Viewpoint motion control by body position in immersive projection display
Kikuo Asai, Noritaka Osawa, Yuji Y. Sugimoto, Yoshiaki Tanaka · 2002
We have developed a vision-based interface based on body position for viewpoint control in an immersive projection display. The 3D position of the arms and head of the user are tracked by image processing without the need to attach devices to the user. This provides freedom of movement and increases the immersion in the virtual environment. Images are captured using two high-sensitivity monochrome cameras suitable for the dark condition in the projection display. The edges of both hands and the top of the head are tracked in order to control the user's viewpoint by estimating the variance of the position. We evaluated the utility of the interface in an experiment where subjects performed walk-through trials in 3D space, comparing the body-position interface with a joystick. The results indicate that the performance of the body-position interface is comparable to that of the joystick in terms of viewpoint control, but enhances the sensation of speed. The developed system is applicable as a non-contact user interface for moving around in a virtual environment.