Selected Readings in Vision and Graphics
edited by Luc Van Gool, Gábor Székely, Markus Gross, Bernt Schiele

Volume 44

Gérald Bianchi

Exploration of Augmented Reality
Technology for Surgical Training Simulators.

First edition 2007, XXI, 200 pages, € 64,00. ISBN 3-86628-127-7

The underlying idea of Augmented Reality (AR) systems is the combination of the real and virtual world. This is in contrast to Virtual Reality frameworks, where the whole surrounding of a user is computer-generated. This work aims to explore the capability of AR technology for developing surgical training simulators. The main challenge of AR is to perfectly integrate the virtual objects into the real world. Any errors in this process, called registration, would greatly diminish the usability of a system, and compromise user interaction and immersion. In this work, we present an accurate calibration procedure to determine the relationship between the virtual and real world. Furthermore, we incorporate a haptic device to allow the user to interact with virtual objects. An accurate calibration procedure is proposed. Deformable virtual objects are also discussed for the surgical simulation. Finally, two AR based applications with force feedback are described in this work to demonstrate the performances of the haptic AR system.

Gérald Bianchi obtained a M.Sc degree in Computer Engineering from the Engineering School ISIMA (Institut Supérieur d'Informatique, de Modélisation et d'Applications) in Clermont-Ferrand, France with a minor in Applied Mathematics in 2000. In the year 2002 he joined the Computer Vision Laboratory at the ETH Zürich where he worked as a research assistant and PhD student in the field of Augmented Reality (AR). He explored the capability of the AR techniques for medical applications. In 2006, he finished his doctoral thesis and was awarded a Ph.D degree (Doctor of Sciences) from the ETH Zürich.

Keywords: augmented reality, hybrid tracking, calibration, sensor fusion, soft tissue modeling, mass-spring systems, genetic algorithms, haptic interfaces

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