6: Word Lens

Word Lens is an augmented reality application designed to translate text in a foreign language to one that the viewer can understand by overlaying the translated text on the mobile device screen where the original text should be.

This project is nifty because it attempts to create a more authentic experience for the viewer by preserving the context of the words instead of spewing it out as simple text. It also attempts to translate any text in the camera’s field of vision on the fly, surpassing many other applications that require a still image to be processed. They adhere to the text color pretty well, but it would be nice to improve the preservation of type style.

[ Word Lens at Augmented Planet ]

7: BendDesk

BendDesk combines two projectors and three cameras to make a superior workspace, allowing you to handle digital documents similarly to physical documents. The project is awesome because it removes the limitations of previous implementations done only with common interface devices (e.g.: virtual desktops with stacks of documents that you interact with via a mouse and keyboard). The missing component was always the freedom to interact with the document using your body as the manipulator, and now users are able to drag the document around with their hands across two planes. It would be great to incorporate another camera that could project the user or another user on the vertical plane for a cool teleconferencing environment.

[BendDesk]

8: Teleoperation of Humanoid Robot

This project has a person controlling a humanoid robot through a kinect. I think that the implications of the project are cooler than this base implementation. For example a person could exhibit fine motor control in a remote location, eliminating the need to actually travel to the location. This has excellent potential for something as important as specialized surgeons operating on patients in remote areas or a person attending a conference able to more actively participate in subtlety important human transactions like conversations in a hallway. While a nice basic implementation, the next steps would be to increase the size of the robot and improve the accuracy of its corresponding motion.