FIRST STEP TO AUGMENTED REALITY:
COMBINING VRML AND PANO-PHOTOS
Harald Gatermann
FH Bochum, School of Architecture, Bochum, Germany
harald.gatermann@fh-bochum.de
KEYWORDS: Augmented Reality, VRML, Panorama Techniques, Interaction
1. VRML
VRML was a fascinating invention by standardizing 3d-geometry worldwide, by enabling virtual buildings und communities, by
enabling global engineering and communication in the field of architecture and planning. One of the great advantages for architects is
the ability of nearly every cad-program to export 3d-constructions to VRML - by this means it is possible for architects, students,
clients, multi-disciplinary-workgroups on different places in the world to talk about constructions or three-dimensional concepts or
even work together on those projects. Nevertheless VRML normally shows artificial, abstract and sterile views of architecture, far
away from all those little details of the real world. Especially compared to a photograph you see the difference and the poorness of
this kind of digital abstraction.
2. QUICK TIME VR AND OTHER PANORAMA -TECHNIQUES
On the other hand Quicktime-VR was invented, followed by other similar techniques of showing 360-degree-panorama-scenes, such
as IPIX, RealVR, Smoothmove etc. It seemed to be a very new kind of mirroring our real surrounding, but it was not more than a
sophisticated transfer of a very old idea into the world of digital media: the „moving panorama“, which was already used in British
theatres a hundred years ago! (Figure 1).
One of the fascinating ideas in Quicktime-VR and similar techniques is the stitching-process, which abandons expensive equipment.
In Bochum we also started with this kind of low-tech-panoramas, but we found out, that those panoramas are just good enough for
illustrating web pages, but not for creating full-screen immersive impressions. So we used the most professional analogue-panorama-
camera, the Swiss-made Roundshot 220 and we bought one of the first digital panorama-cameras, the Pano-Cam. This enabled us to
create a full-screen pano-photo in a few seconds (vertical capacity 5000 px)!
While Quicktime-VR only delivers cylindrical panos, IPIX, Smoothmove and the early versions of Real-VR also delivered spherical-
views, made by using fisheye-lenses (either stitched or rotated). The fisheye-photographed surrounding of the point, the photograph
was taken, can be shown as a flat projection (always with the ratio of 1:2, which results from the 180 degrees vertical and 360
degrees horizontal). Alternately some programs (as Smoothmove) can transform and export the surround-picture to a cube with 6
sides. (Figure 2).
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Figure 1 : Moving Theatre
Figure 2: Six sides from a cube
Proceedings 18 th International Symposium CIPA 2001
Potsdam (Germany), September 18 - 21, 2001
