Computing In Dark Rooms

December 15, 2007 7:01 PM

Courtesy of Daniele Gallifa's Mentegrafica, a video demonstration of Multi-User Interaction using Handheld Projectors. An update to the classic Ghostbusters toy, this set of position-aware hand held projectors lets users share information by shining light onto walls. Some of the smart details in the video include: sharing calendars by overlapping light from two projectors, adjoining projections to create larger screens, and blurring private information when outsiders are nearby. No mention of applicability to first person shooters.
posted by migurski (9 comments total)

Interesting, some of the general ideas are also in the Microsoft table project. If the Wii is any indication, acting as a conductor is exhausting.

I really think there's a market for something like this in executive board rooms. There you have the money to spend and the need to collaborate quickly. Pecking at laptops is less than ideal, I like the idea of a single virtual workspace that everyone sees.
posted by geoff. at 7:29 PM on December 15, 2007

My arm is getting tired just watching that video.
posted by delmoi at 7:39 PM on December 15, 2007

Yeah, holding one of those things up must get exhausting after a while. I felt the same way with ST:TNG's peculiar model of palm flashlight. An actual product based on this research would probably need a tiny tripod mount.

One thing I would have experimented with if this were my project would be a global, master image thrown from a conference-room projector and augmented by the little ones.
posted by migurski at 7:44 PM on December 15, 2007

that is so cool.
posted by blendor at 8:28 PM on December 15, 2007

i think the real innovation here is the interface stuff, not the projector bit, which is lame. It will be useful when augmented reality starts to take off.
posted by empath at 8:42 PM on December 15, 2007

Nice. I also thought the projector bit was useless too, but then I decided that it provides a nice immediate method/metaphor of defining a user's domain: My power, which is beamed from me, only exists within the boundaries of this box that I create and direct.
posted by suedehead at 10:45 PM on December 15, 2007 [1 favorite]

The highlight of this post for me was definitely the Ghostbusters link. Playing with that toy is one of my earliest memories. I had forgotten a lot of how it looked (although not how bulky it was), so thanks for that.
posted by brett at 11:49 PM on December 15, 2007

Meh on the Ghostbusters toy.

The Ghost Gun ruled.

It used thin strips similar to wax paper with various ghosts on it. Five a strip, if I remember correctly. The pistol grip area floated, allowing an certain range of motion. When in use, the pistol grip would move a target site around the the ghost. Pulling the trigger would invisibly punch a visible hole in the ghost.

You'd better believe I hoarded those strips after the first couple of days!
posted by Samizdata at 1:11 AM on December 16, 2007

Actually the augmented reality application works. Datagloves anyone?
posted by Samizdata at 1:12 AM on December 16, 2007