MAGIC FOUNTAIN
Interactive Computer Vision System
The installation designed for this application simulates a magical natural fountain located inside a cave, which has some ancient ruins. The fountain has been placed on a platform, which confers an altar-like apparance to it. Behind the scenery there is a hidden system which captures movement through image analysis thanks to two cameras located in the vegetal top structure, by processing these images the position of the hands of up to 8 simultaneous users can be calculated. |
The water surface is simulated by means of a two-meter-long irregular-shaped back-projection screen, which receives the images emitted by two projectors located under the platform that supports the whole set, and then mirrored upwards. The images from both projectors are blended in order to get a continuous high-resolution image along the whole surface. |
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This system, developed by the videaLAB Advanced Visualization Group, from the University of A Coruña, is based on a computer control application which transforms the position and hand movements of all users into the equivalent movement of 8 simultaneous cursors acting on the contents, so that it must be able to create a thread for each one of the participants, in such a way that each visitor has the feeling that the fountain is replying to their particular movements, as well as to those of the other users. |
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The installation therefore requires the application of the following technologies:
- Real-time image analysis: From the video signal from two cameras, the application must calculate the position and hand movements of all participants, identifying them univocally, and transforming them into cursor movements and triggering events.
- Multi-user interaction: Any visitor, even the most computer literate, are used to the binomial "one computer-one user" caused by the fact that a computer has only one mouse and one keyboard. In the proposed case, all users interact with the contents at the same time, allowing their actions to affect all the rest. This is a fact can prove beneficial for the experience. This way of interacting and the development of suitable contents represents a little studied field that will require several tests and adjustments, and whose results will no doubt be spectacular.