In this work, we present a new automatic system for scene reconstruction of high-level structural models. We start with identifying planar regions in depth images obtained with a SLAM system. Our main contribution is an approach which identifies constraints such as incidence and orthogonality of planar surfaces and uses them in an incremental optimization framework to extract high-level structural models. The result is a manifold mesh with a low number of polygons, immediately useful in many Augmented Reality applications such as inspection, interior design or spatial interaction.

As low-level hardware will soon allow us to visualize virtual content anywhere in the real world, managing it in a more structured manner still needs to be addressed. Augmented reality (AR) browser technology is the gateway to such structured software platform and an anywhere AR user experience. AR browsers are the substitute of Web browsers in the real world, permitting overlay of interactive multimedia content on the physical world or objects they refer to. As the current generation allows us to barely see floating virtual items in the physical world, a tighter coupling with our reality has not yet been explored. This paper presents our recent effort to create rich, seamless, and adaptive AR browsers. We discuss major challenges in the area and present an agenda on future research directions for an everyday augmented world.

The combination of a cheap single-point laser range finder (LRF) device and cameras has become increasingly useful in recent research and industrial applications. While the single dot laser range finder can only provide depth for a single pixel in the observed image, it's cost and size can be useful for handheld devices or very lightweight robotic platforms. In this work, we propose two accurate calibration methods for determining the position and direction of the laser range finder with respect to the camera. Notably, we can determine the full calibration, even without observing the laser range finder observation point in the camera image. We evaluate both methods on synthetic and real data demonstrating their efficiency and good behavior under noise.

In-situ 3D Modeling becomes increasingly prominent in current Augmented Reality research, particularly for mobile scenarios. However, real-time performance and qualitative modeling remain highly challenging. In this work, we propose a new interactive 3D modeling approach for indoor environments, combining an assistive user interface and constrained reconstruction with a device consisting of a single-point laser range finder and a camera. Using our system, a user pans around capturing a panorama of the environment, while simultaneously measuring the distance to a single point per frame. An automatic detection process estimates planes from these sparse 3D measurements. The user can highlight specific geometric features in the environment, such as 2- or 3-way corners, with simple gestures, adding more 3D points to the estimation. The segmented planes are refined using a constrained optimization, enforcing orthogonality and parallel constraints as well as minimizing the number of planes used in the reconstruction. Finally a volumetric space-carving approach determines the geometry of the environment. Our reconstruction approach can output highly accurate models built only from simple, clean geometry. To examine the quantitative performance of our approach, we run evaluations on both synthetic and real data.

Augmented Reality systems that run interactively and in real time, using high quality graphical displays and sensational cues, can create the illusion of virtual objects appearing to be real. This paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of BurnAR, a novel demonstration which enables users to experience the illusion of seeing their own hands burning, which we achieve by overlaying virtual flames and smoke on their hands. Surprisingly, some users reported an involuntary warming sensation of their hands. Based on these comments, we hypothesized that stimulation of multiple sensory modalities presented in this AR environment can induce an involuntary experience in an additional sensory pathway: observation of virtual flames resulting in a heat sensation. This cross-modal transfer, known as virtual synesthe-sia, is a temporary experience which affects some people who are not synesthetes and only lasts for a short time during the illusory experience. To verify our hypothesis, we conducted an exploratory study where participants experienced the BurnAR demonstration under controlled conditions.

Augmented Reality systems that run interactively and in real time, using high quality graphical displays and sensational cues, can create the illusion of virtual objects appearing to be real. This paper presents the design and implementation of BurnAR, a demonstration which enables users to experience the illusion of seeing their own hands burning, which we achieve by overlaying virtual flames and smoke on their hands. Surprisingly, some users reported an involuntary warming sensation of their hands.