Microsoft’s Hrvoje Benko and Andy Wilson, who are part of the Micorosoft research team have stunned the web over the weekend with Beamatron. The pair of them always have something interesting cooking in their labs – for Benko last week at TechForum it was the wearable projector, while Andy demonstrated Holoflector. Before telling you about the project you should watch this video:
Beamatron is a perfect example of exploring that blends the physical world with the virtual world. It’s augmented reality concept that combines a projector and Kinect sensor on a pan tilt moving head – of the kind you may find in a nightclub. The setup utilizes KinectFusion to build a 3D model of a space and enables projected graphics to react in physically appropriate ways. For example a virtual car can be driven around the floor of the room bumping into actual obstacles and running over real ramps.
The moving head of the projector means the image can be displayed almost anywhere in a room while the depth camera enables the correct projection relative to physical surfaces.
We are stunned. Are you? Leave us your comments…
