I’m toying around with the idea of learning more about augmented reality at the moment. I found it was a bit tricky to find about the actual making part of it – while there is a bunch on the web for trying it out.
The premise is holding up a shape that has a black rectangle around it, which will be picked up by a web camera, then ran pattern detection to find the presence of that shape. When the shape is found, that can then be used as a registration or “Zero point”. The detection of the pattern can allow interaction in a 3D space – You can move the shape you are holding around, and the rotation and position will be reflected.
Another option is that with a pattern placed on a table, a 3D object can then be controlled by a traditional input surface like a keyboard and mouse, the best example I’ve seen of that so far would be an ad for BMW, for their Z4 car:
More information about this after the jump!