A new breakthrough in projection mapping has got heads from the apparel industry turning as it could potentially change the way businesses in the niche operate. Until recently, projection mapping has been confined to being used on still surfaces or exteriors that predictably moves.
Because of this limitation, projection mapping hasn't been adapted in the realms of theater, retail, and fashion. However, a team at the Ishikawa Watanabe Laboratory at the University of Tokyo may have elevated the technology a tier higher.
Japanese Team Combined Two Technologies To Create 'Dynamic Projection'
In a video that the team recently released, the team showed that they were able to project any pattern they wanted on several items of moving clothing. They called this technique dynamic projection, which requires two types of technology to be achieved, said Fast Code Design.
The first innovation is the Dynaflash, a special high-speed projector capable of displaying 8-bit images at up to 1,000 frames per second with a 3 ms delay. Most high-end consumer projector on the market today are only able to project 120 frames per second.
The second innovation is called the "Deformable Dot Cluster Marker," a high-speed non-rigid surface tracking that operates at 1,000 fps. The researchers said that their technology is able to achieve these results as the patterns are being projected at a rate faster than a human brain can identify any irregularities between the non-rigid surface and the images transmitted.
In a video they released, the innovators used infrared ink to draw on the t-shirts. The ink is invisible to the human eye while allowing their tracking technology to project images on the clothing even though it's fluttering unpredictably, reported the Daily Mail.
Dynamic Projection Technology Opens Doorway For Theaters, Adverts, And More
Potential uses for this innovation would be in theaters, which would allow actors and actresses to appear to change costumes without hustling back and forth to the dressing room. Another would be on runways where fashion designers would only need a single model marching to and fro on the catwalk.
Or maybe mannequins in a department store window would change its outfit every hour showing different styles and trends. This may even pave the way to how clothing brand advertises their products.
