You know how your fingertip flushes white when you press it against a hard surface? Well, scientists have now used that phenomenon to place augmented reality (AR) touch panels on real-world surfaces such as walls and desks.
First of all, there are already methods of projecting touch panels and keyboards so that they appear to be hovering in midair in front of AR headset users.
In order to utilize such interfaces, however, those people are typically required to use special handheld controllers or sensor-equipped gloves. Additionally, their arms may get tired after being held up for prolonged periods, plus they don’t get the satisfying tactile response of actually tapping anything with their fingers.
That’s where the experimental new system comes in.
Designed by Guanghan Zhao and colleagues at Japan’s Tohoku University, it uses a headset’s existing camera to detect blanching, which is the white-flushing effect that occurs when the user’s fingertip is pressed against a hard surface.
When blanching is detected, it lets AI-based algorithms know when and where fingertip contact has occurred relative to a virtual touch panel that is being projected onto that surface. The AR software utilizing that panel can then respond accordingly.
“This research means that ordinary surfaces all around us – walls, desks, or partitions – can be used as a touch input area,” says Zhao. “Moreover, this method doesn’t require special sensors, markers, or additional devices. Anyone can use it easily.”
The team’s findings were presented last month in South Korea, at the 33rd IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces.
Source: Tohoku University
