91-04/RMIT.inf
From: mg@godzilla.cgl.rmit.OZ.AU (Mike Gigante)
Subject: Re: Telepresence
Date: 22 Apr 91 10:27:25 GMT
Organization: RMIT Computer Centre, Melbourne Australia.


One of our VR projects here is on Telepresence.

The performance artist Stelarc is working with us on a teleoperation
environment.

Stelarc is well known for his "third arm" performances, the third arm is
generally controlled by electrical impulses from electrodes attached
to various parts of the body (e.g. stomach). Flexing the stomach muscles
in a controlled manner then directly controlles the arm. His work has
been widely exhibited/performed, including SISEA in Holland last year, he
has also spent many years in Japan.

At the RMIT ACGC, he is working with Mike Papper and myself on the 
the control of an extended manipulator using gesture input.

This is a very new project, and we are still in the earliest stages.
I will post stuff about progress ina  few months time.

Just to update some previous messages, we also have a virtual clay modelling
project with Barry Fowler, Barry is working with the sculptor Robert Owen.
This project is also in early stages, much work still needs to be done
on the underlying software even before the goggles and gloves will be useful.

Mike Gigante
Director, RMIT Advanced Computer Graphics Centre
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
Melbourne, Australia

mg@godzilla.cgl.rmit.oz.au