ETH Zurich : Computer Science : Pervasive Computing : Distributed Systems : Education : Student Projects : Abstract

Magnifying Glass Metaphor for the Interaction with Virtual Counterparts (D)

Status: Abgeschlossen

The Distributed Systems Group is involved in a project within the scope of the ETH World initiative that is dealing with entry points into a virtual campus environment. The ETH World program establishes such a virtual space for communication and cooperation among students, faculty, and staff.

Due to new possibilities, arising from the capability of interacting with a virtual environment, great importance is given to the linking between physical objects and their virtual counterparts. Virtual counterparts provide an augmented view of the real world by supplementing arbitrary objects with information and additional functionalities. For visualization and interaction, an appropriate instrument is required that bridges the virtual and the real world. The concept of a symbolic magnifying glass is introduced, to serve as an entry point to the virtual world. A symbolic magnifying glass is a small, portable device with a display and an object sensor to determine the identity of a physical object.

The goal of this thesis is the design of an interface for the interaction with virtual counterparts. Generic basic operations are identified and the currently available data is dynamically arranged, according to the local context. In addition, concepts are examined for the development of a communication mechanism. The VCVisualizer application, which is running on a iPAQ PDA equipped with a CF card barcode reader, offers simple means to accomplish the intermediation between the real and the virtual world.