Seeper INNERLIGHT

Digital displays are ubiquitous in everyday applications including home entertainment, mobile
devices, advertising displays & vehicle navigation systems. Their use is, however, almost
entirely limited to flat, rectangular shapes.
Current state of the art display technologies (LCD & LED) cannot be used on irregular shapes
(e.g. shapes based on a Coca-Cola bottle, a plane, a human figure). As such, many potential
commercial & creative applications in, for example advertising, theme parks and education
are not currently achievable.
3D projection mapping can be used to overcome this to some degree. 3D projection mapping
is the technique of projecting video or computer-generated visual content onto irregular
surfaces such as building facades. Seeper were leading pioneers of 3D projection mapping and
have completed many high-profile projects for clients such as Google, the BBC, MTV,
Microsoft, & Nike. We also develop enabling technology (seeserver.com) to enable other
companies to undertake similar projects.
3D projection mapping can be used to economically create extremely compelling experiences
but it too has major drawbacks. It is very difficult to project content onto highly irregular or
moving objects when light will often hit the target surface at angles which distorts content
beyond acceptable levels. There must be a clear projection field (e.g. no people getting in
between the projector and the surface onto which it is projecting) - so objects cannot move far
from the fixed projector. Finally, projections are only visible when it is dark.
This R&D project aims to investigate the technical feasibility and commercial potential for a
proof of concept of a new technology that can overcome these challenges. This will require
novel software capable of rendering video content on the fly combined with the use of
miniaturised projection equipment and dynamically controlled optics to project onto internal
surfaces from within semi-transparent objects.