Projector Would Keep Up with Moving Surfaces

A proposed projection mapping technique would make light stick to moving objects like paint.

Proposed by professors Daisuke Iwai and Kosuke Sato of Osaka University, the technique relies on a camera system to track the movements of the object being illuminated. Visual markers on the surface of the object are recognized by a camera, which allows the projector to keep the image aligned with the object even as it moves and rotates.

A 3D printed object with visual markers is shown under environment light (a), and in different poses with projection mapping results (b-d). Courtesy of Osaka University.

While visual markers interfere with projected images, the effect can be diminished by applying a radiometric compensation technique, the researchers said.

Effective projection mapping of this sort could be used in advertisements and could increase the efficiency of the industrial design process, the researchers said. It could also make it possible for people to try on clothes virtually.

The results were presented recently at the Digital Content Expo last month in Tokyo and at SIGGRAPH Asia in Kobe.