrat & Fred
Voorhorst (Delft, 1996) |
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One of the disadvantage of the DVWS, a head coupled Virtual Reality system
is the fact that the users has to wear something that allows the system to detect the head position. Various designes were tried,
ranging from a mechanical one using helmet and rod, to infra red ones using either a head sweat band to the frame of (sun) glasses as
support for the reflector. Eventually, we became quite an expert in picking up the affordance of reflector support of sun glass designs.
We also invented two systems that rendered an infra-red detection device obsolete; Wiggly & Wobbly.
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Wiggly
The second system was based on the realisation that if the monior is small, say hand held, users do not only their head but their hand instead. Consequence is that the orientation
relative to the vertical can be used as estimate for the orientation of the head to the monitor. To measure the orientation of the hand held monitor you simply measuring
the omnipresent force: gravity.
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Again, the simplicity of the sistem was that it can be iused immediately. We build a demonstrator but the effect was less convincing mainly because, contrary to the
slow upper-body movements, hand movements were quite fast. To fast for the at the time to us available computer systems. Nevertheless, assuming computer technology would catch up
quickly, we already started thinking about a Gravity controlled Newton from Apple, the G-model, or as it turned out the G-wish model, for which
we were inventing all kinds of nice geasture based interaction.
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| Examples from a design for a geasture controlled hand held device by the Thursday night team: Djajadiningrat, Claessen & Voorhorst |
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Wobbly
The first system was based on the realisation that users do not only move the head during exploration, but their entire upper boddy. Measures showed an approximate linear connection,
which turned out good enough since the system with camera only utilized the angle relative to the monitor and not the absolute position.
The clear advantage obviously was that the user could simply sit down and start using the system. No hassle with glasses or, worse, clearly used and never cleaned head bands. |
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| We both thought these systems were extremely simple and elegant, and even with a cure name. So we tried to present this as a short paper at the CHI but regretfully
were refused. This would be the first in a long line of failed attempts to present at the CHI. Eventually, we both managed, independently, to get accepted and achieve the 'presented at the CHI' status. |
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