[x3d-public] A suggestion for a node supporting VR headsets in X3D

[Roy Walmsley]

Hi,

 

At a recent X3D working group meeting we proposed some possible new nodes to
provide support for VR displays within X3D. Here is an extract from the
minutes:

 

*	VR

*	Stereo viewpoint, which needs two cameras. The X3D specification
only allows one camera, e.g. Viewpoint, which is a bindable node. Contrast
here the Viewpoint/OrthoViewpoint nodes, which are perspective and
orthographic renderings, respectively.
*	Input interfaces, possibly from multiple buttons. For example,
TouchSensor, may need to be expanded to permit more types of input.
*	Audio - is it good enough. There is no left, right ear dependence,
i.e. stereo audio.
*	Viewpoint switching - alternative methods of animating viewpoint
changes are required. For example, Viewpoint node currently has a jump
field, but Fade out/Fade in might be needed.

 

After that meeting Don and I were talking about this, and came up with an
alternative suggestion. This was for the following node:

 

*	UserInfo

*	Should this be a bindable node, with its own binding stack, so that
only one was active at a time? Then, what about multiple users interacting
with the same scene?
*	It could indicate if the user was needed a stereo rendering, and
have attributes for stereo parameters.
*	It could indicate if the user required stereo audio, having
appropriate attributes.
*	It could have attributes relating to FOV - currently in Viewpoint.

 

This node would not have to be included in a scene. It could be added by the
implementation (or modified if present) using SAI techniques. 

 

The node could be added to the Navigation component, perhaps at support
level 2, to fit into the immersive profile.

 

An example:

 

*	Let's imagine a garden scene. We would like to be able to render it
in stereo, from the perspective of two different users. The first is human.
The second is a bird. The saved scene need not have a UserInfo node, and so
could be independent of the user. The implementation would then insert the
appropriate UserInfo node into the scene at run time, permitting the scene
to be rendered with the desired user properties.

 

What do you think? Good idea? Bad idea?

 

All comments welcome.

 

All the best,

 

Roy

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