Microsoft Research has this week unveiled a new application and hardware prototype they have been developing called RoomAlive, that uses an array of projectors to map a gaming environment on the walls of a room.
RoomAlive is a proof-of-concept prototype that allows players to touch, shoot, stomp, dodge and steer projected content, that is projected on to the surfaces of their existing physical environment. Check out the video after the jump to learn more.
As you might have already imagined the system uses a Microsoft Kinect sensor and a computer together with the already mentioned projector depth-camera unit, also known as a procam. Where the projector is used for display and the Microsoft Kinect is used for tracking. Microsoft Research explains a little more:
“RoomAlive is a proof-of-concept prototype that transforms any room into an immersive, augmented entertainment experience. Our system enables new interactive projection mapping experiences that dynamically adapts content to any room.
Users can touch, shoot, stomp, dodge and steer projected content that seamlessly co-exists with their existing physical environment. The basic building blocks of RoomAlive are projector-depth camera units, which can be combined through a scalable, distributed framework.
The projector-depth camera units are individually auto-calibrating, self-localizing, and create a unified model of the room with no user intervention. We investigate the design space of gaming experiences that are possible with RoomAlive and explore methods for dynamically mapping content based on room layout and user position.
Finally we showcase four experience prototypes that demonstrate the novel interactive experiences that are possible with RoomAlive and discuss the design challenges of adapting any game to any room.”
For more information on the new RoomAlive project and research jump over to the Project mapping Central website for more details.
Source: Microsoft Research
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