From: broehl@sunee.uwaterloo.ca (Bernie Roehl)
Subject: Re: CONF: Meckler Conference Summary, May 19-21, 1993
Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 19:48:19 GMT
Organization: University of Waterloo



Hi!  Here's some additional information, following up my earlier
posting about the Meckler conference:

> [re: the RPI HMD]
>    The field of view is still quite narrow (approx 40
>     degrees) and the resolution is about 400 by 200 per eye.

  To be exact: The field of view is 42 degrees, and the resolution is
  450x220 per eye.

>     I never did get a chance to try
>     out the stuff from Visions of Reality, but I know they're using the
>     new Kaiser HMD that they apparently have exclusive LBE rights to

They actually say they *will* be using the Kaiser HMD, but they're
currently using the Liquid Image "Mirage" HMD.  The Mirage is the same
one the Reality+ people are using; it's a clever design that's easy to
put on and take off, and it has a nice wide field of view.  We were
looking at getting one for our lab here at Waterloo, but we decided we
needed a stereoscopic HMD instead.

>    Gravis was there with their Ultrasound card, using Bo Gehring's 3D 
>    software [...]  The sound "compiler" may have to be purchased separately.

It's available for $10 (yes, that's right -- ten dollars) from their
BBS.  I haven't gotten it myself, but their Developer's Kit claims
this to be so.

>     Rumors about the Sega HMD continue to circulate.  Definitely NTSC,
>     definitely stereoscopic, almost certainly uses infrared tracking to
>     give pitch and yaw (and possibly roll).

More rumors:

    - apparently it uses two of the Sharp LCD's
    - since the Sega Genesis only has one NTSC output, the chances are that
      it's field-sequential (the Genesis apparently has an odd frame/even
      frame output)

> [MODERATOR:] Of course, all thanks for the conference should go to
> organizer Sandra Helsel

I'll second that!  She did an excellent job.

>who immediately after fell quite ill but who has since
>returned home to Arizona to recover.

I hadn't heard... best wishes to her.

>[MODERATOR'S NOTE: And it was nice to discover that
>Bernie is not a nerd, but a very lively and personable fellow.

Thanks!

-- 
	Bernie Roehl
        University of Waterloo Dept of Electrical and Computer Engineering
	Mail: broehl@sunee.UWaterloo.ca
	Voice:  (519) 885-1211 x 2607 [work]