title        : The Blue-C.: Integrating Real Humans into a Networked Immersive Environment
entry        : inproceedings
author       : O.G. Staadt, A. Kunz, M. Meier, and M.H. Gross
language     : English
pages        : 2
month        : September
year         : 2000
institution  : ETH Zürich
keywords     : virtual reality, immersive environments, collaboration, interaction, telepresence, telecollaboration
abstract     : 
In this paper, we report ongoing work in a new project, The Blue-C.
The goal of this project is to build a collaborative, immersive
virtual environment which will eventually integrate real humans,
captured by a set of video cameras. Two Blue-C.s will be interconnected
via a high-speed network. This will allow for bi-directional
collaboration and interaction between two persons sharing virtual
spaces.

The video streams are used for both texture and geometry extraction.
We will generate a 3-D light field inlay enriched with the
reconstructed geometry, which will be integrated into the virtual environment.
The design and construction of the Blue-C. environment, including
both hardware and software, is an interdisciplinary effort with participants
from the departments of computer science, architecture,
product development, and electrical engineering. Parallel to the
development of the core system, we are designing new applications
in the areas of computer aided architectural design, product
reviewing, and medicine, which will highlight the versatility of the
Blue-C.