Creating a responsive composite:
This post documents my attempt at creating a composite material which responds to light and magnetism and could possibly be used to increase the quality of camera-based tracking.
This is the first material the composite is based on Magne-View by Magnerite. (http://www.magnerite.com)
The second material is phosphorescent green by Golden Acrylics. I wanted to keep the Magne-View in mint condition, so I painted the phosphorescent color onto a clear sheet.
I thought the paint might be transparent enough for the Magne-View to come through, which turned out to be a wrong assumption:
Luckily, the green sheet is not completely opaque. Therefore, I tried to go the other way round and have the phosphorescent material shine through the Magne-View.
Here are strips of phosphorescent tape pasted to a sheet:
The flashlight reveals their glowing capabilities.
Final result: The phosphorescent material shines through the Magne-View, but only in very dark rooms (hence no photo of that). It would be interesting to add phosphorescent material to the Magne-View in the production stage, but I would have to investigate that further. Interesting and promising stuff nonetheless.
Assignment questions:
a. Does your composite support new and unique applications?
The composite could be used to increase the quality of 2D vision based motion tracking systems on surfaces. Due to the resulting visual patterns, the output of the material could also be used for artistic installations.
b. Can you design an interaction scenario around its ‘responsiveness’?
When a user draws on the surface with a magnet or a light pen, the material changes it’s visual characteristics. The visuals stay on the surface for a given time (phosphorescent material) or until a new stimuli is applied (magnetic film). This visual “trail” left on the surface can be utilized to increase the tracking quality when sensing input with a magnet or light on the surface with a camera.
c. How is it different from other technologies?
It is different from other camera based tracking methods, as the surface helps to increase the camera tracking quality, but has no active component.
The passive technology is used to support camera-based sensing with good results even when the tracking frame rate is low. The surface consumes no power.
d. Would it be possible to mass-produce it? How?
Use CES to learn about different fabrication processes.
I did not find the Materials used in the CES databank. However, as they are all commercially available, they could possibly be mass-produced:
- Magne-View ® Film: micro-encapsulated film
- Golden Acrylics: Phosphorescent Green paint
- Pro Tapes and Specialities Fluorescent Yellow Artist Tape
I would have to investigate the production process of Magne-View further to find out why it is green and if it can be mixed with other colors like the phosphorescent paint.
Assignment for MAS 962: Techniques for Design and Fabrication. Thanks to Adam Kumpf for the idea of using the Magne-View surface for tracking and for lending the materials.