writing with light

"you can create art and beauty with a computer"

this video from graffiti research lab.

this has inspired me to investigate the technology involved in writing with light. the graffit research lab provide the program for download:

what i will need:

equipment

1 PC Laptop - ASUS A8JS - Core 2 Duo 1.83 Ghz 1GB Ram Nvideo Geforce Go 7300 256MB - VGA and DVI out.
1 Pansonic PTD5600U 5000 ANSI Lumens 1024x768 DLP Projector.
1 Watec 221S Security/Astrononmy Camera with manual iris zoom lens.
1 Bogen magic arm and super clamp.
1 Pinnacle PCTV USB capture card.
1 60mW Green Laser (super illegal in a lot of places and very dangerous)
and loads and loads of AAA batteries.

in its simplest form the Laser Tag system is a camera and laptop setup, tracking a green laser point across the face of a building and generating graphics based on the laser's position which then get projected back onto the building with a high power projector.

fix the projector in place and then fix the camera underneath the lens of the projector so that it is looking at the projection area. allow the camera to see a little more than the projection area so that you can designate an area as a clear button.

make sure all the settings on the camera are set to manual - no auto exposure or gain control etc. adjust the color balance of the camera so that it looks as natural as possible - make sure any lights in the shot don't look green as this will confuse the tracking sytem.

all equipment is ready, just waiting on laserpen to arrive!