Although this is a tad old, I didn’t see it widely posted so here it is. Tagged in Motion is an augmented reality based 3d graffiti art simulation. In a way it could also be considered performance art, as the process is just as important as the final output. The German artist, DAIM, dons a sporty HMD and is able to use tracking-markers to position his virtual can of spraypaint in full 3d. This allows the user full freedom to use his real-life surroundings as a virtual 3d canvas. Judging from the tracking markers, a common convention of augmented reality, it looks like they may be using the ARToolKit but they could easily have their own solution.

Video and rant after the jump.

In my opinion, augmented reality has a lot more potential than virtual reality at this point in time. The cost of running a true photo-realistic VR simulation is too much for even the cutting-edge PCs of today. However, even an average gaming rig could probably render a few simple objects that would be photo-real. By compositing those renders over a live 3d video feed AR can transform your regular environment into something entirely different. It will be very interesting to see the types of applications for AR that will arrive in the near future.

Imagine a game where your house was the level, and you had to physically run around and protect against intruders ala Night Trap. Any household object could be used as a weapon and the computer-vision would process that into game actions (ie swinging a real chair, etc.). A game like that would produce an unbelievable amount of immersion and its probably achievable using current hardware and some clever coding. Just my 2 cents.

Tags: Augmented Reality, Stereo 3D, Virtual Reality //