If you’ve ever seen an example of projection mapping or video mapping
before, prepare to have your mind blown by the latest advancement in
this technology.
For those out of the loop, it refers to projecting an image onto a surface
– be it a sheet of fabric or the side of a building – while having it
conform to the shape of your target. It’s a way harder to achieve when
the object isn’t stationary and can be moved in
If you’ve ever seen an example of projection mapping or video mapping
before, prepare to have your mind blown by the latest advancement in
this technology.
Tokyo University’s Ishikawa Watanabe Laboratory has
combined two new techniques to make projection mapping on deforming
surfaces (such as a stretchable t-shirt or a flag waving in the wind)
possible. Its DynaFlash projector, developed in-house can to project
8-bit images at rates of up to 1,000 frames per second with a delay of
only 3 milliseconds. By combining this with a high-speed non-rigid
surface tracker that runs at the same framerate, the human eye isn’t
able to spot any kind of misalignment in the projection.
By marking a deformable surface like a piece of textile or paper with
infrared ink, the tracker can follow its movements and accurately
project the images on it.
It looks pretty cool, but it’s still unclear what the technology
could actually be used for. It’s clearly fit for usage on clothing, even
though you’ll need a projector for the effect to work. Additionally,
the researchers behind the project note that it could be used for
flexible user interfaces projected on deforming surfaces.
