Sugimoto Laboratory: Building an Augmented Reality Environment that Merges the Real and Information Worlds

At the Sugimoto Laboratory, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, we are conducting research on augmented reality environments that enable interaction that takes into account the user's perception and the state of objects being manipulated in the real environment. Sensing technology for the real environment is a key technology in constructing augmented reality environments. The Sugimoto Laboratory is building measurement systems, such as a position and orientation measurement system based on the concept of Display-Based Computing—which uses luminance patterns projected from a projector and optical sensors—and a system that models the real environment using a depth camera. By utilizing both the visible light spectrum and invisible spectra such as infrared, it has become possible to build an augmented reality environment with dynamic projection and high-precision alignment. Furthermore, we are conducting various research and development projects, including research on building a real-world-oriented gaming environment by projecting images from devices like projectors onto small robots using position and orientation measurement technology in an augmented reality environment; a system that displays medical images in arbitrary cross-sections according to the position of a display in the real environment; and a remote control interface for a robot equipped with a depth camera that allows for operation while anticipating future states.