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Computers assist humans in many every-day situations. Their advancing miniaturisation broadens their fields of use and leads to an even higher significance and spread throughout society. Already, these small and powerful machines are wide-spread in every-day objects and the spread increases still as the mobility-aspect grows in importance. From laptops, smartphones and tables to systems worn on the body (wearable computing) or even inside the body as cyber-implants, these systems help humans actively and context-sensitively in the accomplishment of their every-day business.
A part of the wearable-computing-domain is taken up by the development of Head-mounted displays (HMD). These helmets or goggles feature one or more displays enabling their users to see computer-rendered images or images of their environment enriched with computer-generated information. At the moment, most of this HMD feature LC-Displays, but newer systems start appearing that allow the projection of the image onto the user's retina. Newest break-throughs in the field of study already produced contact lenses with an integrated display. The data shown by a HMD is compiled using a multitude of sensors, like a Head-Tracker or a GPS. Increasing computational performance and miniaturisation lead to a wide spread of HMD in a lot of fields.rnThe multiple scenarios in which a HMD can be used to help improve human-perception and -interaction led the "Institut für Integrierte Naturwissenschaften" of the University of Koblenz-Landau to come up with a HMD on the basis of Apple's iOS-devices featuring Retina Displays. The high pixel density of these displays combined with condensor lenses into a HMD offer a highly immersive environment for stereoscopic imagery, while other systems only display a relatively small image projected a few feet away of the user. Furthermore, the iPhone/ iPod Touch and iPad exhibit a lot of potential given by their variety of offered sensors and computational power. While producing a similarly feature-rich HMD is very costy, using simple iPod Touches 4th Gen as the basis of a HMD results in a very inexpensive solution with a high potential. The increasing popularity and spread of Apple devices would reduce the costs even more, as users of the HMD could simply integrate their device into the system. A software designed with the specific intent to support a large variety of Apple iOS-devices that could easily be extended to support newer devices, would allow for a universal use of such a HMD-solution as the new device could simply replace an old device.rnrnThe focus of this thesis is the conception and development of an application designed for Apple's iOS 5 operating system that will be used in a HMD evolving around the use of Apple iOS-devices featuring Retina Displays. The Rollercoaster2000-project depicting a ride in a virtual rollercoaster will be used as the application's core. A server will syncronize the display of clients conntected to it which are combined to form a HMD. Furthermore the gyroscope of the iOS-devices combined into a HMD will be used to track the wearer's head-movements. Another feature will be the use of the devices cameras as a mean of orientation while wearing the HMD.
As a first step in the realization of a software meeting the set specifications is the introduction of the Objective-C programming languages used to develop iOS-Applications. In conjunction with the compiler and runtime environment, Objective-C makes up the base of the second step, the introduction of the iOS-SDK. Aimed with this iOS-app-development-knowledge, the last part of the thesis consists of the ascertainment of requirements and development of a software complying to the goals of a software written specifically for the used in a HMD.