Life-sized projector-based dioramas

We introduce an idea and some preliminary results for a new projector-based approach to re-creating real and imagined sites. Our goal is to achieve re-creations that are both visually and spatially realistic, providing a small number of relatively unencumbered users with a strong sense of immersion as they jointly walkaround the virtual site.Rather than using head-mounted or general-purpose projector-based displays, our idea builds on previous projector-based work on spatially-augmented realityand shader lamps. Using simple white building blocks we construct a static physical model that approximates the size, shape, and spatial arrangementof the site. We then project dynamic imagery onto the blocks, transforming the lifeless physical model into a visually faithful reproduction of the actual site. Some advantages of this approach include wide field-of-view imagery, real walking around the site, reduced sensitivity to tracking errors, reduced sensitivity to system latency, auto-stereoscopic vision, the natural addition of augmented virtualityand the provision of haptics.In addition to describing the major challenges to (and limitations of) this vision, in this paper we describe some short-term solutions and practical methods, and we present some proof-of-concept results.