Aero-Marker
Hiroaki Tobita · 2013
In this study, we describe an augmented reality (AR) marker---Aero-Marker---that has both a virtual appearance and physical features. Our Aero-Marker integrates a blimp with an AR marker to overcome two problems found in conventional AR applications. The first problem is mobility. While a conventional AR marker is generally paper-based and static, Aero-Marker floats in the air and moves toward the user, thereby changing the relationship between the user and the marker. The second problem is physicality. Unlike a paper-based marker, Aero-Marker has physical volume because it uses a physical blimp. Similar to texture mapping in 3D computer graphics, virtual information is overlaid on the entire surface of the blimp, which makes the virtual information tangible. As a result, the interaction between the user and marker intensifies during actions like hugging, lifting, and throwing virtual information directly.