After 5 years studying it comes time for the dissertation. You can choose one of the many subjects proposed by the professors , but I decided to go on my own creating a whole augmented reality system.
The original idea consisted in a program that should work in open environments, without markers, trying to naturally fuse the virtual and the real world. In fact those "open environments" were a problem, because giving the user so much freedom can result in low performance visualization when using a smartphone. This was the key point and I wanted to success where other programs such as Layar (poor integration) or AiRaid (lack of freedom) failed.
The system was developed trough a year using C++ and OpenGL for bada smartphones and integrates some new ideas that makes it excels over other AR systems:
- Efficient usage of sensors to obtain a sound registration. This allows the program to work faster in open environments and to avoid possible measurement errors faster.
- Real lightning system. Using GPS-based weather information and sun tracking algorithms in order to get a realistic integration.
In this video the sun movement has been accelerated and the perspective translated for didactical purposes.
- GPS Hybrid. The system can respond correctly even in extreme scenarios, where no accurate GPS data is given, thanks to the advanced pedometer developed.
- Game's logic integration made easy. Programming an augmented video-game is really easy thanks to the well designed system architecture.
This example recreates the worst-case scenario where no GPS signal is received.
For extra information, an explanatory part of the dissertation and many interesting papers about AR can be found here, but I am afraid it is in Spanish. Note:Pink artifacts appears when taking a screenshot and are not present in the real application.
