Takenori Hara

Removal of Glare Caused by Water Droplets

Removal of view disturbing noise from an image obtained with a camera under adverse weather conditions is important. In this paper, we present a method of removing glare caused by water droplets, or other foreign objects, adhering to an imaging lens or its protective glass. We have designed and implemented an electronically controlled optical shutter array that detects and removes glare. Our system can easily be used with unmodified, commercially available digital cameras and lenses. We also present the possibility of applying this technique for the removal of general glare caused by the imaging lens itself.

Foldable augmented maps

This paper presents folded surface detection and tracking for augmented maps. For the detection, plane detection is iteratively applied to 2D correspondences between an input image and a reference plane because the folded surface is composed of multiple planes. In order to compute the exact folding line from the detected planes, the intersection line of the planes is computed from their positional relationship. After the detection is done, each plane is individually tracked by frame-by-frame descriptor update. For a natural augmentation on the folded surface, we overlay virtual geographic data on each detected plane. The user can interact with the geographic data by finger pointing because the finger tip of the user is also detected during the tracking. As scenario of use, some interactions on the folded surface are introduced. Experimental results show the accuracy and performance of folded surface detection for evaluating the effectiveness of our approach.

Development and Evaluation of an Interactive Therapy Robot

Interactions with animals can enhance emotions and improve mood by engendering feelings of healing, relaxation, comfort, and reduced stress. Un-fortunately, many people cannot live with animals because of allergies, infection risk, or risk of damage to rental housing. To address these problems, some research groups have investigated robot-based psychotherapy. However, the important healing elements for therapy robots were not identified. Therefore, we conducted an Internet survey to determine the design elements of such a robot that might engender a healing mood and the functions that should be implemented. We assumed that a healing mood could be induced based on the interactive functions and appearance. To verify this hypothesis, we developed and evaluated a new interactive therapy robot. Next, we conducted interviews with individuals who interacted with a prototype therapy robot. The interviews revealed that the appearance of the robot was critical to engendering feelings of healing, comfort, and empathy. In addition, the size, softness, and comfort of the interactive therapy robot contributed to people feeling affection towards it. We also confirmed the importance of the robot appearing to listen to those who interacted with it. Our results should be useful for designing companion robots for therapy purposes.

Semi-transparent augmented reality system

We have developed a new Semi-Transparent Augmented Reality (AR) system that displays the inner structures of objects by making their surface semi-transparent. In this system we combine the live video of the object of interest and 3D computer graphics (3DCG) models with appropriate transparency and in proper order using AR technology. This system shows the 3DCG models of inner structures as if they existed inside the object.