Bit s a nd b y t e s Out of the lab and into the pub “There’s a lot of discussion and media attention about augmented reality (AR) and the multibillion dollar market it will become in the near future,” says Queen’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Michael Greenspan. “A lot of companies are trying to create development platforms in the hopes of essentially becoming the MS Windows of AR.” Greenspan is banking on a different strategy, though, one that delivers to consumers a complete AR system with a single killer application. To that end,
he and his research team have developed Procam Pool. A blend of the terms “projector” and ”camera,” Procam Pool is a gaming system that uses AR technology to make billiards much more fun and easier to learn for novice and intermediate players. It’s sort of a combination pool table and video game. Here’s how it works: Players rack real balls on a real wood-andslate pool table. After the break, Procam Pool uses computer vision, sophisticated algorithms and graphics projection to identify the positions of the various balls in play and, with graphical elements projected onto the table from over head, helps players to plan where various shots will end up and how the balls might be positioned after the shot. It’s a project that started a
few years ago as a fourth-year design project that advanced to a master’s thesis and now a marketable product. Five ProCam Pool units were installed last year in O’Leary’s Sports Restaurant in Stockholm, Sweden. “They’re in there, they’re running and we get feedback that it’s a great experience,” says Greenspan. Greenspan says he and his team continue to refine the system by incorporating feedback from players and adding new features. They’re also actively seeking clients who want to share Procam Pool with their friends and customers. “I can see a time when every pool table has a Procam system”, says Greenspan, “and this is just one example of many where this technology will be successfully applied.”
Engineering prof receives a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant For people with disabilities, assistive technologies can save hours each day and be foundational to independent living. But making the most helpful tools for them is a notoriously complicated, expensive and time-consuming process. Imagine, though, if virtually any device could be conjured up as needed by anyone with access to a 3D printer. Someone who needs a prosthetic arm and hand, for example, could simply choose one from a digital catalogue of proven designs and have it inexpensively printed to size and fit within just a few hours. If it’s not quite right, not quite comfortable or not quite as useful as predicted, the new device could just as quickly be modified in whole or in part to suit the user’s needs and preferences. “Adherence is a huge issue in any assistive technology,” says Queen’s Engineering Professor Claire Davies. “If the end user can decide what they want and it gets done for them—if it’s developed by them for them—they’re going to wear it. We want to make it do-it-yourself technology.” It’s a future at least partly at hand but 3D-print
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THE COMPLETE ENGINEER
technology is still evolving. As it does, Davies is experimenting with new ways to best apply it to the development of new assistive devices. “We’ve had hands printed by a couple of different machines and they really don’t meet quality standards,” says Davies. “So, I’m working on a proposal for a 3D printer capable of working with stronger plastics so we can develop devices that are really useable by people.” As part of that wider mission, Davies has also secured a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant so she and PhD student Liz Delarosa can synthesize information about the state of the art of 3D-printed assistive devices. They hope to learn more about what assistive devices are being printed today in industry and among hobbyists. “Liz’s background is actually occupational therapy and social work,” says Davies. “Together we’re working on understanding all aspects of the design process so we can build a complete task analysis and understand the functional requirements for designing according to those needs.”
