Developing a stereoscopic CG system with motion parallax and interactive digital contents on the system for science museums

Abstract

As we watch 3D objects and move around them, the appearance of the objects would change. This is called motion parallax and it is one of important depth cues. We develop an interactive stereoscopic CG system using motion parallax. This system follows the position of a user's view point, and generates 3DCG images for the view point every moment. As a result, the system can reproduce motion parallax and can synthesize stereoscopy without special equipments. Based on this system, we develop two interactive stereoscopic contents which would be used in science museums. One is a constellation viewer, in which we can observe constellations and planets from any positions, and can grasp positional relationships and 3D shapes of them. It is also possible to control the content with gestures. The other is a virtual 3D photocopy system. When we put physical 3D objects on a desk and remove them, we can observe virtual objects from any points as a stereoscopic 3DCG image based on motion parallax. We can feel the removed objects being left as they were. When the system scans moving objects, a stereoscopic 3DCG animation is synthesized and the user can observe it from any positions. It is also possible to interact with the 3DCG objects such as touching and deforming the 3DCG objects.