AR Layers & Oak Ridge National Laboratory

In my exploration, I have defined a class of XR that embodies the passive integration of our digital and physical worlds. Finding examples and building them myself, an Augmented Intermediate Layer (AIL) is defined as an unobtrusive overlay of digital information modifying our physical world. The term, Augmented Intermediate Layer, has its genesis in post-production techniques developed during the digital transition of traditional narrative film. A digital intermediate was a term referencing the digitization of analog film for editing and SFX purposes. After digital tools color-timed and transformed visual effects, this “intermediate” digital form would be transitioned back to analog film for distribution and viewing without the audience’s knowledge.

Several projects have been born this year that not only provides an example of an AIL but also serve as case studies for my dissertation;

The first is the conclusion and evolution of a project that started with Oak Ridge National Laboratories. At the time of seed funding in 2021, this work was known as an Augmented Interactive Layer. Its intended use was data visualization and manipulating 3D objects before being manufactured using large-format 3D printing techniques (link). Due to the pandemic, funding was shifted from face-to-face travel support with ORNL to equipment assistance to develop a consumer-oriented product using the technology.

Using funding from the ORNL Seed Grant, funding from Create-X Idea to Prototype, and additional support from Digital Media and LMC, a consumer-facing AIL prototype started development in the Summer of 2022. This application would serve not only as a proof of concept and funding device but also as a platform to implement a case study for my dissertation. This prototype uses a driving simulator to contextually situate an interactor to display 2D/3D information from a transparent OLED screen between them and the road environment. Using head and eye tracking tools developed for XR applications, gaming, and film, the user gaze dictates the anamorphosis reprojection of vehicle sensor data onto the roadway. Acting as an intermediate, the transparent windscreen provides an advanced heads-up display system, allowing the vehicle operator to receive data from the vehicle without taking their eye off the road, sky, or job site.

Additionally, an artistic implementation of an AIL was developed in conjunction with the Department of Architecture at Georgia Tech. Initially part of an interdisciplinary course in the Spring of 2022, I have gone on to work personally with Stuart Romm and Hunter Spence from ARCH to develop an anamorphic installation for Georgia Tech’s Media bridge, a large, upside-down LED “pool” connecting the library and Crossland Tower. This piece simulates a transparent floor of the footbridge allowing the audience to look up into the library. Animated with Humans, animals, and weather effects, this work will premiere on the media bridge starting in the Spring 2023 semester. An interactive model will also be developed for an interdisciplinary course scheduled for the same semester.