Turning objects of any 3D shape into interactive displays
Customers of the Tonno bar find themselves welcomed by a huge ceramic cat that changes its clothes all the time.
This is a projection mapping project located in The Tonno, a bar and restaurant complex in Wanchai. The restaurant owner places a huge ceramic cat at the entrance to attract customers. The cat is wearing a plain kimono outfit without any design or colour. onActivity’s team helped to project different patterns and colours on the cat’s body and feet, making it look like that the cat is changing into different outfits and shoes.
Projection mapping is the technology used to turn objects, often irregularly shaped, into a display surface for video projection. These may be complex industrial landscapes, such as buildings, cars, or any 3D objects. Specialized software can interact with a projector to fit any desired image onto the surface of that object.
The Challenges
The crucial thing for this projection mapping project is to outline the shape of the cat (and the different parts of the kimono outfit – sleeves, belt, body, etc.) from the projector’s point of view. Manual adjustment is also necessary for perfect mapping result.
Projection mapping can bring everyday objects to life, adding extra dimensions, optical illusions, and notions of movement onto previously static objects. A rapidly growing form of new media , projection mapping can be used for advertising, live concerts, theatre, gaming, computing, decoration and anything else you can think of.
