Researchers equip handsets with virtual projection capability

A team of intrepid researchers has devised an innovative way to turn your smartphone into a virtual projector. Does it sound great? Well, you can now use your smartphone or tablet as a device for virtual projection on an external display. The researcher trio of Dominikus Baur, Steve Feiner and Sebastian Boring is behind the virtual projection (VP) technology. They presented a paper to demonstrate how it could be a built-in feature on smartphones or tablets in future.

Virtual Projection

For the technique, your handset requires no hardware modifications. Its rear camera acts as a frame of reference to send a rapid-fire series of screenshots to an external display like a monitor or TV. This way you can enjoy virtual projection on your smartphone or tablet now.

The system works with the help of a central server that frequently captures screenshots of the external display. It then compares the screenshots with the images from the handset’s camera to track its location, researchers reveal. Different from optical projectors, you can add image windows, rotate and position the projected content on the external display.

Virtual projection is a promising method to fight screen-space limitation on handheld devices. You can use the mechanism to navigate information and in augmented reality technologies. Of course, interaction is one of virtual projection’s best appeals.

However, it is just a research project. It is not clear when it will appear on smartphones or other devices. The researchers hope they can soon make the technology a prominent feature on smartphones for a highly interactive projection experience on handsets. Watch the video below to see how the technology works.

Via: Electronista