Abstract:

It was 1989 when the term “virtual reality (VR)” first became popular. Since then, the 3D world synthesized in a “computer box” has made remarkable progress. Several museums are planning to install VR theaters in which high-resolution interactive CG are utilized. In the near future, the quality of the interactive CG images will exceed that of today’s movies. Broadband network technology has enabled networked VR to be realized. Today, although the current “second life” environment is still a primitive world, the number of users has already exceeded 10 million. The VR world is expanding from both qualitative and quantitative points of view.
“Mixed reality (MR)” technology was launched in the mid 1990s. MR technology, an extension of VR technology, is used for connecting the real and virtual worlds in various ways. In my talk, the current and future trends of MR technology R&D will be introduced.
One direction is “augmented reality (AR)”, which is the experience of a VR world in the real (physical) world. Novel IT such as mobile technology and ubiquitous technology is expected to be integrated into AR technology. Also, real-world technology such as robotics is likely to be important because it can be used as a powerful interface between the virtual and real worlds.
On the other hand, a “virtualized reality” world, which is based on information imported or captured from the real world will provide us with a way of experiencing our memory with photorealistic sensations. The R&D of current “Life Log” technology is expected to progress in this direction.

Biography:

Michitaka Hirose is a professor of Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo.
His research interests include human interface, interactive computer graphics, wearable computer and virtual reality. He was a project leader of Multimedia Virtual Laboratory project and Scalable VR Contents project sponsored by ministry of general affairs.
Prof. Hirose received BE, ME and Ph.D. degree from the University of Tokyo in 1977, 1979 and 1982 respectively. He is a member of the ACM, IEEE, SICE and VRSJ(Virtual Reality Society of Japan).

Contact: Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, JAPAN.
e-mail : hirose@cyber.rcast.u-tokyo.ac.jp