Pico Projector Adapts To New Surfaces, Uses Random Objects As Input Devices

jpwilliams writes "This tiny projector can use any surface you have on hand to project an image. Using a webcam, it adapts to the surface, not just by adjusting keystone, but also following that surface and displaying different amounts of information (in certain cases). The guy in the video also uses a coffee mug as an app changer."

Pico

[Hatta]

Does it work with pine too?

Re:Display information

[noh8rz2]

Of course it can. It's a pico projector.

Re:

[kelemvor4]

Of course it can. It's a pico projector.

I'll wait for an elite projector next fall.

Re:Display information

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, but can it project different amounts of information onto my dick?

I'm sorry, I've watched the video and I suspect that it wouldn't be able to detect an object that small.

Customisable Controls?

[Fluffeh]

Okay, so switching the display by rotating a coffee cup or bottle is nifty, but could get annoying when any movement at a board presentation switches things around. I am much more interested in seeing if the input commands are able to be modified and changed around.

Re:

[Tumbleweed]

Okay, so switching the display by rotating a coffee cup or bottle is nifty, but could get annoying when any movement at a board presentation switches things around. I am much more interested in seeing if the input commands are able to be modified and changed around.

Dude, just hold down the shift key. geez.

How?

[dutchwhizzman]

Stand on one leg with your feet in the air the whole presentation? You'll only be able to switch slides by tapping your nose if you do that.

Re:

[RivenAleem]

How do you stand on one leg with Feet in the air? How many legs/feet do you have?

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[TheCouchPotatoFamine]

i think what the mug rotation shows is that they can associate real items with virtual ones. That's more impressive then the (relatively cheap) projector . with a top down projector, they could not only avoid projecting on /you/, but they could associate real sticky notes with virtual ones! I can think of some cool uses of that kind of rapid, free association of information you could do with it, like reading a book cover to prin a summary next to it. It's all about pointing the projector down, not sideways

Re:

[Fluffeh]

I think what the mug rotation shows is that they can associate real items with virtual ones.

That's not quite the message that I walked away with. It looked as if rotating a mug (and later a bottle) simply switched the information being displayed. If rotating the mug had rotated a single object within the frame, I think it would be more interesting - such as manipulating common objects to manipulate individual models in a 3D app for example. What I saw seemed to imply that "look for something being rotated" translated to "ALT-TAB" for the environment.

The idea of a top down projector is interesting,

Re:

[danish94]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8lCetZ_57g [youtube.com]

Re:

[DarwinSurvivor]

Are you asking if it can detect a color change instead of a physical change? If so, I believe it can since the juice bottle was more or less uniform all around (no handle, etc) and it was able to detect that it rotated just fine.

Webcam hardly used, but Kinect?

[dutchwhizzman]

I can't really find the technology behind the trick in the paper. It does describe that a Kinect is used. That sounds a lot more plausible as the source for figuring out where to project, in what shape and for detecting object movement as a controller than a plain web cam. Could it be that the WebCam is only used to record contrast and color balance so they can project on "printed" surfaces?

RANDOM Objects?

[RadioElectric]

I'd much rather be able to predict where the image is going to end up. Maybe make it so you can project onto arbitrary objects?