Microsoft shows Beamatron AR concept with Kinect camera
updated 02:45 pm EDT, Wed March 14, 2012
Beamatron is a Kinect-based AR concept from MS
Andy Wilson, a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research, has been busy working with colleagues on a project dubbed Beamatron. It's an augmented reality concept that uses KinectFusion, another Microsoft project, to create a 3D model of a space and build projected graphics onto it. It also gets Kinect to see the room and its many obstacles, as shown in the video below.
The projected graphics react in ways that are governed by virtual physics, and the remote controlled car in the demo won't be able to drive through walls, for example. The way it responds when driving up on ramps is also changed. The projected image itself changes depending on the surface it's driving on, including the depth the camera projects.
Microsoft hasn't said if or when it might make a practical application of Beamatron, although Kinect for Windows' presence could let developers try for similar work on their own.
