A real-time reconstructed 3D environment augmented with virtual objects rendered with correct occlusion

Abstract

In this work we present a novel framework for the real-time interaction with 3D models in augmented virtual reality. Our framework incorporates view-dependent stereoscopic rendering of the reconstructed environment together with user's hands and a virtual object, and high-precision gesture recognition to manipulate it. Proposed setup consists of a Creative RGB-D camera, Oculus Rift VR head mounted display (HMD), Leap Motion hands and fingers tracker and an AR marker. The system is capable of augmenting the user's hands in relation to their point of view (POV) using the depth sensor mounted on the HMD, and allows manipulation of the environment through the Leap Motion sensor. The AR marker is used to determine the location of the Leap Motion sensor to help with consolidation of transformations between the Oculus and the Leap Motion sensor. Combined with accurate information from the Oculus HMD, the system is able to track the user's head and fingers, with 6-DOF, to provide a spatially accurate augmentation of the user's virtual hands. Such an approach allows us to achieve high level of user immersion since the augmented objects occlude the user's hands properly; something which is not possible with conventional AR. We hypothesize that users of our system will be able to perform better object manipulation tasks in this particular augmented VR setup as compared to virtual reality (VR) where user's hands are not visible, or if visible, always occlude virtual objects.