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http://vimeo.com/33324378

Taronga Zoo Interactive On-Site AR Experience (Ausgrid)

10,000 users passed through, over 5 weeks from mid-September 2011 till Nov 2011
The experience combines cutting-edge 3D depth camera and motion sensing technology to
have an awareness of the participants to power a series of reactions and animations that
are triggered by their interaction with the props and actions within the environment. Explore
Engage have deployed a world’s first solution to digitally mask out, in real-time a user
(without using a green screen) so that our digital seal “Nala” is able to swim and interact
around them.

“Typically when augmented reality digital assets are applied to a camera
feed, they can be overlaid, and appear next to whomever is in view, but to have them
appear behind – or swim around like “Nala” does – is very unique!” – says Paul Kouppas,
CTO, of Explore Engage. This is also the first such interactive experience of its kind in Australia
using depth camera technology.

We built a large rear projection screen from 10mm Plexiglass and using a short throw projector. 3D depth sensors monitor the space within the set, so that we can digitally augment a 3D animated sea lion to fly in/around participants – typically young children. The digital augmentation is a world’s first in that digitally rendered Nala (sea lion) can swim behind, in, and around people as they are tracked.