The View From Above: In Hard Focus Round-up (September 8, 2011)

AHNE – Audio-Haptic Navigation Environment from Matti Niinimäki on Vimeo.

Kinect helps you make sweet music, well sounds anyway: We cover a lot of Kinect applications for vision, but let’s not forget the other senses that can be engaged with this technology. Researchers in Helsinki have created a method to make sounds within a 3D space utilizing a Kinect sensor. Called Audio-Haptic Navigation Environment (AHNE), the system designates sounds, tone and volume based on one or more individuals’ positions in space. Not exactly symphony quality yet, but worth checking out. See video above via Engadget.

Photo compression technology allows for efficient photo storage: TechCrunch reports on a new startup, JPEGmini, which is pioneering a method for compressing JPEG photos for quicker sharing and more efficient storage. The technology, which can reduce overall file size by up to 5 times, imitates the way we analyze images in order to compress select portions of a photo that don’t contain “visible artifacts.” While professional photographers may not find this technology any better or cost effective than using RAW files and programs like Adobe Photoshop, there are many everyday uses where this method of compressing files could come in handy, especially in small devices like smartphones and cameras. 

Mobli takes photo filters and sharing to the next level: Mobli, a platform that allows users to “see the world through other people’s eyes” via a shared photos and video platform, is pushing ahead of competitors like Color with some interesting updates. Mashable reports that the new version, available now on Android and BlackBerry in addition to its original iPhone app, grants users a portal to take, share and view photos and video, which they can then tag or create filters for based on location-based data (such as check-ins at a concert or baseball game). What’s really interesting is the CEO’s vision behind the app: to create a visual diary experience through the lens of a smartphone… perhaps this vision seems way cooler when Paris Hilton is on-board.

The View From Above: In Hard Focus Round-up (August 30, 2011)

Mediating Mediums - The Digital 3d - [Part 3] from Greg Tran on Vimeo.

AR the next step for architecture: A graduate student at Harvard University utilizes Augmented Reality concepts in an architecture project called "Meditating Mediums," which begs the question - why didn't we think of this application before? As the student, Greg Tran, explains, "people looked at painting, walked around sculpture and walked through architecture," and thus the modern digital equivalent would translate to 3D AR and other technologies that have the ability to play with form, space and function all on one plane. See a video of this project above, via The Next Web.

AR applications beyond fun and games: We’ve covered a lot of Augmented Reality applications here on InHardFocus, many of them focused on entertaining or informing the average smartphone user. However, PBS tackles AR’s potential uses beyond consumer engagement, introducing some current and potential applications that could benefit a variety of industries. These applications include tracking food products in assembly lines and processing plants, creating a broad range of educational supplements to real world objects and textbooks, and building and analyzing crime scenes with technologies so far only existing on popular TV shows. Can’t wait to see what it can do for other industries – from security to medicine.

Otoy brings cloud-based animation tools to the masses: VentureBeat covered a new company today, Otoy, which aims to bring high quality special effects, animation and 3D image rendering to those not working with James Cameron’s budget. Beyond opening up the space for more game changers (literally), Otoy’s plan is quite ambitious in terms of moving this process (and all its graphics) to the cloud. Certainly other video game companies are working toward this, so perhaps we may see those video game consoles obsolete in the next few years. 

The View From Above: In Hard Focus Round-up (August 22nd, 2011)

Augmented Reality Mirror allows you to see your better self: Researchers at the Multimedia and Vision research group at Queen Mary, University of London, have created an application that allows one to change one’s appearance in real time, as reported by New Scientist. Utilizing 3D modeling and feature tracking to create a virtual mirror, the technology could have lots of real-world applications, the obvious being for aesthetic reasons like plastic surgery consultations. See the video above for an application of this technology. 

3-D GPS breakthrough will mean accuracy for scientists and consumers alike: Fast Company reports that scientists at Rice University are working to improve GPS system calculations, which are typically affected by poor altitude judgment and errors from radio signal filtering. The software in development, which aims to filter out these errors and thus improve accuracy, will certainly have wide implications for location-based services beyond simple GPS navigation, from glacier tracking to more precise location-based services and applications (think within centimeters).

Apple betting on AR with a new patent: Apple has recently filed a patent application that will essentially incorporate AR technology into the iPhone’s camera. This patent will not only bring a new layer of information to the already useful native applications (Maps and Compass, for example), but, as CNET reports, may give AR the push it needs to hit mainstream adoption and use. Not to mention, it also opens up the platform for companies and developers looking to get on the Augmented Reality train.

3-D Face Models Give Disney Animators Intuitive Control of Expressions

Flashing a wink or a smirk might be second nature for some people, but computer animators can be hard-pressed to depict such an expression realistically. Now scientists at Disney Research, Pittsburgh, and Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute have created computerized models derived from actors' faces that reflect a range of natural expressions while also giving animators the ability to manipulate facial poses.

The researchers developed a method that not only translates the motions of actors into a 3-D face model, but also subdivides it into facial regions that let animators intuitively create the poses they need. The work envisions creation of a facial model that could be used to rapidly animate innumerable characters for films, video games or exhibits.

"We can build a model that is driven by data, but can still be controlled in a local manner," said J. Rafael Tena, a Disney research scientist, who helped develop the interactive face models based on principal component analysis.

Previous data-driven approaches have resulted in models that capture motion across the face as a whole. Tena said these are of limited use for animators because attempts to alter one part of an expression can cause unwanted motions across the entire face. Attempts to divide holistic models into pieces are less effective because the resulting model isn't tailored to the motion of each piece.

As a result, Tena said, most facial animation still depends on "blendshape" models—a set of facial poses sculpted by artists based on static images. But given the wide range of human expressions, it can be difficult to predict all of the facial poses required in a film or video game. Many additional poses often must be created during the course of production.

By contrast, the researchers created their models by recording facial motion capture data from a professional actor as he performed sentences with emotional content, localized actions and random motions. To cover the whole face, 320 markers were applied to enable the camera to capture facial motions during the performances.

The data from the actor was then analyzed using a mathematical method that divided the face into regions, based in part on distances between points and in part on correlations between points that tend to move in concert with each other. In this study, the result was a model with 13 distinct regions, but Tena said more regions would be possible by using performance capture techniques that can provide a dense reconstruction of the face, rather than the sparse samples produced by traditional motion capture equipment.

Future work will include developing models based on higher-resolution motion data and developing an interface that can be readily used by computer animators.

The View From Above: In Hard Focus Round-up (August 16, 2011)

3D advertisements coming to a smartphone or tablet near you: MediaPost reports that mobile ad platform Amobee is teaming up with Cooliris to promote Cooliris’ newly launched 3D ad unit called AdJitsu. While the thought of more advertisements is not that enticing, just think of how this concept can be extended to other apps – from 3D shopping experiences to games. Check out the video above to see how one can interact with the technology.

Banjo app make you feel a part of the action: Banjo, an app that presents users with a layer of social network information, now allows you to tap into specific locations to see what the social buzz is all about, as TechCrunch reports. Imagine missing out on the Superbowl, or being halfway around the world from history-making news, yet feeling a part of the action thanks to a rich feed of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, FourSquare and other social networking information from people experiencing it first hand.  The app accesses all public posts, not just those from your friends, which makes us think about just how public our data really is…