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Researchers turn smartphones into augmented reality props

Some very clever people over at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed technology that allows smartphones to be used together with computers in ways I thought would remain in the realm of science fiction for many years to come.

Five researchers – Sang-won Leigh, Philipp Schoessler, Felix Heibeck, Pattie Maes and Hiroshi Ishii – contributed to a research project called THAW, which is described as “…a novel interaction system that allows a collocated large display and small handheld devices to seamlessly work together”.

The cleverness was spotted on the fascinating Prosthetic Knowledge Tumblr: by using the phone’s rear-facing camera and some smart tracking software, those researchers demonstrated how a smartphone can be used as physical interface with a computer screen.

That lets them do really cool things like dragging and dropping files seamlessly between the phone and computer, and even use the phone as a physical platform in a game.

They made a brilliant video that explains it a lot better than we can:

I don’t know yet what practical applications this tech is going to have, but if it’s one thing I do know it’s that giving people tools like this lets them unleash their creativity in crazy, unexpected ways so I’m looking forward to seeing how big-name game studios and software makers use it in their stuff.

The possibilities seem endless. Maybe King.com can incorporate it in a new game that isn’t Candy Crush Saga that actually makes money.

[Source – Prosthetic Knowledge Tumblr]

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