Among the various cameras, printers, projectors, and other imaging technology on display at Canon EXPO was some rather surprising gear: head-mounted displays designed to show off augmented reality systems. Yes, Canon is surprisingly dabbling in AR, the long-hyped technology that combines a view of the real world with additional, computer-generated information through a pair of glasses, goggles, or other headgear. Canon calls its system "Mixed Reality," because it mixes both a real view of surroundings with computer information. The difference in the terms is purely a matter of branding; Mixed Reality and augmented reality are both terms for adding computer-generated information to how you visually look at the world.
Here's how this AR system worked, including my hands-on testing impressions!
The demonstration systems were suitably impressive, belying the technology's early and relatively unproven status. At the Canon EXPO's future technology kiosk, I tested a set of Mixed Reality display glasses. The otherwise-clear glasses (or rather, mask; I had to hold the device in front of my face instead of "wearing" it) displayed a young child playing with a soccer ball, standing in the middle of the kiosk. As I moved my head and the glasses, the kid stayed in position on the kiosk floor, the display automatically adjusting for any and all movement. It was a fascinating experience, and more than a little spooky; it's hard not to feel like you're being haunted when you put on a pair of glasses and a little kid magically appears in front of you, where previously there was empty space.
The head-mounted display uses a pair of prisms to place a small display panel and a small video camera in line with the system's view, without getting in the way of the user's view. The camera's view bounces off one prism and out the front of the glasses, while the display panel bounces a projection through another prism toward the user's eyes. Special markers with black and white patterns placed on certain objects then tell the system where to "draw" objects. The end result is a clear view of your surroundings combined with a nearly seamless projection of the Mixed Reality information.
Canon has already run several trials of Mixed Reality in Japan, where the system was implemented to aid in a variety of tasks. The National Museum of Nature and Science in Japan has an exhibit about dinosaurs that uses Mixed Reality to offer more information about the exhibits. CAD company SolidWorks has considered Mixed Reality to assist with large-scale design processes, making sure pipe arrangements and large equipment in plants don't present problems. Canon has also touted the potential of Mixed Reality in assisting rail conductors on trains, rendering architectural and engineering projects in 3D, and educating medical students by displaying biological processes. These are all lofty concepts for applications of augmented reality, but the fact that Canon could display functional systems offers hope for this long-speculated-upon technology.
While the demonstration glasses worked, they weren't particularly stylish or comfortable. However, Canon showed off a concept head mounted device with other mock-ups of its high-tech projects. Unfortunately, the mock-ups looked like they came straight out of
Johnny Mnemonic, and unless fashion reaches
Back to the Future Part 2 standards in the next few years, few users would willingly wear such a device in public.
Canon demonstrated another application of the Mixed Reality system in a different part of the expo. The company set up several computers with head-mounted displays and various control components, and let users walk through a "game" where they could create their own cartoonish characters using virtual tools. For a full report of how this worked, read my account of it
here.
