[From the Daily Mail, where the story includes more images and two videos]
[Image: Researchers have shown off their device called the revealing flashlight that can be used to digitally restore artefacts. Pictured is an artefact (1), while an input (in this case a finger at 2) is being used to manipulate a LeapMotion gesture device (3), which allows the user to ‘point’ where they want the projection to go]
Shining a light on the past: ‘Virtual reality’ torch projects missing fragments on to ancient treasures, restoring them to their former glory
- Researchers led from Bordeaux have created an augmented reality device
- The ‘revealing flashlight’ can be used to restore broken or worn artefacts
- It then uses a camera to project an image onto an object
- This image is based on a digital representation of the artefact
- The user can then point to move the projection around, revealing features
By Jonathan O’Callaghan
Published: 1 July 2014
Just dropped and broken a priceless artefact? Don’t worry, this virtual reality torch can restore its appearance.
The ‘revealing flashlight’ can be used to recreate what ancient objects might have looked like before they were damaged or worn away using digital recreations.
It projects a computer generated augmented reality image on to an object that mimics its details and features that have been lost to time.
The innovative device has been developed by researchers at a number of institutions including the University of Bordeaux and University College London.
Scientists made use of previous 3D laser scans and applied them in the form of a beam on to the real-life, physical objects.
Applying the digital reconstruction to the physical object gives viewers a new way to examine artefacts, reports New Scientist.
The revealing flashlight uses what is known as ‘spatial augmented reality’ to combine real objects with 3D models.
It uses digital representations of worn or damaged objects to show people what they might once have looked like.
Scientists can work out what objects used to look like using methods including structured-light 3D scanning, which uses projected light and cameras to work out features and details unseen to the naked eye.
Using this information the revealing flashlight then shines a projection onto an artefact, revealing how it once looked.
The projection can then be ‘moved’ around an object to reveal it’s different features.
With this system, the user can do that with the help of a LeapMotion gesture-sensing controller.
This six-degree-of-freedom input allows a finger to point the ‘light’ of the projection in any particular direction.
This means at a museum, for example, members of the public could simply point at a statue and have various features not visible to the naked eye revealed.
‘Cultural heritage artefacts often contain details that are difficult to distinguish due to aging effects such as erosion,’ the researchers write.
‘We propose the revealing flashlight, a new interaction and visualisation technique in spatial augmented reality that helps to reveal the detail of such artefacts.’
They continue: ‘This makes advanced 3D analysis accessible to the greater public with an everyday gesture, by naturally combining the inspection of the real object and the virtual object in a co-located interaction and visualisation space.
‘The revealing flashlight can be used by archeologists, for example, to help decipher inscriptions in eroded stones, or by museums to let visitors interactively discover the geometric details and meta-information of cultural artefacts.’
HOW AN IMAGE IS PROJECTED
First, the researchers analyse a previously acquired 3D model of an artefact. This allows finer or coarser details to be examined, or features no longer visible to the naked eye.
Next, a visual representation is projected onto an artefact based on how it used to look.
This reveals hidden features of its geometry not visible to the naked eye.
Finally, a novel technique lets people interact in a familiar way – the use of a flashlight.
A gesture-controlled system allows a user to point in the direction of an artefact and light up different parts of it.
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