ShelfTorchlight: Augmenting a Shelf using a Camera Projector Unit

The search for a certain book in a library that contains many books can be a time-consuming task. Even if one finds the right shelf, one still has to browse an often huge area in the shelf. The same problem occurs when searching for a specific product in a supermarket shelf that fits one personal preferences (e.g. a allergic or diet profile). With ShelfTorchlight we present a prototype that aims to overcome the problems when searching for a book or a product in a shelf using a mobile camera projector unit. In addition we show the advantages of semantic zooms when projecting information into theses shelves. With the miniaturization of mobile projectors, also called pico projectors, the integration of these projectors into mobile phones is now possible. These phones allow a variety of new applications evolving from the ability to expand the interaction space of the phone to the environment. The prototype described in this paper, ShelfTorchlight, is such an application, trying to demonstrate the interaction possibilities of these new devices. A user can highlight the object she is looking for in the shelf and get additional information.