Pokemon Go superimposes virtual monsters over a live view of the world from a smartphone’s camera. However, the Pokemon characters do not interact with real-world objects. Well, that may change in its next version if MIT Interactive Dynamic Video (IDV) technology is included.
The MIT team has released a video showing how the likes of Pikachu and Snorlax could interact with other real-world objects, using the IDV technique. IDV does not require any special cameras and its algorithm analyses 5 seconds of normal video of a still object to detect tiny, almost invisible vibrations (induced by banging on the table), and “guess” how the object moves — or reacts to touch.
The video below shows the simple setup required to capture the vibrations and different examples of the IDV technique at work: a wobbling wire mannequin, playground climbing frame, and a shrub that sways when virtually tugged.
