AR Playspace
A mixed reality space to perform and have fun

The AR Playspace experience is a public mixed-reality performance space. The experience is intended to be a place to have fun and to play. It is a "window'' which connects the physical world with the virtual. Visitors in both domains can enter the mixed reality space and see the "other side.''

People in the physical space are filmed with a video camera and can see themselves on a large video screen that shows the augmented output. As soon as a virtual avatar enters the according space in Second Life, they appear in the augmentation . In order to give the avatar a view of the physical world, the augmented output is streamed as a video back into Second Life. Both spaces are blended together and actions in either domains are perceivable in the other space. Voice-over-ip support even allows real-time audio transmission between both spaces.

Intentionally, the AR Playspace experience has been deployed in a public space. It invites casual visitors of both domains to stop by and just have fun or talk. To make the experience more engaging, physical visitors can take fiducial markers and present these to the camera. The AR Second Life software recognizes these patterns and computes their pose in real-time. Visitors in the virtual space can assign arbitrary objects to be displayed on top of these markers. This opens the possibility for a variety of games and fun moments..