Nonoverlapped view management for augmented reality by tabletop projection

Augmented reality (AR) by a projector allows for the easy association of information by labeling the objects. When a projector is installed above a workspace and pointed downward, supportive information can be presented; however, the label will be deformed if the object is nonplanar. Also, a label might be projected in a region where it is hidden by the object, i.e., a blind area. In this paper, we propose a view management technique to allow interpretation by improving the legibility of the information. We propose the nonoverlapped gradient descent (NGD) method, which determines the position of a newly added label by avoiding overlap with the surrounding labels and linkage lines. The issues of presenting in a shadow or blind area are also addressed by estimating these areas based on the approximation of objects as a simple solid. The results of an experiment show that the visibility of the labels was improved by using this method. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.