Computer Graphics World

February 2009 9 NEWS: AUGMENTED REALITY At Home with Augmented Reality In terms of computer graphics technology, a lot can happen in just one short year. During Intel CEO Paul S. Otellini's keynote address at CES last year, a colleague, standing in a set designed to look like a street in China, pointed a cell phone at a menu posted on the outside of a restaurant and saw a translated menu appear on a screen in real time. The demo was real, created with Total Immersion's D'Fusion software, but a few off-stage processors helped the cell phone produce the illusion. Total Immersion returned to CES this year with a different but equally dramatic demonstration of augmented reality. This time, at Pat Meier's legendary Lunch @ Piero's for innovators and media, there was no magic box behind the curtain. Instead, there was a K'Nex toy box, a personal computer, and a Webcam. When anyone pointed the front of the small toy box at the Webcam, the live feed of the person holding the box appeared on the computer screen. And, here's the magic: On top of the box, CG objects representing all the parts inside the box assembled themselves into the toy. The CG toy stayed put even when the box moved around in front of the camera. The proprietary technology in the marker- less tracking software recognized the side of the toy box, looked at the contrast data, interpreted it, and knew what interaction to produce based on what it recognized. It all happened in real time: the calculations and the compositing of the CG animation with the live video. In a second demo, a spaceship levitated over a box and then fl ew to a table in the composited image 10 feet away. "Usually when you think of augmented reality, you think of permanent installa- tions in museums and kiosks," says Greg Davis, general manager. "But we have a second area designed around the average consumer's PC. It's one of our newest R&D developments." Among the earliest adopters of D'Fusion @ Home solutions is Nissan, which is using the technology to promote its new Cube car. Potential customers can e-mail Nissan from the Cube Web site to receive a card. If they have a Webcam attached to their computer and Microsoft's ActiveX running, they can load a disc that comes with the card, point the card at the camera, and a CG Cube will pop up on top of the card on the computer screen. They can change colors, the trim on the dashboard, and so forth. As they turn the card, the hatch opens and they can see a refrig- erator inside. When they turn it again, they might see a water bed inside. In addition to toys and marketing, Davis anticipates applications for D'Fusion in education and publishing. But, it's the home usage that he predicts will grow most quickly. "There's a shift in how consumers want experiences," he says. "The Wii has set a metaphor, and Skype is driving Webcam usage." Total Immersion has no plans to sell its technology; its business model is based on custom applications for clients who license the technology. It offers services, as well, such as 3D art development, engineering, and project management. Whether used for museums, to delight a child holding a picture book in front of a Webcam, or to help market a new car, one thing is certain: This is not your father's augmented reality. —Barbara Robertson For this augmented reality installation, Total Immersion's markerless tracking software helped turn children into little monsters. In real time, Total Immersion's markerless tracking software interprets an image on the card held up to a Webcam (top), calculates where to place a model of Nissan's Cube, and then composites the 3D car onto the card in the video (bottom) playing on the computer screen.

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