The Extended Virtual Table: An Optical Extension for Table-Like Projection Systems

  • Authors:
  • Oliver Bimber;L. Miguel Encarnação;Pedro Branco

  • Affiliations:
  • Fraunhofer Center for Research in Computer Graphics (CRCG), Inc. 321 S. Main St., Providence, RI 02903, USA, obimber@crcg.edu;Fraunhofer Center for Research in Computer Graphics (CRCG), Inc. 321 S. Main St., Providence, RI 02903, USA, me@crcg.edu;Fraunhofer Center for Research in Computer Graphics (CRCG), Inc. 321 S. Main St., Providence, RI 02903, USA, pbranco@crcg.edu

  • Venue:
  • Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments
  • Year:
  • 2001

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Abstract

A prototype of an optical extension for table-like rear-projection systems is described. A large, half-silvered mirror beam splitter is used as the optical combiner to unify a virtual and a real workbench. The virtual workbench has been enabled to display computer graphics beyond its projection boundaries and to combine virtual environments with the adjacent real world. A variety of techniques are described and referred to that allow indirect interaction with virtual objects through the mirror. Furthermore, the optical distortion that is caused by the half-silvered mirror combiner is analyzed, and techniques are presented to compensate for this distortion.