Virtual and real-time synchronous interaction for playing table tennis with holograms in mixed reality

Abstract

Real-time and accurate interaction technology is required to realize new wearable Mixed Reality (MR) solutions. At present, the mainstream interaction method relies on gesture detection technology, which has two shortcomings: 1. the hand feature points may easily be obstructed by obstacles and cannot be detected and 2. the kinds of gesture that can be recognized are limited. Hence, it cannot support complex interactions well. Moreover, the traditional collision detection algorithm has difficulty detecting the collision between real and virtual objects under motion. Because location information of real objects needs updating in real time, it is easy to lose collision detection under high speeds. In the implementation of our system, Mixed Reality Table Tennis System, we propose novel methods which overcome these shortcomings. Instead of using gesture detection technology, we use a locator as the main input device and build a data exchange channel for the devices, so that the system can update the motion state of the racket in real time. Besides, we adjust the thickness of the collider dynamically to solve the collision detection problem and calculate rebound results responding to the motion state of the racket and the ball. Experimental results show that our method avoids losing collision detection and improves the authenticity of simulation. It keeps good interaction in real time.