Personal and Ubiquitous Computing 2020 Article

Recently, I published a co-authored journal paper based on the iMareCulture EU project at Personal and Ubiquitous Computing. The paper is entitled “A hybrid augmented reality guide for underwater cultural heritage sites” and presents a novel augmented reality guide for divers to present ancient lost buildings at underwater archeological sites. The prototype system runs on a smartphone sealed in a waterproof case and uses a hybrid approach (markers and inertial sensors) to localize the diver on the site.

Accuracy of the tracker is measured in a laboratory in a simulated underwater environment. The application was experimentally evaluated at an underwater archeological site in Italy in Baiae underwater archaeological park. A pilot study with ten expert divers was performed, and their feedback, obtained directly in water, showed that this new experience significantly enhances user experience in underwater archeological sites.

More information:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00779-019-01354-6

Galea BCI for VR and AR Headsets

OpenBCI are making a new hardware and software platform specifically for immersive headsets called Galea. It is designed to attach to both AR and VR headsets, designed to monitor biometric data streams in real time. It will include electroencephalogram (EEG), electrooculography (EOG) electromyography (EMG), electrodermal activity (EDA), and photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors, which are intended to measure data from the brain, eyes, heart, skin, and muscles. 

Galea will allow researchers and developers to measure human emotions and facial expressions including happiness, anxiety, depression, attention span, and interest level—and use it to create more immersive content tailored to the individual. OpenBCI says it will provide researchers and developers early access to Galea, intended for commercial and research applications. Galea will also include SDKs to bring its stream of biometric data into “common development environments.

More information:

https://www.roadtovr.com/openbci-brain-computer-interface-ar-vr-galea/

Listen to Personalised Music without Headphones

Imagine a world where you move around in your own personal sound bubble. You listen to your favorite tunes, play loud computer games, watch a movie, or get navigation directions in your car — all without disturbing those around you. That is the possibility presented by sound beaming, a new futuristic audio technology from Noveto Systems. The listening sensation is straight out of a sci-fi movie. The 3D sound is so close it feels like it is inside your ears while also in front, above and behind them.

The technology uses a 3D sensing module and locates and tracks the ear position sending audio via ultrasonic waves to create sound pockets by the user’s ears. Sound can be heard in stereo or a spatial 3D mode that creates 360-degree sound around the listener. By changing a setting, the sound can follow a listener around when they move their head. It is also possible to move out of the beam’s path and hear nothing at all, which creates a surreal experience.

More information:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/futuristic-device-from-israeli-firm-puts-music-in-your-head-without-headphones/

JVC’s XR Headset

JVCKenwood is testing the XR waters with a new headset for enterprise users which boasts a wide field of view (FOV) and 2.5k per-eye resolution. As first reported by Mogura (Japanese), JVC’s prototype uses a proprietary mirror display to achieve a 120-degree FOV, serving up 2,560×1,440 pixels per eye via dual 5.5-inch LCD panels. Using SteamVR tracking, the PC-tethered headset can make use of any compatible controller, such as Vive wands or Valve Index controllers.

The project is mainly targeting the simulator market; however the company also sees it being used in the construction and medical fields. It appears JVC’s mirror tech is like the birdbath optics type used in AR headsets albeit on a much larger scale and FOV. Essentially, the idea is to allow users to retain a direct view of instruments or gauges while large-format virtual imagery is projected where it needs to be, which in the case of a flight/driving simulator would be out the cockpit windows.

More information:

https://www.roadtovr.com/jvc-enterprise-xr-120-fov-5k-resolution/