14 DAY TRIAL // It's one thing to play in a normal sandbox and other to have one that lets you build things on a massive scale without any chance of getting sand and water all over you.
Kids, of course, love to play in sandboxes anyway. Some even prefer being dirty to cleanliness, for some obscure reason. Maybe they feel more in tune with mother earth when they're covered in it.
Either way, the sandbox invented by UC Davis researchers isn't the type kids are allowed to tumble in.
Instead, it is one that science museums and other public venues could choose to requisition.
The researchers paired a Kinect sensor with a digital projector and a specially-developed software that overlays topographical data and simulated water over a normal sandbox.
That all led to an augmented reality environment that can be utilized in the teaching of geological, hydrological and other geographical concepts.
You can see in the video embedded below that the person uses the shovel to move sand around, build dunes, dig trenches and generally move sand from one part to the other.
As new mountains, riverbeds and hollows are formed, the projector paints them in the colors normally used on maps, to indicate altitude.
What's more, holding the palms above the sandbox will cause “rain” to pour, adding water to the scenery. The water flows through whatever riverbeds and dry lakes happen to be within range of the “clouds.”
The video isn't too long, but it isn't short either. It has just the right length needed to demonstrate exactly what the technology is all about.
If the technical details are what you're after, the software is based on the Vrui VR development toolkit and the Kinect 3D video processing framework. It will soon be up for download too, under the GNU General Public License. Go here to learn more about it and everything else.
