Research Areas

The Living Canvas initiative aims to explore the novel artistic possibilities of using the performer’s body and clothes as a projection surface in the context of a stage performance. A new projection system will enable a dynamic or even improvised performance by detecting the posture and silhouette of the performer and projecting imagery precisely to the selected parts of body. This will enable the performer to “wear virtual costumes” that adapt to the body, or even receive a different face. The dynamic nature of the system will give full control to the performer who can freely move around on the stage, with the projection always “following” the performer.

Building upon the AutoEval system developed at DDS, we have advanced 3D interaction technology within the Fakespace workbench environment. The interface technology combines a range of input devices including 6DOF tracked gloves with tactile feedback and stationary devices such as the SpacePilot. Multimodal feedback is provided to augment interaction where stereoscopic visuals are not sufficient. The system has been used for a range of application demonstrators, covering the initial automotive sector and extending toward ship design as well as medical teaching.
Based on the experience from the AutoEval system, a number of tools and ideas have been ported into other display environments, supporting the research aims in medical or urban visualisation.

The Digital Design Studio of the Glasgow School of Art specialises in real-time interaction with and presentation of 3D data. We have created a number of real-time visualisation applications for urban and architectural models for the Glasgow City Council and private sector companies in Scotland. The image illustrates our work on visualising an amusement-park, introducing elements of animation, shadows, shaders, LOD, and scripting to create an exciting impression of the proposed development.

DDS has initiated the Scottish Medical Visualisation Network. The network aims at bringing advanced visualisation technology into the fields of medical teaching, patient care and pre-operative planning and training. Real-time visualisation of complex medical datasets have been used as powerful communication and teaching tools in a range of case studies. DDS has also been commissioned by Wild Dream Production to assist in the real-time visualisation of a mediaeval surgical procedure for an upcoming documentary.

We have developed a virtual reality car driving simulator to evaluate the performance and ergonomics of a novel concept for displaying traffic information using a full-windshield automotive head-up display developed by Vassilis Charissis. The simulator includes basic AI to generate dense traffic situations on a motorway and a range of environmental effects such as time of day, fog, snow and rain simulation. The HUD can be customised to simulate a range of interface concepts and ergonomic issues.

Thanks to the massive advances in computer graphics technology driven by the games industry, virtual reality systems have become mature and affordable to a much larger audience over the last decade. The research focus has therefore shifted away from making the technology work in the first place, towards finding the ideal modes of interaction and application scenarios. We have started a range of evaluations and case studies to bring immersive real-time visualisation into learning and teaching practise. Projects cover a diverse range of topic such as creative writing as well as interior design critique.

A lot of my work revolves around real-time visualisation in general. The main tool we're using now is VEGA Prime as the main rendering engine, augmented with a lot of custom modules. The following videos illustrate some of the work - these are screen-captures from the real-time environment (click on the images).

My interest in spatial audio for immersive virtual environments started during the blue-c project where we had the need for a high-performance 3D audio system. At DDS, we are now collaborating with Arup Acoustics Scotland through the joint "Soundlab" venture with the aim to bring high-quality 3D sound simulation based around Ambisonic techniques together with real-time 3D visualisation.

My previous work at the Computer Grapics Lab of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology was focused on the development of new software technologies for collaborative, immersive virtual reality environments featuring real-time 3D video streaming for tele-presence. Besides the blue-c system, I collaborated with a range of international partners on follow-up projects for the blue-c as well as exciting machine vision and interaction technology to bring projection technology into the workspace. The technology and ideas developed during the blue-c project informed and inspired a lot of the current research, namely the Living Canvas initiative.