Omote "Living Makeup" Uses Mind-Blowing Projection Mapping

Projecting computer graphics onto buildings or rooms to make them digitally come alive isn't new, but how about if your canvas is a living, moving, human face? Omote does just that, a combination of real-time face tracking and projection mapping that takes a model's face and turns it into something far more mesmerizing, even as it moves around.

It's the incredible handiwork of a team led by Nobumichi Asai, which brings together digital designers, CGI experts, and make-up artists. Combined, they create what seems to be the electronic equivalent of makeup.

Technical details are scant at this stage, unfortunately. Judging by the video, however, there's an initial scanning stage – in which presumably the contours of the model's face are mapped – and then the graphics are overlaid and manipulated in real-time to follow.

Asai is no stranger to projection mapping, having worked with Subaru and other companies in the past to put CGI onto everything from cars through docks to buildings. Most of the time, however, the subject of the projection is stationary.

It's not clear how much movement the system could handle – for instance, if it could be used even if the model was walking around a stage rather than seated – but it's an incredibly impressive demonstration all the same.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is known to be working on its own projection-based immersive environment, dubbed IllumiRoom, which expands Xbox One games from out of the TV and to cover the rest of the room's surfaces.

SOURCE Nobumichi Asai