Consistent Presentation of Interactive Virtual Objects in Real Space with 3D Markers – Interactive Virtual Interior Design –

For presenting virtual objects in a real space, mixed reality (MR) technique is very effective to simulate an overview of a scenery. In interior design, for instance, the coordinates of the arrangements and the colours of the items need to be determined based on various layout plans. We propose a new framework for interactively arranging and rendering virtual objects in real space by manipulating physical 3D markers. A 3D marker consists of 2D codes and a spherical mirror for acquiring both geometric and photometric conditions by single camera instantaneously. Experimental results showed that the proposed approach is effective for providing appropriate geometry and local lighting conditions to present each virtual object in a simple system. The proposed system allows the user to experiment arranging of virtual furniture and verify the created scene which is visually consistent with the physical space. 1 Motivation Coordinating furniture and interiors for living space gathers continuing interests in general. However, planning of colour coordinates and organising interior items often require expert knowledge. How to show the design plan is important to communicate between the expert and a customer. Designers usually paint perspective figures for conveying concepts of their plans as well as technical drawings. However, hand-painted figures are basically subjective expression and are not always intuitive to the customers. Moreover, it takes some time to paint the figures and instant modification over the discussion is impossible. In the contrast, computer-generated scenery using software for CAD (computer aided design) and CG (computer graphics) is capable of not only presenting objective perspective figure based on technical drawings but also allowing users to change viewpoints and the contents to present. Since every single component in the scene must be digitised and modelled to be rendered, synthesising scenery 653 Proc. VIIth Digital Image Computing: Techniques and Applications, Sun C., Talbot H., Ourselin S. and Adriaansen T. (Eds.), 10-12 Dec. 2003, Sydney