| Description |
Sorcerer's Apprentice is an interactive computer graphics system utilizing a head-mounted display and at three-dimensional wand. The system allows three-dimensional interaction with line drawings which are displayed in real time, that is about 20 frames per second. The display, worn like a pair of eye glasses, gives an illusion to the observer that he is surrounded by three-dimensional, computer-generated objects. The observer's view is continuously modified to compensate for his motion, allowing the objects to appear stationary as he walks among them. A hand-held wand lets the observer interact with the objects by "touching" them, moving them, changing their shapes, or joining them together. With the wand the observer can also create new objects and add to existing ones. The major activity described here dealt with communication from the observer to the computer. Problems inherent to this communication such as sending commands to the computer in a simple yet expandable manner, sensing when the wand is "touching" an object, and real time processing of a changing data base have been solved. In the solutions we have used a wall chart, a hash addressed data structure, and a dual-copy data structure, respectively. Many minor problems s till distract one while using the Sorcerer's Apprentice system, yet the ability to observe and modify three-dimensional objects in real time and in natural manner is very striking and very realistic. |
