Bespoke Augmented Visualisation of Interior Design

Two major challenges facing anyone who wishes to (re)decorate an environment are: “What
will my room look like after I have finished redecorating”, and “How will the choice of this
product for this surface impact on the choice for another surface?”. This 12 month Proof of
Concept project will develop and fully validate a novel augmented reality system to actively
engage users in the design, build and refurbishment of tiled environments. Unlike traditional
imaging techniques, High Dynamic Range (HDR) video is able to capture the full range of
lighting in a scene. This captured lighting can subsequently be used together with physically
based rendering to enable virtual objects to be placed in environments so that they not only
look realistic, but are indeed perceptually accurate. HDR video will be captured on mobile
devices using the existing on-device cameras. The structure and lighting in the scene will be
automatically extracted from this HDR video and used by a physically-based rendering system
to relight a chosen product with bespoke lighting. The resultant virtual images will be used to
augment a live view from the mobile device of the environment providing an authentic view
of the virtual products as they would appear in the area in which they are to be installed under
the user’s bespoke lighting conditions. The system will enhance customer confidence and
significantly reduce wasted time and effort in deciding on the right choice of tile for a
particular environment. The largest manufacturer and supplier of ceramic tiles in the UK,
Johnson Tiles (JT) have agreed to provide their in-depth market knowledge in the evaluation
of system as it is developed to help ensure that their customers will have high confidence that
their needs are satisfied through the augmented view before the actual (re)decoration is
finalised. Developed initially for the tiling market, the resultant system will be equally
applicable to other interior design products.