Dinosaurs come to life with ASTRI’s augmented reality technology

Dec. 9, 2013 - PRLog -- (Hong Kong, 10 December 2013) Dinosaur fanatics will not miss the recently launched talk-of-the-town event “Legends of the Giant Dinosaurs”, which brings visitors back to the prehistoric age to get a glimpse of the world’s biggest dinosaurs and even interact with them. This is made possible by the state-of-the-art augmented reality (AR) technology developed by Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) and brilliantly deployed by its partner Sengital Ltd in the show.

“Legends of the Giant Dinosaurs”, now showing in Hong Kong Science Museum, is the largest and most diverse dinosaur exhibition ever staged in Hong Kong. Exotic fossils, skeleton models, robotic dinosaurs and other precious exhibits from the four continents are displayed and enhanced by real-time 3D computer rendering and multimedia effects to create a captivating experience for the audience.

Several mobile applications were especially designedfor the show. Simply by installing the applications in smartphones or tablets, visitors will be able to see virtual dinosaurs walking in the museum’s piazza area, they can take pictures with them and share with friends. When they view fossils and bones through the app, dinosaurs are reconstructed with skin, flesh and even movements. Visitors can also use their smart devices to identify and unlock information about different species of dinosaurs.

AR which combines virtual objects and information with real-life images through sensors is the technology behind these interactive applications. Mr Felix Chow, Director of ASTRI’s IC Design Group and leader of the project said, “Tracking, mapping and object detection are the main components of AR. Unlike traditional tracking method based on visual marker with distinct features, ASTRI’s AR is based on arbitrary user defined marker and can be applied on deformed surfaces. Our partner Sengital has cleverly put this feature into use by utilizing features in posters and exhibits as tracking markers, creating natural yet stunning effects to impress the audience.”

AR is an emerging technology with numerous applications and tremendous market potentials. It is already part of our life and has been widely used for virtual shopping, product design, advertising, movies, gaming and education. Its location based mapping and object recognition features can also be applied in navigation, pedestrian counting, traffic surveillance and violation detection etc. For example, ASTRI has applied zone intrusion detection to reinforce security for the dinosaur show.

The research team at ASTRI has extensive experience in AR and computer vision and is well positioned to provide the industry with total solutions to address their needs of ready-to-use AR for the market.

Those who are interested in getting a first-hand experience on how AR can be used for entertainment and education should visit the show which runs in Hong Kong Science Museum until 9 April 2014. The show has attracted thousands of visitors since it open in early November.