Researchers From IBM, Nokia and VTT Bring Avatars and People Together for
Virtual Meetings in Physical Spaces
New technology allows people across the world to interact with each other and
objects like they are in the same room
ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- While you can't yet teleport
or clone yourself to be in two places nearly at once, computer scientists are
working on what might be the next best thing.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO )
With support from IBM (NYSE: IBM) Research and Nokia Research Center, the VTT
Technical Research Centre of Finland created an experimental system that
enables people in multiple locations to interact and collaborate with avatars
and objects in a single, virtual meeting. Objects and avatars are located in
a "virtual" space that mirrors the corresponding physical room.
Sensors, cameras and microphones located on both ends of the conversation
allow voices, head and hand gestures and movements to change in concert with
the behavior of participants, enabling participants to sense the vital visual
cues of body language. In this proof-of-concept, participants in physical
rooms wear video see through glasses that depict three-dimensional images of
their online counterparts as they stand, walk, talk or demonstrate and
manipulate virtual objects shared between the spaces.
The system, called ACME, which stands for Augmented Collaboration in Mixed
Environments, was assembled using an open source viewer from Linden Lab's
Second Life virtual world, as well as from open source ARToolkit and OpenCV
libraries. The use of open source components lowers the costs associated with
the project as it matures, and encourages the participation of more computer
programmers and developers.
The technology provides a more affordable and eco-friendly alternative to
physical meetings. It is also more interactive than telephone conferences,
video conferences - and even on-screen meetings held exclusively in virtual
spaces.
"ACME is a compelling example of the kind of R&D now being conducted that will
enable the business community to work more intelligently, in a more
productive, efficient, convenient and immersive fashion," said Neil Katz, an
IBM Distinguished Engineer in the company's CIO Office, and liaison with the
ACME project. "It's easy to imagine that this technology, especially when it
becomes somewhat more mature, will give people a promising new option for
collaborating more interactively with colleagues in an increasingly
decentralized world."
The research towards this new level of meeting experience was supported by the
Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (TEKES). IBM Research,
together with Nokia Research Center, provided additional funding and
contributed to the technical direction.
Prototypes of ACME will be installed at IBM Research - Austin and Nokia
Research Center - Tampere/Finland for internal use and further testing and
development. ACME will also be demonstrated at the International Symposium on
Augmented and Mixed Reality (ISMAR) in Orlando, Florida, USA, from October 19
- 22, 2009. To view a clip showing ACME in action, please visit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNB0_c-5TSk.
For more about IBM Research and the Nokia Research Center, please visit
www.research.ibm.com and www.research.nokia.com.
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is the biggest multi-technological
applied-research organization in Northern Europe. For more about VTT's
Augmented Reality team, please visit www.vtt.fi/multimedia.
Media Inquiries:
Ari Fishkind
IBM Media Relations
914-945-2319
fishkind@us.ibm.com
SOURCE IBM
Media, Ari Fishkind, IBM Media Relations, +1-914-945-2319,
fishkind@us.ibm.com
