'magic Bench' Lets ­sers See, Hear, and Feel Animated Characters

Researchers at Disney have developed the "Magic Bench," a combined augmented and mixed reality experience in which multiple users experience virtual surroundings as a group, without using head-mounted displays or handheld devices.

Users seated on the Magic Bench can see themselves in a mirrored image on a large screen, creating a third-person point of view. The virtual scene is reconstructed using a depth sensor, enabling users to occupy the same three-dimensional space as a computer-generated character or object. "This platform creates a multi-sensory immersive experience in which a group can interact directly with an animated character," says Disney's Moshe Mahler.

The system uses a color camera and a depth sensor to create a real-time 3-D reconstruction of the bench, surroundings, and participants. An algorithm then reconstructs the scene, aligning the camera information with the depth sensor information. The researchers will present the Magic Bench at the upcoming ACM SIGGRAPH 2017 conference in Los Angeles.

From ScienceDaily 
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