BLUISculpt
Arctic Region Supercomputing Center visualization specialist Bill Brody is working with Computer Science and ARSC joint-appointees Chris Hartman and Glenn Chappell to create the Body Language User Interface, or BLUI™. This new tool will potentially revolutionize computer-user interfaces by eliminating the need for a mouse or wand.
BLUI™ works like a three-dimensional drawing program. The user sculpts using a three-dimensional airbrush. This airbrush can be used to draw, erase and smudge lines of various sizes. In addition, the user can move and rotate objects in three-dimensional space to gain a different perspective on their creation.
Eventually, the program will allow users to accomplish these tasks without a wand. Two cameras attached to either side of the ImmersaDesk™ read the user’s body movements and interpret them accordingly. At present, a nodding of the head indicates a yes answer while a shake indicates a no answer.
Virtual forms can be output as tangible objects using an output device that creates three dimensional forms in wax, which can then be used in the lost wax casting process. The researchers are developing collaborations with other artists and researchers to take this project further.