Interacting with a virtual dolphin using a low cost multi-screens immersive display system

Construction of a multi-screen immersive display system usually requires the use of special hardware for synchronizing the images of the different displays. This paper discusses the construction of a low cost multiscreen stereoscopic projection system. The projection system is built on a cluster of personal computers. Using client-server techniques for controlling and synchronizing the display images on the screens, the configuration of the system can be modified to suit different applications. An application of the system for interacting with dolphin in a virtual underwater environment is presented. The dolphin is modeled with the curve-pair based axial representation technique. Animation of the dolphin motions is achieved by adjusting the axial curve-pair. The feeding behavior of a dolphin is modeled. Based on a heuristic feeding behaviour, the dolphin is simulated to swim towards the target object trying to catch it. User may direct the dolphin to swim towards a certain position by adjusting the position of the target using simple keyboard, mouse, or joystick control.