Infrared Wand Painting
Created an interactive wand experience using an infrared camera and computer vision.
Overview
In this solo project, I set out to create my own version of the interactive wand technology found at Universal Parks and Resorts. I utilized an Xbox Kinect's infrared capabilities to track a toy wand with an an infrared reflector attached at its tip. Using computer vision techniques, I was then able to add a "painting" effect that displays on screen as the user moves their wand around. The ability to change the drawing color was also added via colored squares on the side of the screen.
System Breakdown
This project only required a few simple materials:
1. Xbox Kinect v2 - The v2 is important! The original Kinect uses an IR technique that is not conducive to this project.
2. Infrared Reflective Material - Used some small military patch material found online; makes detecting the tip easier.
3. OpenCV - The computer vision library used to detect the wand and modify the camera frames.
4. Toy Wand - Obviously, I needed something to channel the magic!
