Human-centric design personalization of 3D glasses frame in markerless augmented reality

This paper presents a virtual try-on system based on augmented reality for design personalization of facial accessory products. The system offers several novel functions that support real-time evaluation and modification of eyeglasses frame. 3D glasses model is embedded within video stream of the person who is wearing the glasses. Machine learning algorithms are developed for instantaneous tracking of facial features without use of markers. The tracking result enables continuously positioning of the glasses model on the user’s face while it is moving during the try-on process. In addition to color and texture, the user can instantly modify the glasses shape through simple semantic parameters. These functions not only facilitate evaluating products highly interactive with human users, but also engage them in the design process. This work has thus implemented the concept of human-centric design personalization.     

The visual impact of augmented reality during an assembly task

Many studies have shown the benefits of augmented reality (AR) to improve manufacturing and control processes in industry. However, the presentation of AR content through optical see-through head-mounted displays may induce unnatural viewing conditions, which consequences on the user’s visual system have not been investigated yet. This study aimed at assessing whether using AR instructions to guide a manual task, i.e., conditions where the user is forced to repeatedly look at and accommodate in different planes to extract information from both real and virtual environments, could potentially impact the visual system of operators. A before/after design study was carried out, asking 26 participants to perform Lego assemblies for 30 min with either paper or AR instructions. The effects of using AR compared to paper instructions were evaluated both on binocular vision, with classical optometric measurements, and on visual fatigue, with the Virtual Reality Symptoms Questionnaire. No clinically significant differences in optometric measurements (far/near visual acuity, stereoacuity, phoria, convergence, fusional amplitude, accommodation amplitude, accommodative convergence) have been found between AR and paper instructions, and only negligible fatigue symptoms have been seen specifically for AR. Results from both objective and subjective measurements suggest that there is no impact of AR on the oculomotor system and that, in this specific case of use, AR can be safely used for production operators.     

Tangible authoring of 3D virtual scenes in dynamic augmented reality environment

This paper proposes tangible interfaces and interactions for authoring 3D virtual and immersive scenes easily and intuitively in tangible augmented reality (AR) environment. It provides tangible interfaces for manipulating virtual objects in a natural and intuitive manner and supports adaptive and accurate vision-based tracking in AR environments. In particular, RFID is used to directly integrate physical objects with virtual objects and to systematically support the tangible query of the relation between physical objects and virtual ones, which can provide more intuitive tangibility and a new way of virtual object manipulation. Moreover, the proposed approach offers an easy and intuitive switching mechanism between tangible environment and virtual environment. This paper also proposes a context-adaptive marker tracking method which can remove an inconsistent problem while embedding virtual objects into physical ones in tangible AR environments. The context-adaptive tracking method not only adjusts the locations of invisible markers by interpolating the locations of existing reference markers and those of previous ones, but also removes a jumping effect of movable virtual objects when their references are changed from one marker to another. Several case studies for generating tangible virtual scenes and comparison with previous work are given to show the effectiveness and novelty of the proposed approach.     

An experimental study on the role of 3D sound in augmented reality environment

Investigation of augmented reality (AR) environments has become a popular research topic for engineers, computer and cognitive scientists. Although application oriented studies focused on audio AR environments have been published, little work has been done to vigorously study and evaluate the important research questions of the effectiveness of three-dimensional (3D) sound in the AR context, and to what extent the addition of 3D sound would contribute to the AR experience.

Thus, we have developed two AR environments and performed vigorous experiments with human subjects to study the effects of 3D sound in the AR context. The study concerns two scenarios. In the first scenario, one participant must use vision only and vision with 3D sound to judge the relative depth of augmented virtual objects. In the second scenario, two participants must cooperate to perform a joint task in a game-based AR environment.

Hence, the goals of this study are (1) to access the impact of 3D sound on depth perception in a single-camera AR environment, (2) to study the impact of 3D sound on task performance and the feeling of ‘human presence and collaboration’, (3) to better understand the role of 3D sound in human–computer and human–human interactions, (4) to investigate if gender can affect the impact of 3D sound in AR environments. The outcomes of this research can have a useful impact on the development of audio AR systems, which provide more immersive, realistic and entertaining experiences by introducing 3D sound. Our results suggest that 3D sound in AR environment significantly improves the accuracy of depth judgment and improves task performance. Our results also suggest that 3D sound contributes significantly to the feeling of human presence and collaboration and helps the subjects to ‘identify spatial objects’.     

Measuring visual fatigue and visual discomfort associated with 3‐D displays

Abstract— This research identifies methods for signs of visual complaints associated with stereoscopic displays. Two potential causes for contradictory results concerning these signs in previous research are hypothesized: (1) not all clinical tests are equally appropriate and (2) there is a natural variation in susceptibility amongst people with normal vision. An optometric screening differentiated participants with moderate binocular status (MBS) from those with good binocular status (GBS). In a 2 × 2 within‐subjects design (2‐D vs. 3‐D and MBS vs. GBS), a questionnaire and eight optometric tests (i.e., binocular acuity, aligning prism, fixation disparity, heterophoria, convergent and divergent fusional reserves, vergence facility, and accommodation response) were each administered before and immediately after a reading task. Results revealed that only participants with MBS in 3‐D conditions showed clinically meaningful changes in fusion range, experienced more visual discomfort, and performed worse on the reading task. Acombination of fusion range measurements and self‐report is appropriate for evaluating visual complaints of stereoscopic stills, and people with a MBS are more susceptible to visual complaints associated with stereoscopic displays. A simple measurement tool, i.e., the ratio of reading performance between 2‐D and 3‐D, to categorize people based on their binocular status is proposed.     

Investigation and modeling of visual fatigue caused by S3D content using eye-tracking

3D has been one of the most important technologies of the last decade having an exponential progression. Nevertheless, several problems such as visual discomfort and visual fatigue have slowed its progression for homes. This factor decreases significantly the overall quality of experience from watching 3D content and reduces the level of satisfaction of a user. This study explores the accumulation of visual fatigue when watching 3D video in close to real-life conditions. In order to obtain more information about visual discomfort, an hour of eye-tracking experiments have been conducted. Investigations have been made by analyzing information provided both by users through questionnaires and visual gaze characteristics recording. Obtained results are compared to data produced when watching 2D. The deep statistical analysis showed that time and video content have an influence on video fatigue accumulation and visual functions. With respect to the obtained results, a model has been proposed based on video characteristics (motion activity, disparity range and changes) and the previous state of visual fatigue.     

The comparison of accommodative response and ocular movements in viewing 3D and 2D displays

Some people often appear asthenopia symptoms of eye fatigue, double vision, nausea, and dizziness while viewing 3D movies. By testing the changes of accommodation function and ocular movements during watching 3D and 2D movies, the factors in visual discomfort are confirmed in this study.20 subjects with normal visual acuity and binocular vision function view 3D and 2D movies with the same content for 30 min, and the amplitude of accommodation, binocular vergence ability, stereo-acuity, and tear break-up time of the subjects before and after viewing the films are measured. Furthermore, an open-field auto-refractor is utilized for synchronously testing the change of accommodative response while viewing 3D and 2D films, and Skalar IRIS tracking system is applied to record ocular movements through infrared positioning.In comparison with viewing 2D movies, the accommodative response and ocular movements reveal obvious changes while viewing 3D movies. The accommodation ability and binocular vergence ability obviously drop after viewing 3D movies; moreover, the stability of stereo-acuity and tear film also gets worse. The changes of such physiological factors might be the major cause of asthenopia.     

Adaptable visual presentation of 2D and 3D learning materials in web-based cyberworlds

Educational cyberworlds allow one to circumvent physical, safety, and cost constraints that often affect real-world training and learning scenarios, allowing students to study the learning content flexibly and individually. However, this does not eliminate the need for presenting the educational materials in an effective way, using visualization, interaction and presentation techniques that are better suited to the learner’s preferences, abilities, and the available devices. The system that we present in this paper is capable, starting from a set of available educational resources (e.g., text, pictures, movies and 3D models) and lesson structures (e.g., suitable ordering of topics), to automatically build a set of alternative web-based educational cyberworlds characterized by different visualization (2D and 3D), interaction and presentation techniques, including virtual humans as instructors. The learner (or her instructor) can then choose the cyberworld that best fits her preferences and needs.     

Comparison of ANN approach with 2D and 3D hydrodynamic models for simulating estuary water stage

Accurately predicting tidal levels, including tidal and freshwater discharge effects, is important for human activities in estuaries. The traditional harmonic analysis method and numerical modeling are usually adopted to simulate and predict estuary water stages. This study applied artificial neural networks (ANNs) as an alternative modeling approach to simulate the water stage time-series of the Danshui River estuary in northern Taiwan. We compared this approach with vertical (laterally averaged) 2D and 3D hydrodynamic models. Five ANN models were constructed to simulate the water stage time-series at the Shizi Tou, Taipei Bridge, Rukuoyan, Xinhai Bridge, and Zhongzheng Bridge locations along the Danshui River estuary. ANN models can preserve nonlinear characteristics between input and output variables and are superior to physical-based hydrodynamic models during the training phase. The simulated results reveal that the vertical 2D and 3D hydrodynamic models could not capture the observed water stages during an input of high freshwater discharge from upstream boundaries, while the ANN could match the observed water stage. However, during the testing phase, the ANN approach was slightly inferior to the 2D and 3D models at the Xinhai Bridge, Zhongzheng Bridge, and Rukouyan locations. Our results show that the ANN was able to predict the water stage time-series with reasonable accuracy, suggesting that ANNs can be a valuable tool for estuarine management.