Gone are the days when we all needed special glasses to get an augmented view of the world. Now comes a new combined camera and computer that superimposes images over the objects of the Real-world without even the need for a head-mounted display. It is augmented reality without headset!

Lightform, a 3D scanning device and the first computer made for projecting Augmented reality connects Lightform to any video projector and therefore, allows you to quickly scan complex scenes turning any object into a screen. The size of the projection depending upon the projector. It in short scans an environment, fine-tunes it in case anything is moved and creates a high-resolution mesh and AI-generated effects to project out along with filters as well. And since it automatically compensates for any movement, the illusion doesn't break and this turns out to be one of its best aspects. Now we know why it is a scanner too!

Once the scanning is done with Lightform and projections of light are thrown onto the environment, the Objects then come alive with light in different ways. It thus, brings human creativity into our physical world, enabling all surfaces to potentially come alive magically and hence, also bridges the gap between fiction and reality by blending both of them together in a single physical form. You can now get Amazingly striking effects right in front of your eyes with just a simple click and bring wonder to your everyday life.

Using light to augment reality can be really exciting and the core technology behind this is known as projection mapping that is a form of augmented reality.

Lightform uses advanced computer vision to eliminate the complexity in the process of projection mapping as it is believed, projected light can be inherently more interesting as compared to a flat screen because it can be overlaid on the existing environment that gives designers the opportunity to blend digital content with existing materials and structures seamlessly. But projected AR has its own drawbacks as well. Like, Shadows being a problem if anything gets between the projector and surface, and its incompatibility to not work well in bright spaces. And also the concept of widespread interactive AR without wearing a helmet that it provides us with is the kind of future everyone would get behind, and we can just hope that this does not turn out to be snake oil.

Now, every average customer would want to know one thing. That is, how much will it cost? If you manage to get the real deal, they suggest, it’ll cost less than an average laptop. And this could mean a lot of things, but it is likely suggested to cost as much as any high-end Smartphone or a bit more, depending on end functionality it comes with.

Apart from all of this, and witnessing some neat results when it comes to projection mapping especially from this year's SXSW(South by Southwest), this very new technology from Microsoft and Disney employees could change the game all at once.

This AR Device Can Turn Your Entire Home into a Giant Screen:

Video Source: Futurism