The ARC Display: An Augmented Reality Visualization Center Felix G. Hamza-Lup, Larry Davis, and Jannick P. Rolland School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science School of Optics/CREOL University of Central Florida P.O. Box 162700 4000 Central Florida Blvd. Orlando, FL 32816-2700 Email: jannick@odalab.ucf.edu Keywords: ARC Display, HMPD, Augmented Reality, Visualization 1. Introduction In this demonstration, we introduce members of the research community to the possibility of visualization with the ARC Display. The ARC Display represents a significant advancement towards our vision of wearable displays for multi- modal augmented reality systems [1]. The ARC Display currently provides a unique theatre for stereoscopic viewing of computer -generated objects. Moreover, users within the environment may be tracked using commercially available tracking systems. In our environment, we are using custom designed probes built on the Polaris optical tracking system. In this brief summary, we shall detail t he components of the ARC Display, describe the applications to be demonstrated, and discuss various aspects of the system. 2. ARC Display Components The ARC Display currently consists of a custom- designed head-mounted projective display (HMPD), a curved retroreflective wall, an optical tracking system, custom designed optical tracking probes, and a Linux-based PC. The HMPD, which was designed in the ODALab, is a lightweight helmet that provides stereoscopic images to the user [2]. The HMPD takes advantage of a revolutionary set of lightweight optics, which allows for a 52º binocular field of view with optics that weigh 8g per eye. It projects a left and right eye image into the environment using a 50/50 beam splitter. The images are returned to the eyes of the user by the retroreflective wall. The stereo images can be rendered to appear over a range of 0.5 to 6 meters. Moreover, if a real object (such as the hand of the user) is placed between the HMPD and the wall, virtual objects can be occluded. The resolution of the HMPD is currently 640x480, which yields a visual acuity of about 3.5 arc minutes. This is a limitation imposed only because of the LCDs available at the time of manufacture. Higher resolution miniature displays are currently being implemented. The curved display wall is 7 feet high and 10 feet wide and made up of removable retroreflective panels. The special panels cause light rays which hit the wall to reflect in the direction that they came from. The retroreflective material affixed to the wall is manufactured by 3M and is pliable enough to be attached to clothing while still maintaining its retroreflective properties. Within the ARC display, 3D models are correctly rendered to the user’s point of view using the transformations supplied by a Northern Digital Inc. Polaris tracking system. The position and orientation of objects within the environment are tracked using collections of infrared LEDs called tracking probes. The system is able to track three distinct objects at an update rate of 20Hz with an accuracy of 0.35 mm and a repeatability of 0.2 mm. The current head tracking probe, which was designed in the ODALab, is able to track the head of the user through greater than 270º in azimuth and 90º of elevation, with an accuracy in orientation of 0.6º [3][4]. The computer that runs the entire application is a PC with commercially available components. The processor speed is 1.7 GHz and the operating