BitDrones: Interactive, Programmable 3D Nanocopter Displays
Researchers at Queen's University's Human Media Lab introduce BitDrones, which allow users to explore virtual 3D information by interacting with physical self-levitating building blocks. BitDrones is the first step towards creating interactive self-levitating programmable matter - materials capable of changing their 3D shape in a programmable fashion - using swarms of nano quadcopters. The work highlights many possible applications for the new technology, including real-reality 3D modeling, gaming, molecular modeling, medical imaging, robotics, and online information visualization. The Human Media Lab team has created three types of BitDrones. 'PixelDrones' are equipped with one LED and a small dot matrix display. 'ShapeDrones' are augmented with a light-weight mesh and a 3D printed geometric frame, and serve as building blocks for complex 3D models. 'DisplayDrones' are fitted with a curved flexible high resolution touchscreen, a forward-facing video camera, and Android smartphone board. All three types are equipped with reflective markers, allowing them to be individually tracked and positioned in real time via motion capture technology. The system also tracks the user's hand motion and touch, allowing users to manipulate the voxels in space.
Transcript
00:00:01 bit drones is a 3D modeling tool that uses Nano quadcopters as self-levitating tangible building blocks there are three different types of bit drones pixel drones with an LED and a small display shape drones showing larger geometric shapes like this Cube and display drones with a thin film high-res touchscreen bit drones and users are tracked through a ficon motion capture system it reports
00:00:23 coordinates to a computer which send thrust Commands to control each drone here we see a user interacting with a P Tre menu displaying a file browser he touches the top node exposing the next level of files organized in a wheel files are browsed by spitting the [Music] wheel next the user opens the file of a 3D architectural model the cone tree
00:00:55 turns into a 3D canvas with its boundaries indicated by pixel drones the user places shape drones that model buildings in the architectural [Music] model here we see the user dragging drones in place [Music] shape drones are selected through touch a display drone flies within Arms
00:01:39 Reach providing a contextual menu and the user changes the color of the selected shap drone by selecting one from the menu next the user selects the entire model using a b manual touch gesture and paints the whole model red models can be resized with a manual pinch gesture by dragging two of its component shape [Music]
00:02:12 drones similarly they can be rotated by dragging two shape drones into an arc the system allows remote collaboration through a display drone with Skype hi I was looking at the design and I think we should move this one the local bit drones mirror any changes made by the remote user how about here yes that looks much better
00:02:39 thanks when the model is complete it is automatically sent to Unity 3D rendering with final design [Music]