Interests and Activities
Indoor Cricket playing for
Canned
Haggis
Indoor Soccer playing for
Nathan's Team
Wu
Dow Gong
Martial Arts Training
Cardio Training
Films and Computer Games
Events.
Canberra Times 10km Fun Run (2008)
24hr Mt Stromlow Bike Ride (2008)
Groups.
ANU Computer Science Student Representative (SRC)
Computer Science Student Association (CSSA)
The Australian Golden Key (GK) Chapter
Apple Developer Connection (ADC)
Head Tracking Work. (2008 - 2011)
Head Tracking in First-Person Games: Interaction
using a Web-Camera
To be published in
INTERACT 2009
(12th IFIP TC13 Conference in Human-Computer Interaction)
Co-author
Dr
Henry Gardner
Recent advances in face-tracking technology have made it possible to
recognise head movements using a commodity web-camera. This development
has created exciting possibilities for enhancing player enjoyment during
computer game play. In order to ascertain the real-world potential for head
gestural input to First Person Shooter games, we have developed seven diverse
interaction techniques and integrated these with a modern games engine.
Evaluation of the techniques was carried out with four focus groups made up of
expert games developers and experienced end-users. One of the techniques was
further refined and subjected to a follow-up comparison test with promising
results. A set of guidelines for the future development of head interaction
techniques for computer games has been derived from the studies. All of the
techniques have been built upon freely available software and open-sourced to
encourage further research in this area.
Consumer Face Tracking
Presentation at
COFES 2009 in the MaieuticParataxis session
A presentation exploring the potential of using face tracking
in an engineering context. Uses include
using head-coupled-perspective to create
a greater sense of depth to aid in viewing 3D models.
Presentation at HCSNet Summerfest Speed Paper 2008
In light of recent advances made in the field of computer vision, it
is possible to reliably track a user's head position using an
off-the-shelf web camera. Whilst such an advance is exciting due to
how commonplace cameras now are in desktop setups, the potential of
this new input technique is largely unexplored.
In effort to rectify this, our work looked to systematically explore
the commercial interaction space for head gesturing. In particular,
we focused on their use in augmenting traditional input for
first-person-shooter computer games, in an effort to increase user
enjoyment through promoting greater levels of presence and realism.
We developed 6 techniques which consisted of; zooming, peering,
spinning, looking down the barrel of the weapon, a fishbowl effect,
and replicating the appearance of a hand-held camera. A demonstration
of these techniques can be seen at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWkpdtFZoBE
These techniques were analysed using several focus groups, during
which both game developers and end-users were represented. From this
study, the handy-cam technique was found to have immediate commercial
potential without the need to modify the game content. Likewise, the
peering and zooming techniques were shown to have potential, but it
was felt that the game content would need to be focused around their
use, to ensure their success. A follow up user study confirmed part
these results, by showing that most participants preferred the use of
the handycam technique over a standard setup. Through showing this,
we have demonstrated that head tracking can be used to enhance
computer games.
Wiimote Work. (2007 - 2009)
A previous paper [Schou and Gardner 2007] has described a project to
port a games engine into a two-walled Immersive Projection Theatre
(IPT) and to interact with that environment using the Nintendo "Wii"
Remote. In the present work, we update this project to describe how
Wii controllers have now been demonstrated to work with a
custom-built, multiple "Sensor Bar" array to achieve a greater
coverage of the IPT.
The Nintendo Wii Remote is having a huge impact on the computer games
industry. This paper describes a project which is integrating this
controller into a game environment in a multi-wall virtual reality
theatre. Aspects considered include interaction taxonomies of the Wii
controller, the extension of driver software to have the Wii
controller deal with multiple Sensor Bars at once, and the porting of
the game engine into the virtual reality theatre.
Unpublished 4th Year Software Engineering Research Thesis
(2007)
Mainstream technologies are evolving ever closer to the quality generally associated
with the field virtual reality (VR). With the average screen size and quality increasing,
computer games providing richer and more realistic environments, and gesture
systems becoming more common place, this thesis poses the question, "can virtual reality
gain anything from these mainstream technologies?" In addressing this thought, we
pose the more specific question, "can mainstream technologies such as a games
engine and modern controller be ported to an virtual reality theatre in order to construct
a more involving and immersive experience?"
In answering this question, this thesis explores the difficulties of combining these
technologies and bringing them to a virtual reality theatre.
It commences with an exploration of technologies viable for creating a virtual
environment and concludes on the use of the Wedge VR theatre as a display device, the
Nintendo Wiimote as the control device, and the use of the Source game engine to
support the functions of the virtual world, including the audio and visuals. In choosing
these technologies, it is hoped they can provided immersive visuals, intuitive control
and a realistic environment that includes believable characters and a physics systems
to be witnessed in the field of virtual reality for one of the first times.
The Wiimote is then analysed to determine some best practises for its use and to
calculate some of its physical qualities. From these qualities, it is shown that five
sensor bars are required to allow the Wiimote to work naturally within the Wedge
space. This discovery then dictates the majority of the development work, namely,
the need for a driver allowing the Wiimote to span multiple sensor bars, as well as
the construction of five sensor bars. Additionally, the Source engine is modified to
allow it to run naturally within the Wedge, and to facilitate the use of Wiimote by
incorporating some of the findings from the analysis.
Finally, the project concludes with a preliminary user study conducted on the
developed environment. This study shows the environment to be successful, and in
doing so, demonstrates that computer game technologies can be used successfully to
facilitate immersion and involvement. As a supplementary finding, it also shown that
the multi–sensor bar approach taken to incorporating the Wiimote in a VR theatre is a
viable solution which could be adopted by future VR work.