Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1998 01:28:15 -0400 From: Eric J Pierce To: boston-vr-announce@world.std.com Subject: BVRG Apr. 98 Meeting: Augmented Reality Applications At Boeing THE BOSTON VIRTUAL REALITY GROUP (formerly known as the Boston Computer Society Virtual Reality Group) PRESENTS AUGMENTED REALITY AT BOEING WITH PETER GRUENBAUM (formerly of Boeing) THURSDAY APRIL 16, 1998 7:00 PM MEDIA LABORATORY (BLDG E-15) MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS ________________________________________________________________ Join the Boston VR Group for a presentation of Boeing's Augmented Reality Project by Peter Gruenbaum. In 1990, a group of Boeing researchers proposed that a see-through virtual reality head-mounted display that was registered with the real world could be used as an aid in the manufacturing of airplanes by overlaying simple graphics on top of the real world. The term "Augmented Reality" was coined, and Boeing found that an ideal candidate for this technology was the Commercial Airplane Group's wireshop where wire harnesses are pre-fabricated before installing on airplanes. After several years of development, Boeing and its hardware collaborators finally solved the technical issues of tracking so that registration between the virtual environment and the real environment was closer than 0.25 inches over a large area (24 feet). Boeing developed a user interface for the wire harnessing application and conducted a pilot study in 1997 involving building actual wire bundles. This talk will cover the history of the Augmented Reality project, the principles behind the tracking technologies used, descriptions of the wearable computers and HMDs, how the user interface was developed, the results of the pilot study, and where the project is going now. A video clip will be played showing the view through the HMD, and a demonstration will be given of what the user interface looks like. Peter Gruenbaum worked on Boeing's Augmented Reality project in 1996 and 1997, where he played an integral part in the AR user interface development and pilot study. Peter received his PhD in Applied Physics from Stanford and his BA in Physics from the University of Chicago. He left Boeing in 1997 to come to Massachusetts, and he is now working for Linius Technologies, developing software that allows people to design wiring of complex objects in 3D. MEETING DETAILS: --------------- When: Thursday, April 16, 7:00 PM EST Location: Room 054 (unless otherwise posted) MIT Media Lab (Building E-15) 20 Ames Street Cambridge, Massachusetts By T: Get off at the Kendall Square Station on the Red Line. When you come to the surface you will be at the end of Main Street where it is more like a wide bricked pedestrian area in front of the Marriot Hotel. Walking to the end of the block toward Central square will put the Marriot on the right. The corner of the Marriot complex where Legal Seafoods is will be the corner of Main and Ames. Take a left onto Ames Street. The Media Lab is the only silver tiled building on the street and will be on your left. By Car: Ames Street runs between Main street and Memorial Drive, near Kendall Square in Cambridge. It is one-way going from Main to Memorial. Your best bet is to either look for parking near Kendall Sq. and follow walking instructions (By T) above. *OR* you could look for parking along Memorial Drive and walk up Ames Street the other way. If you're interested in coming and don't know how to get to MIT or even Cambridge, MA, instructions from all highways are available upon request via e-mail to ejp@world.std.com. More directions can be found at the following URL: http://casr.www.media.mit.edu/groups/casr/directions.html ======================================================================= Boston VR Group - A Gathering of Minds for Cyberspace Development: The Group meetings are a great way to meet others who are "actually" developing Virtual Environments. Whether you have an interest in the discussions, 3-D modelling, interactively generating and/or coding virtual worlds, or somewhere in between, there lots to do and talk about!!! Boston VR Group Philosophy: The purpose of the Boston Virtual Reality Group is to provide an ongoing venue for developing virtual environments as well as a forum for bringing scientists and developers together with VR enthusiasts/potential users. Through actively exploring both the technology and its cultural implications, exposing each to the other's thoughts and ideas, and "learning from" and "sharing with" industry leaders, we can help shape the future of this medium. ====================================================================== FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: ------------------------------ Director BCS-VRG: Brenden C.Maher Speaker Requests: brenden@media.mit.edu voice: (617) 621.3309 HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO AND UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THIS LIST: --------------------------------------------------- To subscribe to the boston-vr-announce e-mail announcement distribution list, send the following line in the body of your message to majordomo@world.std.com: subscribe boston-vr-announce To unsubscribe yourself from this list send the following line: unsubscribe boston-vr-announce Sometimes e-mail addresses (especially domain names) get convoluted by mail servers. 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