Lightform: The Magical Little Device That Transforms Whole Rooms Into Screens
Liz Stinson, in Wired, previews Lightform, a “projection-mapping” device that can read a room and project images (or interfaces) onto any surface, no matter how irregular. In a nutshell, it’s augmented/mixed reality projected directly onto the environment:
Lightform���s��technology sets the��stage for more complex
and immersive forms of interaction. The company aims
to develop high-resolution��augmented reality projections
that track objects and respond to human input in real
time. Its ultimate goal: Make projected light so functional
and ubiquitous that it replaces screens as we know
them in daily life life. ���Really what we���re doing is
bringing computing out into the real world where we
live,��� Sodhi says.
Here, Lightform projects a car-service ETA on a physical map. The device can also read and project onto irregularly shaped objects.
What I like about emerging technologies like this one is that the tech comes to you. Your surroundings simply become digital; no need to strap on a headset or peer through a screen.
Writing for MEX last week, Marek Pawlowski made a similar observation:
Virtual, augmented and mixed reality products like
HoloLens and Daydream are often seen as being in the
vanguard of this evolution, but the level of immersion
required by these experiences is a somewhat misleading
guide to the future.
The larger concept at play here is the notion that
digital capabilities ��� through projection, augmentation
or other more subtle forms of ingress ��� will become
woven into the physical fabric of life. The dream of
ubiquitous computing will not come in boxes, but rather
will hover and shimmer in transient spaces around us.
“Woven into the physical fabric of life.” This is the exciting opportunity about the physical interface, whether embodied in IoT gadgets, projected UI, or augmented reality: it literally grafts onto the world around us, on our terms. It’s tech that promises to bend to our lives, rather than the reverse.
Wired | Lightform: The Magical Little Device That Transforms Whole Rooms Into Screens
