VISTA: Virtual interactive studio television applications using networked graphical supercomputers

• Research unit: EU RFP
• Project number: 96.0305-1

Key words (English)

Virtual Presenter; mixing real and virtual; interactive TV; authoring tool.

Alternative project number (English)

EU project number: EP 22.517

Research programs (English)

EU-programme: 4. Frame Research Programme - 1.3 Telematic systems

Short description (English)

See abstract

Partners and International Organizations (English)

European Design Centre (NL), ANDROME (B), BRTN (B), EPFL (CH), Limburg University Centre (B), NOB Interactive (NL), University Bradford (UK), University Geneva (CH), VPRO Television (NL)

Abstract (English)

The main objective of the project was the integration and demonstration of a generic and extensible telematics platform that supports the execution of scenarios in the domain of real-time interactive television, which can be regarded as the realization of a Virtual Interactive Studio (VIS). A VIS offers the capabilities of mixing real and synthetic objects and characters in any combination-depending on the circumstances-controlled remotely by TV viewers.
Within the VISTA project, it was the objective to develop and test two concrete and specific applications on the platform:
· Interactive Drama: Creation of an interactive TV program in which viewers are participating in a cultural drama.
· Interactive Presenter: Creation of a virtual presenter remotely controlled in real-time.
These applications have been supported within a Virtual Interactive Studio environment, which can be integrated with by remote end-users. Users in the VISTA project can be classified in two categories: the 'technology users', being the broadcast organizations and the 'end users', being the viewers at home. The type of users involved directly, as partners in VISTA are the broadcast organisators.
For the first time in history, broadcasting companies have been able to develop virtual environments in which the viewers could actively participate and direct the program being transmitted. The actual way in which the television medium is experienced has changed by platforms as the one to be built in the VISTA project. From a technical point of view, VISTA has been built on the expertise and the software technology of the academic partners in the consortium within the area of virtual humans and virtual environments in the European projects HUMANOID, HUMANOID-2, and CHARM. Furthermore, the project has been built on the expertise gained by consortium partners on interlinking high-end computers over ATM-networks in the European RACE TEN-IBC project VISINET.

The EPFL was the responsible partner for the VISTA workpackage 3: 'Mixing real-time virtual actors, real people and real/virtualsceneries'. EPFL was also involved in other workpackages as partner.
The Workpackage 3 contains three sub tasks, namely:
Sub Task 1: Real time textured virtual actors
Sub Task 2: User remote control of virtual actors and real-time motion capture
Sub Task 3: Mixing real and synthetic worlds

References in databases (English)

Swiss Database: Euro-DB of the
State Secretariat for Education and Research
Hallwylstrasse 4
CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland
Tel. [phone]
Swiss Project-Number: 96.0305-1