Augmented Reality Sandpit
This is really cool – a new slant on augmented reality. Take a sandpit, focus a number of cameras on it, project a load of light sources on it and add a significant amount of computer modelling and processing (I would imagine) and you can mix the real and digital in a really neat new way.
As you mould the sand the computer recreates the contours in the virtual space too. Then things moving in the virtual space move according to the contours in the real space – and are then projected back onto it.
For full details of the project, see http://mimicry.monobanda.nl/
Their video teasers are well worth watching – http://vimeo.com/25666910, http://vimeo.com/25665948.
I particularly like the bit where they put a hand in the sand. Its like a 3D computer version of pin-art …
This could be a really interesting way to get people modelling terrain in virtual worlds or games.
Kevin.
The Creative Internet
Been meaning to post about this for a while now. Google put together a presentation of loads of different Internet related projects that people have done. Next time you see some piece of media highlighting how bad the Internet is, pick one of these at random and redress the balance a little.
See:
Some personal favourites of mine include:
- In B Flat
- The YouTube Radio
- Sour’s Webcam fan-based video
- Stop-motion animation by PES
- Graffiti Animation
- Pixels
- User Generated Content version of Star Wars
- Mapping from geo-tagged photos
- We Feel Fine (naturally – I’ve mentioned this before!)
- Keiichi Matsuda (and the domestic robocop)
- Street View art reproductions
- Japanese Water Fountain (not really Internet, but .. wow!)
- Building Projections (again, and old favourite)
- The Google Pacman (blogged, here)
- Internet of Things
Fantastic stuff. Tech at its best.
Kevin.
Domestic Robocop – Augmented (Hyper) Reality
This is a very interesting futuristic film, from student Keiichi Matsuda, produced for his Masters degree in architecture in order to show how todays electronic media could have an impact on future architecture, personal space and living. Read more about it here.
It portrays a future where augmented reality is ubiquitous, and the information overlays are, well essentially all advertising. Want to sell the surfaces of your kitchen to coca cola? Well, maybe in this future it would be possible – unless someone manages to create the 3d, AR vesion of adblock …
Interesting extrapolation of the current tech. Well worth a watch.
Kevin.
Augmented Reality?
Stumbled across this French company, ‘Easyweb‘ the other day. They do large scale, 3D projections onto buildings. However, what makes this different to your average large projector, is that they must somehow model the building itself, so you get effects like columns that light up, panels in the building that open, water bouncing off ledges in the building, and so on.
It is just quite spectacular to watch, even on video. In real-life, it must be breathtaking!
Its not yet the sort of augemented reality you see in Minority Report, but when you see what effects are possible with todays technology, it does leave you speculating about tomorrow.
Kevin.
