Video Demonstrations

NOTES

All videos are (c) Wolfgang Stuerzlinger and the respective students.
Most videos are available in mpeg and DivX format. While mpeg will play (almost) everywhere, the DivX files have better quailty and are smaller to download. To download the DivX decoder, please visit The DivX Play page. Quicktime videos have been encoded with an encoder for version 7. Please visit the Standalone QuickTime Player page to download the viewer.

User Interface Façades - Adaptable User Interfaces

This system allows users to freely adapt the user interface of arbitrary applications without coding. The video (Quicktime 7) demonstrates many of the ideas presented in the corresponding paper.

SESAME - Sketch, Extrude, Sculpt, and Manipulate Easily

This system allows user to quickly create fairly complex geometrical models and manipulated them easily. This real-time video (mpg) (DivX) demonstrates the basic system as well as the grouping methods implemented. Another video (mpg) (DivX) demonstrates the new algorithms for moving objects in 3D and this short clip demonstrates the multi-click selection technique.

Virtual Lego - A Conceptual Design System

Virtual Lego is a system that allows beginners to easily create arbitrary three-dimensional scenes via a simple user interface. This system is based on some of the ideas realized in the MIVE system. The video (mpg) (DivX) shows how one can quickly construct objects and consider different design variants.

MULTI - Multi-User Shared-Display Groupware with Laser Pointers

Shared-Display Groupware were designed to provide an environment for computer-supported collaboration. Most such systems provide only one input device, which limits collaboration. This project presents a new way to handle multiple, potentially simultaneously active, users. Each user can use a (modified) laser pointer to point at a the large display and interact with the displayed content. The video (mpg) (DivX) demonstrates the system with a simple multi-user puzzle game.

MIVE - Multi-modal Intuitive Virtual Environment

This system realizes a very efficent yet simple user interface for manipulating virtual environments. All operations are done with a mouse with three buttons, where the left button is translation, the middle button is rotation and the right button resizing. Switching to navigation mode and back is done with via the keyboard.

Simple object manipulation (mpg) (DivX). This segment shows how objects can be moved in the MIVE system. A hierarchical group manipulation is shown on the table with the computer. This movie shows also a drag-add operation towards the end (the row of cabinets) and a manipulation of the created dual group.
Manipulation of a complex dual group (mpg) (DivX). A group of chairs are created with a drag-add operation and then manipulated by clicking and dragging individual chairs. Dependent on the drag direction groups are split differently. Moving objects back together re-establishes a group.
Simple creation of a group of similar objects (mpg) (DivX). This group of objects is created with a single mouse-drag operation. The (automatically generated) group is then manipulated with the dual grouping method shown above. This technique can be used to e.g. quickly populate a shelf with books.
Negative constraints (mpg) (DivX). Easily moveable objects can intersect negative constraints, whereas "static" objects (such as a table) cannot. The red volumes show negative constraint areas.
Creation of a scene (mpg) (DivX). Another segment that demonstrates scene creation in the MIVE system.
Full 3D construction (mpg) (DivX). Shows how pipes can be layed out in 3D.
Resizing of objects (mpg) (DivX). Shows how objects can be resized in MIVE.
Multi-user operation (DivX). Two simultaneous users modifying the scene at a rapid pace.
Multi-modal operation (mpg) (DivX). Shows how the system can be used with a speech-recognizer and a laser pointer. Due to the restrictions of speech-recognition technology, there are a lot of error-correcting episodes.

Deformation of Fractal Surfaces

Often one wants a fractal surface to conform to a pre-defined specification, such as a particular shape. This is a previously unsolved problem, which can be addressed via stochastic search methods. The video (mpg) (DivX). demonstrates how this technique can a designer can modify a fractal into many different shapes.

Image Based Rendering

Layered Relief Textures are one approach to image-based rendering. The technique minimizes CPU computations and exploits the capabilities of graphics hardware. One movie shows a rotating fish (mpg) (DivX), another visualizes the a textured and tiled plane (mpg) (DivX).
Based on a new visiblity algorithm for point samples, we created a highly parallel and optimized real-time rendering point-sample rendering system. The video (mpg) (DivX) shows images captured in real-time off the screen on several examples.

More information

All above research projects are conducted by Wolfgang Stuerzlinger and his students at York University. Please refer to the Research page for links to publications.