Multiuser Augmented Reality Environment IntroductionCollaborative activities are present everywhere on our daily life. In work, collaboration and cooperation is a key element for communicate and coordinate information. People naturally exchange information at differents forms : discussion, brainstorm, round-table meeting..etc.. Spatial configuration also provide dedicated environment : tabletop for small group discussion, whiteboard for two user discussion, projection for large setup and presentation..Computer have enhanced meeting situations, and provided new functionnality : distant acces of data, history modifications, persistent data, digital document, multiple interactive methods..etc.. Pervasive Computing and Ubiquitous Computing research is interesting to provide a better way to integrate computer possibilities to our environment. First solutions have been already proposed for provide virtual functionnalities during a meeting for manipulate digital 2D document. Differents tabletop system with projection display device have been proposed for 2D content and interaction. But few works are interested to enhanced real tabletop meeting for manipule and visualize 3D content. Provide to different users the possibility to interact with 3D object in their real environment and still manipulate real documents with a natural way of communication seem very interesting. Virtual Reality provide a solution with collaborative virtual environment and new dedicated setup : stereo desktop system, responsive workbench, CAVE, Reality Center...etc..But each furnish too constraint environment (few lighting, one user tracked, high cost of equipment), without real communication metaphors (recreate with avatar metaphor, verbal and gesture metaphors) and intuitive interaction techniques (moving naturally 3D element, easy sketching on real paper). Due to limited virtual reality collaborative system we propose here a new approach for collaborative activities for tabletop meeting. more.. ApproachWe are concentrate to tabletop meeting and propose an Augmented Reality Approach. Augmented Reality (AR) can be defined by the possibilites to add virtual information on our environment.For example in a meeting, 3D virtual object can be put on table and user can interact with this information DIRECTLY on the real environment. With AR users can manipulate intuitively with real or virtual information and always keep natural metaphor communication (gesture, verbal). We developped MARE, Multiuser Augmented Reality Environment, a generic environment for co-located 3D collaborative activity on tabletop setup.
more.. ApplicationsOur system is dedicated to all domains that visualize and manipulate 3D content. We have identified differents domains that seem very convincing for our works :
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