Lego demos augmented reality boxes with gesture recognition

Lego has been talking about adding an in-store augmented reality preview animation to their product boxes for quite a while now. In January 2010 we got our first image of the bright yellow kiosk allowing it to happen, then in April that year the first video appeared. Jump forward to the IDF conference last week and Lego has improved the system and finally got it into some stores.

The idea behind the kiosks is to show kids and parents what the final Lego product in the box they are holding will look like when built. This wasn’t just presented as a static 3D image, but an animation instead which is sure to be received well with kids.

This system does not need a code on the box, though. Instead it uses image recognition to figure out which Lego product you are holding. The underlying machine, which runs on the second-gen Sandy Bridge Intel processor, then pops up the 3D animation and moves it around on top of the box. You can move and rotate the box and see the model follow your movements almost instantly.

Because the kiosk uses image recognition Lego can go beyond just boxes. If you hold up a Lego catalog it will also pop up a 3D model of the product shown on the page. You can even use gesture recognition to scoop up the model and carry it in your hand.

The final system can easily hold 3D models and associated animations for every Lego product sold. If you see the kiosk in your local store I urge you to go and try it out as it looks like a lot of fun.

Check out the video below to see the Lego AR in action:

via Engadget