vr-app-handtracking

Video Link: VR Application

• Virtual Reality Application implemented as part of my Master’s degree thesis (2016).

  • Using: Oculus Rift DK2, Leap Motion, Unity 3D, Nvidia 3D Vision glasses, hand tracking, computer-human interaction

  • Link: Master Degree Thesis “Comparison of 3D visualization: Oculus Dk2 vs Nvidia 3D Glasses”

  • Hands are an indispensable way for humans to interact with the environment in their daily lives. To incorporate the possibility that they can interact with their hands within a virtual world, it raises the degree of immersion and provides a form of natural interaction in virtual reality applications. In this final master work, we undertake the development of a virtual reality application in which stereoscopic visualization and hand interaction are used. At same time, we compare two modes of stereoscopic visualization to determine if participants cope with any of them better. We will observe if the results indicate that regardless of gender, age, or profession, participants prefer the mode with a virtual helmet

• Requirements
  • Windows 7 / 10
  • Unity 5
  • Oculus DK2
  • Leap Motion 2.1
  • Plugins for Leap Motion and SQLite are located at Link: Plugins
  • This project assets (audio, fonts, images, materials, models, prefabs, recordings, scenes, and scripts) are located Link: Assets/Assets_tfm
  • Code of this project is located at Link: Assets/Assets_tfm/Scripts

Index

• Introduction
• Used tools
• Application developed
• Validations
• Conclusions

Introduction

Virtual Reality

• “It is the product of the simulation of a physical world created from programs computers, computer systems, graphics engines, which gives the possibility interaction with humans through different sensors” (Sherman & Craig, 2003)
• Virtual Reality Device (helmet)
• Stereoscopy with Active Glasses

Hand Interaction

• Use the hands as a natural interface to interact with the virtual objects increases the degree of immersion
• Users try to touch virtual objects
• Keyboard or mouse: handling difficulty, reduces the level of immersion

State of the Art

• Interaction with hands and screen:
  • Many ways to complete the game (Christian et al. 2011)
  • Avoid arms stretched out for a long time (Schlattmann et al., 2011)
• Interaction with hands and virtual reality headset:
  • Grasping pieces requires a complex algorithm (Lee et al., 2015)
  • Higher level of immersion (Lee et al., 2015)

Project Goals

1. Study the potential of Leap Motion for hand tracking
2. Develop an app that combines visualization stereoscopic and hands-on interaction
3. Validate the application with participants

Tools

Description

• The developed application contains 3 games using hands-on interaction and 3D visualization

Unity 3D

• Cross-platform, abundant information, free vs personal
• Canvas (buttons, sliders, etc.)
• Preview of scene seen from VR helmet
• Import 3D models

Leap Motion

• 3 infrared LEDs, 2 cameras
• Leap Motion Core Assets:
  • Graphic part and physical part
  • Parent-child hierarchy
  • Avoid collisions between bones
  • Frame: data structure containing information geometry on the hands

Oculus Rift

• OVRCameraRig
  • LeftEyeAnchor
  • RightEyeAnchor
  • Center Anchor
    • HandController
• HandController
  • System of coordinates adjusted for your position on the head

Nvidia 3D vision

• Supported graphics card DirectX 11
• Dual link DVI cable
• Main camera:
  • Static (no tracking positional)
  • Field of vision according to the distance of objects
  • Stereo separation
  • Convergence distance

Blender, Gimp, Reaper

Blender

• Union, intersection, difference
• Chamfered on the edges
• System of FBX coordinates are adjust automatically in unity

Gimp

• Histograms by channels
• Smart scissors
• Brushes, buckets of painting
• Brightness and Contrast

Reaper

• cut fragments of Audio
• Record instructions
• Remove background noise
• Equalizer (boost the voice)
• Compressor (avoids saturation in the recordings)

Application Developed

Description

• Database Manager
• Application Manager complete
• Manager of the Graphic Interface of User
• Museum Game Manager
• Soccer Game Manager
• Tower Game Manager

Data Base Manager

• Dynamic lists to avoid temporary delays to update the db while play

App Manager

• Information about the session current game:
  • Current person
  • 3D type
  • Date
  • Etc.
• Features common to several modules:
  • Set up:
    • Cameras depending on the type of 3D
    • Speed of the hands in the demonstrations
    • Appearance of instructions in text

Graphical User Interface

Game Museum

Game VolleyBall

Game Tower

Validations

Description

Time used

• There are statistically significant differences
  • Student’s t: p-value < 0.05
  • C_Oculus: median of 80 (and range interquartile of 30)
  • C_Glasses: median of 115 (and range interquartile of 26)

Interaction, Ergonomics and 3D quality, 1st time

• Oculus gets a superior rating (close to 7 – “Strongly agree”)

Comparison - Interaction

• Group A values both devices similarly

Comparison – 3D Quality

• There are no statistically significant differences
• The order of use of the devices has not influenced the evaluation of the quality of the 3D

Comparison - Preferences

• The difference in comfort is not as great as in the other questions

Comparison – Preferences (gender, profession, age)

• Neither gender, nor profession, nor age, influence the final preference of the participants

Conclusions

• We have developed a VR application that allows hands-on interaction and includes 2 types of 3D
• We have carried out a study in which we have determined that one of the devices favors a better interaction
• Feedback to the user through instructions, effects sounds, color changes of objects, etc., has prevented this from being look lost

Future work

• Validate the application with a larger number of participants
• Possibility of moving the camera depending on the movement of the hands
• Possibility of incorporating machine learning to detect gestures complex like drawing letters in the air