Virtual Reality with Labview

[tiho]

Hi

I have the following question.

I would like to import a 3D object (par example a sphere) and to move it using the keyboard of the PC. I would like to move the object along the Z direction (the depth of the virtual environment). On this way I would like to focus or defocus it thus modeling the focus property of the camera. May be I have to use any image filter.

Is it better to import a 3D object or I have to draw it?

May I do these tasks using Labview?

Best regards

[PiotrMa]

Hello,

For using keyboard to move the sphere (or implement any other user interface) you can check this example: http://www.ni.com/example/28924/en/. You would just need to implement association between key down events and moving the objects.

For creating and working with 3D objects look here: http://zone.ni.com/reference/en-XX/help/371361J-01/lvconcepts/3d_pic_control/

Specifically for a sphere, you can check the LabVIEW example "Sphere Fit.vi", which you can find via Help -> Find Examples...

Whether you import a 3D model or just create it from within LabVIEW is really a matter of preference or your specific application. An example of importing a 3D object: https://decibel.ni.com/content/docs/DOC-5242. Moreover, in the previous examples I gave you can see how to create various 3D objects with LabVIEW functions.

Could you please clarify what you mean by adjusting the focus of the camera? While working with 3D objects you can manage the camera settings (http://zone.ni.com/reference/en-XX/help/371361J-01/lvhowto/3d_configure_camera/), however, there is no focus property (it is always focused). As far as I understand you would like to simulate real-life behaviour of a camera using 3D object modelling, am I correct on this one?

[tiho]

Hi,

Thank you for your answer. Yes you're right. I would like to simulate the real-life behaviour of the camera. If my 3D object is on the focus surface, it will be on focus otherwise it will be defocused. I would like to move the 3D object along the Z direction using a button with a defined step of motion. This is the depth of the image. May be I have to use any filter from the image acquisition module (blurring filter).

I would like also to have a boundarry surface. When the 3d object reaches this surface it will be not possible to go further.

Is it convenient to use labview for this task?

Best regards

[PiotrMa]

Alright, you can look at an example of computing the depth of the image acquired with stereo vision here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEihyEGrsqQ <- available in LabVIEW examples as "Compute Depth Image.vi"

One application I would imagine to implement the functionality you mention, would be to apply the depth map as a mask and based on that apply filters to different areas of the image. It would be pretty straigthforward to implement movement along one axis. However, I can imagine the matter would get more complicated if you want to implement a full 3D image processing. 

As for the boundary surface, I think it would be the least of the difficulties in creating your application.

Please find the examples of what you can do with LabVIEW software on our website to see what functionalities are already successfully implemented. For instance, image analysis and processing here: http://www.ni.com/white-paper/3470/en/ or 3D imaging here: http://www.ni.com/white-paper/14103/en/

I hope this answer gives you some kind of an overview of what is possible to implement using LabVIEW.

[MarcDub]

Here is an example of virtual reality with LabVIEW (using the Oculus Rift DK2 and the Kinect): DOC-42169. The LabVIEW code is not available but there is an example that is a little bit simpler with the Haro3D library version 1.2. The Haro3D library provides APIs for the Kinect and the Oculus Rift DK2, and it includes a .OBJ model loader.

The version 1.2 is part of the LabVIEW tool network and can be downloaded from VIPM. More information at www.harotek.com/products.

In any case, I invite you to joint the 3D Vision user group.