Networked Collaborative Group Cheerleading Technology-Virtual Cheerleader Experience-

Changhyeon Lee

Korea Institute of Science &

Technology, Seoul, Korea

University of Science &

Technology,DaeJeon,Korea

pott183b@imrc.kist.re.kr

Hye Min Choi

Korea Institute of Science &

Technology, Seoul, Korea

University of Science &

Technology,DaeJeon,Korea

chm510@imrc.kist.re.kr

Yong-Moo Kwon

Korea Institute of Science &

Technology, Seoul, Korea

ymk@imrc.kist.re.kr

Abstract - In many virtual world, we can enjoy shopping, watching movie, dancing, etc. However users enjoy these entertainments by oneself. Although, in virtual world, most of virtual services provide entertainments and social activities, there are no feedback to real world users. In this paper, we discuss about collaborative cheerleading method among virtual world users and Sensory effect using wearable haptic wristguard for providing more interactive and immersive experience. The main idea of this paper is to extend virtual world’s mean by adding collaborative group cheerleading and haptic devices.

Keywords- Virtual cheerleader, sensory effect, wearable haptic

I. INTRODUCTION

We all dream of being rich, prestigious people and famous sports player , actor or actress. However not all persons realize a dream in real world.As the fast growing of virtual technology, Virtual world

technology have received attention from many peoples. Virtual world refers to a synchronous, persistent network of people, represented as avatars, facilitated by networked computers.[1] Especially, we have noticed that each people can have their own avatar and they can collaborate in virtual world.

Currently, such as, Second Life [2], Croquet[3], Wonderland[4], etc. some of virtual world services provide that we can collaborate on virtual activities using their own avatar.

In this paper, We introduce the concept of networked collaborative group cheerleading technology. Many virtual worlds services already provide networked activities. Actually when each user enjoy their own activities like walking, flying, watching movie, shopping, etc. collaboration with another user is not important. However when each user participate in education, conference, cheerleading, etc. collaboration among users is very important.

In this research, we have three parts research issue. First issue is network issue for collaborative cheerleading.

Althoug each user connect to same server and use same viewer, due to difference of network environment and computer performance we consider synchronization among users. Second issue is user’s motion capture and motion data analysis. Most of the cheerleading based on motion which express user’s emotion and sometimes help us feel more exciting and immersing. Third issue is wearable haptic devices for sensory effect. Haptic devices include components for vibration, light and flash.

II. BACKGROUNDA. Collaboration In The Virtual World

The technology of Collaboration in the virtual world aims to transform today’s computer networks into navigable and populated 3D spaces that supports collaborative work and social play.[7] Virtual world indicates a synchronous, persistent network of people that represented as avatars, and facilitated by networked computers[1]. Virtual collaboration refers to two or more people working together to accomplish a task without use of face to face interaction. Early examples of virtual collaboration include audio conferencing, video conferencing, or computer mediated communication.[5] Current services of virtual world already have provided these service. Some of the web services also provide these services. Actually, in the case of a web service, it is a isolated, one-way communication channel. However virtual world like second Life[2], Croquet[3], Wonderland[4], etc. allows users to interact in real time using many different media at once(synchronous communication)[6] and participate in collaborative activities like education, conference, cheerleading, etc.

B. Network Among Virtual World UsersAll of the virtual world shared by users across a computer

network. Users are provided avatar that convey their identity, presence, location, and activities to others.[7] They also can share media including audio, video, graphical gestures, text,etc. and interact with other avatars. Each participants can

2010 International Symposium on Ubiquitous Virtual Reality

978-0-7695-4124-2/10 $26.00 © 2010 IEEE

DOI 10.1109/ISUVR.2010.15

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2010 International Symposium on Ubiquitous Virtual Reality

978-0-7695-4124-2/10 $26.00 © 2010 IEEE

DOI 10.1109/ISUVR.2010.15

20

express their own emotion and provide their own data to other users via networked virtual world.

In the figure 1, we can see many users enjoy multimedia using their own avatar in networked virtual world. As you see in the figure 2, in networked virtual world, we can also do social and collaborative activities via our own avatar.

Figure 1(left). Example of Networked Virtual WorldFigure 2(right). Example of networked collaboration

C. Wearable Haptic DevicesHaptic technology, or haptics, refers to a tactile feedback

technology that takes advantage of a user’s sense of touch by applying forces, vibration, and/or motions to the user.[8] This mechanical stimulation used to assist in the creation of virtual objects and feel forces or vibration in virtual world. Wearable haptic devices have some benefits. First benefit is flexibility. Second benefit is Portability: As it is in the form of clothing, it is easy to carry around and doesn’t need extra baggage’s.

The third is Tangibility: the device can be touched, it is real and so is tangible.[9] Moreover we can add motion capture sensor to wearable haptic devices. This help users to control avatar without general input devices like keyboard, mouse and joystic.

These wearable haptic devices provide users with an easier, more interactive and immersive experience.

D. Sensory EffectSensory effect refers to an effect to augment perception

by stimulation human sense in a particular scene of a multimedia application. In the MPEG-V Working Draft, they define many type of sensory effect like vibration, light, scent, flash, wind, etc.[11]

These sensory effect can take role of providing more interactive and immersive experience to users. This kind of sensory effect is produced from some metadata(Sensory Effect Metadata) that is embedded with multimedia source.[10]

In the networked virtual world, there are many mutimedia source. For example, virtual world provide broadcasting, virtual theater, virtual concert and so on. Moreover virtual world can take role of sensory effect source itself.

E. Our MotivationMost of the virtual world, second life[2], croquet[3],

wonderland[4], basically provide networked environment, avatar, shared media[audio, video, text] environment, chatting based on text or voice and 3D space. Using these environments and services user can experience virtual social

activities and sometimes experience collaborative working. Actually, in the field of education, conference and seminar, we can naturally participate these activities and experience collaboration with other users. However, in the networked virtual world like education, conderence and seminar are not everything. In networked virtual world, there are many other activities. For example, there are also shopping, watching movie, dancing, playing game, cheerleading for sports match, traveling and so on. All of the activities in the networked virtual world need to provide interactive and collaborative method among users.

Therefore, in this research we introduce one way of collaborative activities in the networked virtual world. Toprovide more interactive and immersive experience, all of the users should interact and collaborate with other users via their own avatar in the networked virtual world. The important research issue is network synchronization among users, motion capture technology and data exchangebetween wearable haptic devices and virtual world.

We hope by using networked collaborative group cheeleading technology and virtual world user’s motion capture technology virtual world users can experience more interactive and immersive cheerleading.

III. NETWORKED COLLABORATIVE GROUP CHEERLEADING TECHNOLOGY

Networked collaborative group cheerleading technology support virtual world users to watch baseball match and cheerlead with other users. Our main research issues are synchronizing avatar animation based on user’s montion in real world among users, sensory effect using wearable haptic devices and user’s motion capture.

A. Design Concept

Figure 3. The system diagram

Figure 3 shows the networked collaborative group cheerleading technology’s system diagram. Our system consist of four server and user’s viewer. Streaming server take a role of baseball match video and cheerlearder video streaming. Event server take a role of delivering baseball match events like homerun, hit, strike out, stealing, etc to opensim. Then, to deliver baseball match event from opensim server to wearable devices is performed by motion

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& haptic devices server. This server also take a role of delivering user’s motion data from wearable haptic devices to opensim server.

Lastly, opensim server take a role of user’s account management, avatar animation update, baseball stadium and avatar rendering in virtual world etc.

B. Technical issues

Figure 4. The system concept

Our technical issue can divide three parts. One is the network technology for collaborative supporting. Here we can subdivide it into synchronization among virtual worldusers, synchronization with baseball match video, cheerleader video and teleport to another stadium in virtual world.

Another one is the motion recognition technology usingwearable haptice device. Here the main technology issues are motion detection technology using wearable haptic device and analysis of user’s motion data and mapping on avatar animation.

The last one is the sensory effect service for cheerleading. In our research, we use effect type of vibration, light, low frequency sound and avatar animation using vibrationsuit(wearable haptic device), woofer, speaker and avatar animaition. As you see in the table 1, we defined four type of sensory effect expression devices and way.

TABLE 1. Sensory Effect Devices & Type

Effect expression device or way Sensory effcet

Vibration suit Vibration

Haptic wrist guard Vibration, Light

Woofer, speaker Low frequency sound

Animation Avatar animation

C. ImplementationIn this paper, we dicuss about networked collaborative

group cheerleading technology. As I mention in the technical issue, our project is divided three parts. In this section, I will explain current status of our ongoing project.

a) Avatar animationFor avatar animation of virtual world cheerleading , first

we defined four types of cheerleading motion(raise hands-cross/direction, batting motion, stretching arms forward).These motions are made reference to the cheerleading motions of Korea baseball team(LG Twins). And then, wealready created animation file using avimator(avatar animation editor). Using these animation file, users can see same cheerleading motion with real world cheerlearding motion via each user’s avatar in the virtual wold.

Figure 5. Cheerleading motion in virtual world

b) Motion capture systemOur system need motion capture system to recognize

user’s cheerleading motion. In our system we use Wii Motion Plus(Figure 6). Wii Motion Plus is updated model of Wii Remote. Existing Wii Remote only include triaxial acceleration sensor and ir sensing system. However updated version, Wii Motion Plus, include triaxial gyro sensor. This allows for the capture of more complex movements than possible with the Wii Remote alone[12].

We can get digital data of acceleration and gyro sensor as using WiimoteLib.dll.

These values are used to analyze user’s cheerleading motion. In the previously section, we already define four types cheerleading motion. When user made predefined motion, motion server send motion data to OpenSim Server. And then, OpenSim Server play appropriate animation.

Motion capture server take a role of analyzing acceleration and gyro sensor’s values and deciding what kind of motion user act. Motion capture server also send decided motion info to SecondLife Viewer. And then, SecondLife Viewer play appropriate animation.

Figure 6. Wii Motion Plus & Motion Capture Flowchart

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c) Haptic devices

Figure 7(left) Haptic wrist guard Figure 8(right) Vibration suit

We made two types of Haptic devices. One is wrist guard type. Another one is suit type. Wrist guard and vibration suittake role of providing vibration effect and light effect to users. Following the predetermined scenario, haptic devices vibrate or light. For example, when hitter hit a home run or was out, haptic devices vibrate or light. Each haptic device includes MCU(Micro Controller Unit), vibrators, LEDs, power supply and Bluetooth module. MCU take role of controlling vibrators and LEDs and communicating with desktop for receiving sensory effect packets. Figure 7 and figure 8 show form of haptic devices.

d) Video Streaming & Collaborative CheerleadingIn our system, virtual world consists of OpenSim Server

and SecondLife Viewer. Each user can enter to virtual world as connecting to OpenSim Server. And then each user cansee their own avatar, virtual stadium, baseball match video and cheerleading video and communicate with other usersand collaborate with other users for cheerleading via Second Life Viewer.

We made big screens in virtual world for streaming baseball match video and cheerleading video. And then we streamed baseball match video and cheerleading video to virtual world using video streaming function in SecondLife Viewer (figure 10). As you see in figure 9, Opensim Server also support multi-user system.

Figure 9 Multi-user in virtual world(collaborative cheerleading)Figure 10 Video streaming in virtual world

e) Sensory Effect SystemSensory effect system help users to feel more sense of

realism and immersion as generating vibration and light. In our system, sensory effect administrator generate sensory effect as using sensory effect generating tool. And then, when administrator generated some events that we defined

in the table 2, as you see in the figure 11, Opensim Server send events info to each user’s SecondLife Viewer. Finally, each user can feel predefined vibration and light via wrist guards and vibration suit.

Figure 11(left). Sensory Effect System FlowchartTABLE 2. Sensory Effect Definition for Event

IV. CONCLUSIONIn our reasearch, we focus on collaborative activities in

the networked virtual world envirionment. Our system consists of four server, one viewer, source video and wearable haptic devices. We hope by using networked collaborative group cheeleading technology when user cheerlead sports match in the networked virtual world environment, they take more interactive and immersive experience.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This work is supported by Project on Development of Tangible Web of KIST.

REFERENCES

[1]Bell, Mark W.. “Toward a Definition of Virtual world” Journal of Virtual worlds Research [Online], Volume 1 Number 1 (1 July 2008)

[2]Second Lifehttp://secondlife.com/[3]Croquethttp://www.opencroquet.org/index.php/Main_Page [4]Wonderlandhttp://openwonderland.org/[5] Virtual Collaborationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Collaboration[6] Andrew Jinman “Collaboration in the Virtual World”http://terranova.blogs.com/terra_nova/2008/02/collaboration-i.html[7] Steve Benford., Chris Greenhalgh., Tom Rodden and James Pycock : Collaborative Virtual Environments. Communication Of The ACM, July 2001/Vol. 44, No. 7[8] [Answers.com, 2008] Haptic.Available: http://www.answers.com/haptic[9] Deepa Mathew., Department of Computuer Sciences University of Tampere : Wearable Haptics(October 2008)[10] Muhammad Rusdi Syamsuddin, Yong-Moo Kwon”Implementation of Virtual World and Real World Interface(VRI): Sensory Effect System in Virtual World” MASAUM Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, Vol. 1, No. 3, October 2009[11] Timmerer, Christian, et.al., "Working Draft of ISO/IEC 23005 Sensory Information", USA, April 2009[12] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii_MotionPlus

Event Sensory effcet

Homerun Vibration/Ligh[blinking] - (5sec)

Hit Vibration/Light - (3sec)

Out Vibratioin - (3sec)

Strike Vibration/Light[blinking] - (1sec)

Ball Light[blinking] – (2sec)

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