An augmented reality robot that adds life to virtual characters could be commercialised after being taken on by Japanese start-up, Different Dimension. The solution was originally called U-Tsu-Shi-O-Mi and developed in 2006 by Michihiko Shoji, a researcher at NTT DoCoMo Labs and then Yokohama National University. The "mixed reality" system synchronises a robot, covered in green-screen material, and a virtual avatar, which is viewed as an interactive figure through a head mounted display (HMD).
The robot
is controlled by
a force-feedback system
that provides realistic
physical interaction for the
user.
Potential applications
for the solution
could include very
realistic, immersive telepresence solutions.