Experimental analysis and design considerations of virtual environments creation

Selecting the appropriate 3-D capture and modeling technologies to create the contents of a virtual environment (VE) remains a challenging task. One of the objectives of the environment-modeling project in our laboratory is to develop a design strategy for selecting the optimum sensor technology and its configuration to meet the requirements for virtual environment applications. This will be based on experimental evaluation of all performance aspects of several systems for creating virtual environments. The main problems include: practical sensor calibration, the registration of images particularly in large sites in the absence of GPS and control points, the complete and accurate coverage of all details, and maintaining realistic-look at real-time rate. This paper focuses on the evaluation of the performance of some approaches to virtual environment creation using specifically designed laboratory experimentation. By understanding the potentials and limitations of each method, we are able to select the optimum one for a given application.