Graphics: Visual and Interactive Computing

The Vista project was originally carried out in a PhD programme in University of Wales Swansea. In an academic context, this research has shown that it is technically feasible and ergonomically advantageous to manage very large volumes of imagery data, such as digital photos and videos, through 3D web-based virtual environments, for example virtual galleries and cinemas. Using commonly-available web browsers such as Netscape and Internet Explorer, users can navigate in real-time through the 3D virtual environments, browsing photographic images as in a gallery and watching videos as in a cinema.

The virtual world of Vista consists of a collection of parks, each of which typically encompasses imagery data of a particular theme. A park can be either public or private, and the latter can only be accessed with a correct password. Each park is divided into four zones, namely gallery zone, cinema zone, studio zone and library zone. Each zone has a distinguishable visual identity, and an extensible geometry that can accommodate an arbitrary number of domains (i.e., galleries, cinemas, studios or libraries). For example, the gallery zone is modelled based on the Louvre in Paris, with a bright and refreshing look and feel. The library zone is modelled upon an Egyptian architectural style, representing a source of knowledge.

• Galleries can house both images (displayed in frames) and 3D objects (displayed as sculptures). The built-in navigation capability of VRML facilitates the walking and browsing in the virtual environment.
• Cinemas are used to store and play videos and animations. In a cinema, a user can select a video from a stack of collections uploaded previously, and play it on a virtual cinema screen. Functions, such as remind, pause, and so on, are available on a control panel.
• Studios are designed for slideshows, and the acceptable data resources include a MS-PowerPoint presentation, a stack of images, and a video (which is treated as a stack of frames). This domain is used as working studio where images and video frames can be viewed through a slide projector or on a slide sorter.
• Libraries can hold virtual archives, each of which represents a domain such as a gallery that is minimised into a book in the imaginary world. In a library, a user may reinstall a domain by an action of opening the book. This metaphor is consistent with our imaginary world, and gives a user a sense of magic power for shrinking and raising an architectural structure (i.e., a domain) at one’s fingertips.

To enable a user to move around in a park quickly, Vista introduces a space-warp tram that can be hailed at anywhere in the Vista virtual environment. Inside the tram, the user can view a complete site map of the corresponding park, and proceed to a zone or a domain directly without through normal geographical routes.

There is an ongoing WDA funded KEF project for the further development of Vista. The project is led by this University and involves 4 company partners and one other academic partner. For details, please contact the WDA-KEF project director, Professor Min Chen.

Main References

• A. Smith, M. Chen and M. F. Webster, Developing a global repository and showplace for imagery data, Proc. 2003 Conference on Theory and Practice of Computer Graphics, 178-184, M. W. Jones (ed), Birmingham, IEEE Computer Society, June 2003. Download PDF (664K)
• A. Smith, M. Chen and M. F. Webster, Vista: a Web-based virtual environment for automatically managing and exhibiting imagery data, Proc. the 7th World Multiconference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics, Orlando, Florida, July 2003.