Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/J44049/01
Title:	ITE: AN ACTIVE VISUAL SENSOR FOR TELEPRESENCE
Principal Investigator:	Murray, Professor DW
Other Investigators:	Sharkey, Professor P Cameron, Dr SA
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	BNFL Pre Nexus Migration
Department:	Engineering Science
Organisation:	University of Oxford
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 January 1994	Ends:	30 June 1995	Value (£):	41,257
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Image & Vision Computing
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
The principal aims of the one year study are(i) to determine whether an active visual sensor for telepresence is feasible with existing technology;(ii) to perform a kinematical and dynamical study of the device;(iii) to investigate the issue of auto-vergence and image presentation;(iv) to investigate the technical feasibility of driving individual camera movements, and hence vergence, from the users eye movements; and(v) to develop a working demonstration of head motions of the sensor driven from user head movements alone. Progress:A draft survey of head tracking technologies has been prepared, and two novel visual methods developed in the laboratory from existing work. The survey of eye tracking technologies remains to be completed.Modelling work has taken into account the mechanical kinematics and dynamics of the active visual sensor and a 2 degree of freedom head tracking sensor. Work remains to be done modelling a 2 degree of freedom eye tracking sensor. The target architecture, based on C40 DSP processors hosted by a PC, has been constructed.The feasibility of auto-verging the heads cameras has been established, but further study needs to be made of the necessity and feasibility of adjusting the images being presented to the user. The effects of close coupling of the users accommodation and vergence is an important issue, and one coupled with the desirability of individual eye tracking. Our study to date indicates that individual eye tracking is too ambitious in thee short term, and that vergence should be driven from head movements alone, both automatically, using the machine vision system, and with user assistance. Our survey indicates that visual assistance without immersion gives better performance than poor and unconvincing visual immersion. A basic 2 degree of freedom head slaving system has been developed, using an existing stereo head in the laboratory, using a number of specially defined points on the operators head tracked visual using a stationary camera. The advantage of using a visual head tracking system is that it creates a more natural interface, although the benefits are marginalized if an HMD is used. Future work will seek to make the head tracking employ natural rather than imposed head features.
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