SIGGRAPH '21: ACM SIGGRAPH 2021 Labs

MORPH TE (Taggenbrunn Edition) is an exploration of the relationship between humanity and robotics. In an age of endless automation and cold, technological prevalence, the piece sheds light on a new kind of artificial life. It is both a modern artwork and a deep-dive into technological anthropomorphism. The piece demonstrates the emergence of complex behavior through well-orchestrated simplicity, while its tessellated, geodesic surface provides a sense of organic intricacy. The work is timely in its reflection of humanity's symbiosis with machines, yet timeless in its pioneering embodiment of symmetry and naturally inspired movement.

This interactive session introduces participants to a systematic approach to building solutions for difficult problems. By looking at the challenges the author faced when building a volumetric display, the session participants are invited to engage in a discussion of problem-solving techniques that could potentially be applied to this domain area. Participants will come out of this session with an alternative set of tools and an appreciation for what is possible to accomplish by those with a limited budget and resources (aka the basement inventor).

The hands-on workshop for computer graphics professionals introduces the technique and practical implementation of the usage of MIDI devices in Side FX Houdini software as a relatively easy way to supercharge creative workflows. This technique can significantly improve speed and quality of modeling, animation, and creative iteration for Houdini professionals, especially technical artists, and game artists. It can also present the alternative to the random procedural asset generation or work in conjunction with it and improve results from procedural generators. The workshop covers the brief history of MIDI, practical advice on how to choose the appropriate controller for the specific design needs, and overview of built-in Houdini MIDI workflows and presents a customized approach for creating Houdini digital assets for MIDI mapping in Python.

Audio consumer devices, such as headphones, are increasingly supporting spatial audio. This opens opportunities for UX designers to explore the design domain of audio-only Augmented Reality (AAR) experiences. The paper documents a hands-on approach to prototyping audio AR with a combination of game engine software, headphones, and a smartphone. The approach was delivered at SIGGRAPH2021 in the Labs session format.

JetController is a novel high-speed, persistent 3-DoF ungrounded force feedback controller. It uses high-speed pneumatic solenoid valves to modulate compressed air to achieve full impulses of 50Hz at 1.0N (20Hz at 4.0N), and combines multiple air propulsion jets to generate 3-DoF ungrounded force feedback. Compared to propeller-based approaches, JetController supports 10-30 times faster impulse frequency, and its handheld device is significantly lighter and more compact. JetController enables a wide range of haptic events in games and VR experiences, from firing automatic weapons in games like Halo (15Hz) to slicing fruits in Fruit Ninja in 3-DoF (up to 45Hz). To demonstrate JetController, we integrated our prototype with two best-selling VR games, Half-life: Alyx and Fruit Ninja VR, to highlight a variety of 3-DoF interactions that were not possible before.

Walking is a daily activity for most people. Lack of opportunities or inability to walk may cause both mental and physical health problems. However, in some circumstances, such as during a global pandemic, fear of heights, or withdrawal from society (hikikomori), people tend to walk less. To overcome such issues, we developed a walking rehabilitation system, Action Reproducer, to encourage people to walk in a virtual environment, e.g., around sightseeing spots, or to train walking on a high building. The proposed system comprised a motion seat to present vestibular sensation to the waist, slider-pedal devices to provide motion sensation to the lower limbs, wearable pseudo force devices to pull sensation to the fingers, and an avatar in the virtual environment to hold the user’s hand during walking. This system can reduce user burden because the user simply sits on the motion seat and perceives multiple sensations that allow them to enjoy walking activities for long periods of time. During the virtual conference, we will conduct a live demonstration and present the details of our system with some interactive content, such as virtual traveling and walk rehabilitation between high buildings.

We present Electriflow: a method of augmenting books with tangible animation employing soft electrohydraulic actuators. These actuators are compact, silent and fast in operation, and can be fabricated with commodity materials. They generate an immediate hydraulic force upon electrostatic activation without an external fluid supply source, enabling a simple and self-contained design. Electriflow actuators produce an immediate shape transition from flat to folded state which enabled their seamless integration into books. For the Emerging Technologies exhibit, we will demonstrate the prototype of a book augmented with the capability of tangible animation.