The following programs are demonstrations. Instructions for use are included in the downloads and it is stored in your computer's Programs directory in a folder using the name of the program. The controls are the arrow keys and the left mouse. To end any of these programs use the esc key.
This file is 2.45 megs. The program shows a canoe in 3d. It should run on most windows operating systems.
download the canoe now.
This next program, rock_bottom.exe is a little pond with a rocky bottom. It is 2.4 megs.
download rock_bottom program now.
Ishkode (fire) is the name of this program. It puts the canoe into the water and adds a paddler. It is 5.18 megs.
download the ishkode program now.
full_moon is 363 kilobytes. It puts you into a sea of very large waves by the light of the full moon and if you toggle the letter 'r' it will make you sea sick.
download the full_moon program now.
Numerous experiments go to dead ends. Here's an attempt to create a Perlin noise cloud generator in order to evolve the shapes of clouds in real time. The method is computationally too intense to run in real time with anything else going on. But the technique may have some future use.
download the cloud program now.
Here's a program that let's the user tie a virtual knot. It is only a demo but shows that it is possible to manipulate a virtual rope. The instructions for running it are at the top of the window frame when it is running.
download the knot program now.
Representing realism in virtual reality means identifying seemingly insignificant things that we unconsciously notice in the real world. We may not be conscious of these things but we know immediately if something is not quite right. Here's an example of a simple head that you can turn using the arrow keys. However, unlike game programs, the character keeps his gaze focussed on you, the user, giving you the sensation that he is paying attention to your presence. 4.83 meg download. download the eyes program now.
Another experiment I am working on is to use a webcam to detect the expression on the user's face and then to put that expression onto his avatar's face. So when the gamer smiles, the avatar will smile etc. The first step in this process was to have the webcam (I use a logitech) find the face. This program will find your face if you have a logitech webcam running. It uses a face finding routine developed by Wolf Kienzle. For best effect, do not have any other lights in the room on except the one on your face. This program will find any faces in front of the web cam, and it will find false positives for some face like images in furniture etc. This program is still under construction and is not yet refined. To change the threshold (sensitivity for finding faces) use the left and right arrows. To stop the program, use the esc key.
download the face cam program now.
Here's the second stage of the program above. In this program, the user 'trains' the program to recognize his face when it is neutral and when it smiles. Then the program shows a "smiley" face with a straight or smiling face depending on the expression of the user. There are only two emotions shown here, but the principle will be extended in the next rendition to several emotions. And it will be incorporated into a three D avatar face. Make sure your web cam is set up and your face is lit and the area behind you is dark. The instructions are in the program.
download the haar smile program now.
Communication between the avatars should be as natural as possible. This program, phoneme, captures a very short spoken phrase from the user. It then breaks the sounds down into its component frequencies and displays the results. If the kinect or some future device that captures sound, image and range can be used to make the avatars say the same words as the user, then it adds to the realism. I am working on a lip sinc that will allow the avatar to speak the same words as the user, only in its own voice. The instructions are at the top of the window when it runs.
download the phoneme program now.
This program will remind you of why you would prefer to paddle in the comfort of your computer rather than in the wilds of the northern wilderness. It's called mosquito.
download the mosquito program now.
This is also a bug program. Programs that move at one speed on one computer often run faster on newer machines. To compensate for this, real physics (D = R X T) has to be incorporated into the program so all the moving things will appear to move at the same rate no matter how fast the computer runs. This program, bugs, is the above mosquito program with that modification.
download the bugs program now.
email me if you have any problems.
