Responsive Workbench

The Responsive Workbench is a 3D interactive graphics system with a tabletop metaphor. Computer-generated stereoscopic images are projected onto a tabletop via a projector-and-mirrors system. The users of the workbench wear shutter glasses to observe the 3D effect. A 6DOF tracking system tracks the user's head, allowing the correct perspective to be used when rendering the environment. A pair of gloves and a stylus, also tracked by the system, can be used to interact with objects in the tabletop environment. While currently only one user is tracked, many users can also view the environment simultaneously using untracked shutter glasses.

Our goal is to extend the system originally developed by Wolfgang Krueger at GMD. We are currently exploring several different application areas, including archtechture, scientific visualization, and medicine. We are working with others in these fields on applications that mesh well with the Responsive Workbench's UI metaphor. We are also researching more basic issues of a system such as this: hardware, calibration, user interaction, and rendering.

The Responsive Workbench is a cooperative project between Stanford University and GMD. The work is supported by a grant from Interval Research Cooperation and NASA Ames. Additional support in equipment is provided by Silicon Graphics Computer Systems.

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Last modified: Mon 1 Jul 1996
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